Need advice for beginner dj

Get a gig and play in public – period. That’s what’ll show you where you should be focusing your efforts.

Playing a rave or underground club is a different world than playing a bar or a wedding.

+1 I am doing a 60th birthday this weekend. Back to the old school rock n roll…. First time doing a set with digital equipment in a genre I rarely play!

vijay, post: 25603, member: 2071 wrote: thank you, and what are the ways i can manage, with my own experience or i can learn through posts and reply here?

When I started back in 1992, I just made mix cassettes for my friends and played a house party here and there. I was horrible at beat matching and programming, but it was forgiven by my peers because I was new.

Over time, I got beatmatching down. 32 beats, then 64 beats, 128 beats, and so on. I also started growing in my musical tastes as I was exposed to more of the global scene. In 1992 my main influences were old Bad Boy Bill mixtapes and the DJs like Bill on the radio. 1994 I turned 21 and was exposed to deep house and underground house. Time passed and I was exposed to trance and so on.

I also took on different gigs to understand and figure out my focus. I played one wedding and realized mobile isn’t my thing. I played some clubs, bars, and raves. I was resident in one mainstream suburban club. I also tried online radio and podcasts, as well as production. In the end, I found that I wanted to play music I believed in, reach out to those who are normally spoon-fed mainstream pop. I also found that I grew to hate the politics of the club scene, and driving hours to play 30-60 min wasn’t fun…so I ended up staying a hobbyist and blogger.

That was a journey that went over 16 years. I would just tell you right now to learn the basics of being a DJ, listen to and find what styles of music you really like and believe in, and then go out and about and see what kinds of places/events you want to play at. You can learn much in the blog here on how to get to point B.