DJ technique questions/Help needed!

[fushimi]

Alright everyone!

I've been into dubstep since I heard the Kode9 Babel Mix (couple of years ago now?) and I've messed around using Virtual DJ for a few months but I finally got decks a few weeks ago. I'm basically starting from stratch in terms of DJing because I never had friends/siblings who had decks so I'd never touched a platter before a few weeks ago...bit of a learning curve but I'm enjoying it.

Anyway, there seems to be loads of talented DJs here so I was wondering if I could pick your brains with some questions about DJ technique...I'm sure my questions are embarassingly basic but any help would be really appreciated. I know the main key to DJing is practice practice practice but sometimes you need a bit of expertise to help you along!

I'm finding myself beatmatching snares rather than kicks; it just seems more natural to me. Is this a really bad idea that I should get out of now?

Is finding out the bpm (and maybe the key) of a tune and labeling the record sleeve with it completely cheating and frowned upon? I wouldn't use the bpm to calculate the exact pitch change or anything, but just to know whether the cued tune is faster or slower than the live one. Do DJ's usually keep this kind of information in their heads?

How to do you a rewind? Is it just switch off the deck, needle to the start, switch on and set the platter turning again? Don't have a clue how to do it

I know every DJ is different, but how long did it take you guys before you played out? I've got a chance to play at a small bar/club where I can invite all my mates and I could play every tune from the edge and they'd be impressed, but I really wanna go all out and learn the trade before I play in front of people. From knowing basically naff all, I'm aiming to play out early next year...is this totally unrealistic?

I've got so much respect for people who can go up in front of a crowd and do a good set so I'm hoping that if I put the work in I can become a decent DJ. Thanks in advance for any answers or tips!

[Jubz]

Perfection is boring.

[dice]

most important tip you can get: count the bars!

[flippo]

Is finding out the bpm (and maybe the key) of a tune and labeling the record sleeve with it completely cheating and frowned upon? I wouldn't use the bpm to calculate the exact pitch change or anything, but just to know whether the cued tune is faster or slower than the live one. Do DJ's usually keep this kind of information in their heads?

I wouldn't worry about something like that man, seems pretty trivial. It takes nothing away from the music, which is what its all about after all. If it makes you mix your tunes better, and and therefore probably enjoy it more, who cares about sometihng so trivial. Besides, you'll get better with time I'm sure.

I'm not a dj myself, but beatmatching with the snare sounds like a bad idea to me. The position of the snare in dubstep can be anywhere. Sometimes you got only one snare per bar, they could be no where near eachother. I find when I'm beatmatching, I just focus on the length of the bar start to finish, which is nearly always accented by a kick, and use things like hi hat's to just get a feel of the tempo. But yeh, I'm not a DJ . From what I gather talking to people, it can take anywhere from a few hours to learn to beatmatch, or some people just can never nail it no matter how much they practice. It's a skill that is a little obscure and is kinda more technical than musical, but the part that seperates a good DJ from a guy who can beatmatch records is the flow of the set really. Some sets just sound like people showcasing tunes one after the other. Other sets, at risk of sounding like a fucken wanker, are a bit of a journey.
Most of all it's about the tunes though, if your playing dubstep you can't go too wrong in my book

I really don't have much to offer I'm just typing for the sake of it

[forensix (mcr)]

Other sets, at risk of sounding like a fucken wanker, are a bit of a journey.

you to the risk, and you sounded like a wanker

[ozols man]

Alright everyone!

I've been into dubstep since I heard the Kode9 Babel Mix (couple of years ago now?) and I've messed around using Virtual DJ for a few months but I finally got decks a few weeks ago. I'm basically starting from stratch in terms of DJing because I never had friends/siblings who had decks so I'd never touched a platter before a few weeks ago...bit of a learning curve but I'm enjoying it.

Anyway, there seems to be loads of talented DJs here so I was wondering if I could pick your brains with some questions about DJ technique...I'm sure my questions are embarassingly basic but any help would be really appreciated. I know the main key to DJing is practice practice practice but sometimes you need a bit of expertise to help you along!

I'm finding myself beatmatching snares rather than kicks; it just seems more natural to me. Is this a really bad idea that I should get out of now?

Is finding out the bpm (and maybe the key) of a tune and labeling the record sleeve with it completely cheating and frowned upon? I wouldn't use the bpm to calculate the exact pitch change or anything, but just to know whether the cued tune is faster or slower than the live one. Do DJ's usually keep this kind of information in their heads?

How to do you a rewind? Is it just switch off the deck, needle to the start, switch on and set the platter turning again? Don't have a clue how to do it

I know every DJ is different, but how long did it take you guys before you played out? I've got a chance to play at a small bar/club where I can invite all my mates and I could play every tune from the edge and they'd be impressed, but I really wanna go all out and learn the trade before I play in front of people. From knowing basically naff all, I'm aiming to play out early next year...is this totally unrealistic?

I've got so much respect for people who can go up in front of a crowd and do a good set so I'm hoping that if I put the work in I can become a decent DJ. Thanks in advance for any answers or tips!

firstly, i reckon its a bad idea to label all ur bpms. mainly because ull become too reliant on this process, and if anything i reckon it makes things trickier. u just got to know ur records, after a while ull become to kind of store all the bpms mentally anyway, and the good thing about particular dance genres is the bpm dont normally stray that far from one another. ie in house ur not gonna have a tune which is 130 bpm, then one which is 160, u know wot i mean?

when i beat match, i use the kicks. but i dontt hink i just analyse that, the better u get, ull just KNOW when two tracks r out of time.

also if ur gonna play out, u should probably start out by playing tunes which r certified bangers, then develope your programming skills from there. when i started djing out hiphop i think my first gig was about 2 years after i first got into djing, i was playing out all these really mellow hiphop joints which i thought were hyped cos i would only ever play em in my bedroom, but when i got out people would just sit about, drink and nod their heads.. so in my opinion you should play out the big choons mainly and then ull get a feel for how to manipulate the crowd as u play out more and then can experiment with different styles and moods..[/i]

[Rob H]

yeah id advise you not to rely on snares, use the kick drum as a means to detirmine the start of a bar and count, all dubstep will be in 4/4 time, and use that as a means to know when a bar ends, as mentioned above the most important thing is to remain aware of the bars and to drop a new tune in at the start of an eight or sixteen bar structure, as the programing of the two tunes should then fit together a lot easier and in the case of the grimier side of dubstep, 8 or 16 bar switchups should work a lot better.


. . . sorry, just clocked that that is all one sentence, hope it makes sense

[flippo]

Other sets, at risk of sounding like a fucken wanker, are a bit of a journey.

you to the risk, and you sounded like a wanker

lol

[forensix (mcr)]

sorry needed to be done

match bass drums, snares are all over the fucking place now a days

and practice practice practice

also keep tapping your foot or nodding your head to the beat

[dynamixuk]

yer practise practise practice, or move newcastle upon tyne and enroll on my free dj tech school "COLD BLEND"

Check link for info

flyer attached




www.generator.org.uk


brappletizer

[forensix (mcr)]

or move newcastle upon tyne

now why would anyone wanna do that?? ive not even been there yet and im scared

[dynamixuk]

haha

[thump rat]

First of all, Dj'ing isn't too hard, so don't worry about it too much, having said that when i am by myself mixing i always pull up if a mix isn't perfect, but its better to go with the flow.

First of all, get to know your records, generally theres a formula with the amount bars,and most dubstep is 4/4 so naturally you should learn.

As far as beat matching, i generally matchthe first kick of a bar to the first kick of a bar, its the easiest way and you won't get lost with the bars and breakdowns, drops etc. But (only when im mixing dnb) i sometimes do match up the snares, so aslong as your matching up the snare (say first snare of a bar) with the other record at the same time its ok and sometimes easier when a accented kick is not easy to match. I've never done this when mixing dubstep however.

When doing a rewind, i turn the power off (don't press stop) and rewind the platter and fade out, put the needle to the start and off we go.

Once you've learnt the fundementals, you can then develop a style, but let that come naturally.

[paulie]

Mix withever part of the tune stands out, so hats, snare, kick, prominent synth parts... whatever. Key thing is to count the bars, either 8s or 16s depending on the tune. It's not rocket science really...

[dynamixuk]

1234 2234 3234 4234

[shonky]

Get very drunk and play good tunes loudly. Doesn't matter if they're in time, really gets the attention of the crowd. If people scream that you're shit, just ignore them and put another tune on at the wrong speed or turn off the wrong deck. Never apologise to the audience, ever - they came to indulge you, not the other way round. Just remember who's getting paid - it's you (hopefully).

Oh, and always tell people that make requests to play trance to fuck right off - it's the only language they understand.

Haven't had a booking in a while, wonder why?

[forensix (mcr)]

Haven't had a booking in a while, wonder why?

cos your face scares the punters

[shonky]

Haven't had a booking in a while, wonder why?

cos your face scares the punters

Just cause I have slightly different features, doesn't mean that I inspire revulsion in my target audience - my personality gives me far more scope for that

[ozols man]

Oh, and always tell people that make requests to play trance to fuck right off - it's the only language they understand.

all jokes aside, thats something i can definetly agree on

[shonky]

Sorry who's joking?

I take this DJ lark very seriously, I tell thee