I'm not going to lie, I have the best job in the world! I get paid to go to parties, eat food, and get people dancing. There is nothing more addictive than having a dance floor of 100 people go crazy when you mix a good song in and they all scream "HELL YES!! THIS DJ IS F&^% AWESOME!"
So not surprisingly, one of the questions I get asked alot is "How do I get into DJing?"
This article will hopefully answer some of those questions you may have and give you a starting point to go from :-)
Ok well DJing is great thing to get into providing you are doing it for the right reasons. Money and Fame will not be a good enough driving force considering how much time, effort, costs and training you will need.
First what kind of DJing are you wanting to get into? Club or Mobile?Club DJs need to focus on a style of music and work like all hell to make sure their mixing a scratching is beyond awesome. And unfortunately in Perth it is very cut throat and the pay is very low. The David Guettas and Havan Browns do get paid the big buck but not only did they work hard to get to that point, they also have great managers, PR campaigns and also a little bit of luck which got them that break.Mobile DJing is more what I do with Weddings, corporate events, birthdays, etc. Your mixing/beat matching needs to be good but not to nightclub level (although you should always try to be at a higher level). Also the pay is alot better once you are good and there is more work available.Above all you need to have a solid understanding of music. With Mobile DJing, it is important you know all the different kinds of music that everybody wants to hear. So this includes the best dance stuff from the 60,70,80,90,00,top40 as well as specifics of genres so the best Rnb, Rock, Pop, Alternative, and Dance.Once you have the music knowledge under your belt you need to decide what kind of equipment you want to use. There are lots of different brands and styles. I use Pioneer CDJ400 and CDs but other DJs use digital programs. The biggest thing is ensuring you can still beat match regardless what equipment you use.After you have music and equipment, then it is practicing how to find a beat. It is harder than it sounds especially when you need to cue it up with the equipment. Alot of the first half of training will be getting you to recognize where to cue up the beat so you can mix it in. Then we start on adjusting tempo to make two songs work together.This will most likely take about 6 months to understand and then it is continuous practice for the rest of your career. If you get slack, you get sloppy. There is then ALOT more things you will need to learn but I'm just giving a basic idea of what is needed.I can suggest to talk to some local DJs and see if they would be willing to give you some lessons, then hire some equipment to have a practice on and after a while, look at buying your own. Try also seeing if any mates are having something with music and see if they will let you practice on them.Once you got the experience, you can apply to companies like myself and we can start getting you work, or alternatively you can start branching out on your own (however this means marketing, purchasing all equipment, referrals, etc which takes even more time to acquire)
One of the best tutorials I have found on YouTube is a guy called Ellaskins. Click HERE to be taken to his channel.
Hopes that helps guys, but remember, DJing can be a lucrative career or an expensive hobby. PLEASE don't buy anything until you 1) are sure this is what you want to do and 2) have researched, practiced and understood what you are getting into Keep spinning those tunes :-)DJ Dave (Photo courtesy of "weddingsamples.net")