[Cicero]

In the 30 richest DJ threads there was a suggestion to make a separate thread on how to be a weekend DJ.

Unfortunately I don't have the answers. I always make the playlist for all my friends parties, I get compliments from random people about the music, even had a guy ask if I would DJ at his bar, which is a decent place.

I don't give a shit about being a good technical DJ, just want to know what are the basics for DJing at a small bar or club.

What equipment do we need, software, and where can we find some basic technical information?

Would be great to get a data sheet on how to be a hack DJ, one of those DJs people trash for just basically playing a itunes playlist.

[speakeasy]

Have you thought about going to DJ school? If you don't want the burden of having to figure it all out on your own, check and see if your city has something like this: http://www.scratch.com/

[kosko]

Naw fuck DJ school. Shits a scam. Why pay 800 bucks to learn something on your own with some practice and some help fourms.

To be a legit DJ just pick your tools + method

and ..

practice

That's really it.

depending if your just using itunes to having to tables with some trigger pads and shit. Its just a matter of picking whats good and practicing. Its best to at least have some blending experience because then you can weasel more gigs.

[Rah]

I'm guessing learning basic techniques is something you could figure out with practice. It would be killer if an experienced DJ could speak more to what it takes the play the game.

[Manwhore]

That dj school actually looks awesome. I had a buddy who's a dj teach/show me some of the basics but he wasn't a very organized teacher and didn't have any kind of direction or curriculum. I did some dj'ing at a strip club, I became buddies with the dj and I'd break him when he needed to run off. Was an AMAZING time lol.

I would drop cash on dj school in a heartbeat. Thanks for that link I def. subscribed.

[kosko]

(06-19-2012 12:20 AM)Rah Wrote:  

I'm guessing learning basic techniques is something you could figure out with practice. It would be killer if an experienced DJ could speak more to what it takes the play the game.

This. Honestly dropping cash on a school is a waste. I have been in music long enough to know this, you can always learn the same or more on your own. Go crack a beer and break some bread with a DJ. 90% of these kats are music nerds and are down for anybody whom is into music and a honest kat, they will teach you for free then go turn around and charge a grand at a DJ school to teach punks.

This is why my homies charge fools like a grand+ to DJ weddings but would be happy doing a gig for 150 bucks.

picking up whatever software you decide to use will be the tricky thing but so many forums and resources exist online to help you online.

The only time IMO a music school/course makes sense is when your dealing with a really dense software like Abelton, or Logic.
use that 500-800 bucks and BUY MUSIC. Aside from practicing being up on music is a part time job in itself that does not pay. This is why I can BS and DJ with no issue at all because my music knowledge is on level 25 and I can pull tracks out of my ass that can't won't hear about till next year. My music knowledge ==> gets me connects ==> which gets me gigs. The skill is far down the list, people just want to hear dope shit.

The skill aspect is just like learning a golf swing but its the stratus you approach each hole with that will set you apart on the score shit. You can pay a ton of money for a golf coach to teach you Tiger Wood's swing but if you don't have the mind set on how to approach each hole you'll still be marginal.

You can tell right off the bat if your serious about this or a sucker. These DJ schools did not exist even five years ago. Think about it....

[UgSlayer]

Now everything is digital. All you really have to do is mix two songs together that have the same bpm.

[Cr33pin]

I sold one of my cars an bought a bunch of DJ equpiment an started doing partys an then landed a job at a bar. Then i was making contacts an doing weddings an such. Good money in weddings!

I faded out of it now all my DJ shit is sitting in storage. I enjoyed doing it an made good money.. but really I would have done it for free

[WestIndianArchie]

(06-18-2012 10:52 AM)Cicero Wrote:  

What equipment do we need, software, and where can we find some basic technical information?

Would be great to get a data sheet on how to be a hack DJ, one of those DJs people trash for just basically playing a itunes playlist.

A pro has
- 2 technic 1200's
- a mixer
- a serato box
- a macbook pro
- all the necessary wires

If you're doing mostly electronica, 2 cd turntables are fine, but Serato is a must.

The club usually provides the amp and speakers.

If you want to be like all the other dj's out there, the main thing is having all of the hits on deck. So 2chainz, Nicki Minaj, Future, Chris Brown, Rihana...et cetera. If your crowd wears strictly Nantucket Reds and Sperry Topsiders, then i'd have the typical Jersey Shore Skrill Ex Bro-Step stuff as well. East Coast will also require a working knowledge of Journey for drunken sing-a-longs.

Dj's are a dime a dozen, and the best clubs will either hire
- big name dj that can bring in chicks
- a cute chick dj that doesn't need to be able to mix at all
- or one of the thousands of bedroom dj's that frequent soul strut and other wax/music centric websites

It's definitely a chick magnet, but pretty much any job in a bar/club (except bar back) will increase your notches. Door, Bouncer, Bartender...are all good looks.

If your friend is offering you a chance to spin @ his bar, i'd take him up on it. But to get chicks, you gotta look like you're doing more than playing an iPod. Maybe one cd turntable, serato, and a MacBook Pro.

WIA

[Kitsune]

I'm pretty sure you could probably go to that DJ school website, find the course contents and just search for online videos from there, at least for the lesser technical components.

Anyway, I'm in on this thread for info. I've already done live music for some years sort-of professionally, so I've got contacts and stuff lined up.

[Prophylaxis]

BUMP

Looking at buying some equipment for my pad.

Anyone recommend the best/cost-efficient mixer and speakers? Which brands are the best? Only know how to mix and am clueless when it comes to vinyl. Mainly for low-key house parties and gatherings, don't need to destroy clubs. Purely as a hobby

[BIGBOY]

Thought I would revive this thread. A buddy of mine is having a huge house party in a month, and wants me to DJ. What is the minimum I need to borrow from someone to pull it off? Speakers and amp will be provided. I have a Macbook and headphones. Will be playing all the music digitally off of Serato Scratch Live.

I assume an USB sound card that allows for 2 way audio and a MIDI controller. Anything else apart from what I already mentioned?

Thanks!

[soup]

There's a program called Deejay that makes it so easy to DJ

[CJ_W]

(06-18-2012 10:18 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Naw fuck DJ school. Shits a scam. Why pay 800 bucks to learn something on your own with some practice and some help fourms.

To be a legit DJ just pick your tools + method

and ..

practice

That's really it.

depending if your just using itunes to having to tables with some trigger pads and shit. Its just a matter of picking whats good and practicing. Its best to at least have some blending experience because then you can weasel more gigs.

edit: sorry for the weird grammar. . .stream of consciousness writing and all


This. You don't need DJ school. . .that's like going to school to get potty trained. Really. I learned how to DJ in about 3 days (out of neccesity but still) Here's how to do it.

remember the name of the game is connections. Once you learn the basics, then you gotta meet people/venues.

so if you don't know how to dj, you can do it the cheap way:

first, befriend a DJ. The best way to do this is to become a promoter for a club/event. You can get paid for this too. While you're promoting, make sure you get in good with the resident DJs.

Eventually. . .ask them to show you how to DJ, The basics are really easy, and in fact, you can just look them up on youtube.

oh its good to know how to DJ with CDJ's at least before you go all "laptop jukebox warrior." There was a guy who didn't know what the pitch bend button was so that the pitch would go all over the crazy when ever he sped/slowed a song down. . .he didn't believe me when I told him about the button. . .until I pressed it. he was shocked. Now being that this is the basic of the basic. . .that was pretty sad. (don't be that guy)

Anyway, after you learn the basics, get about 6 CDs worth of music and write the names of the songs on them (or you can just put them on two USBs, but some clubs dont have CDJs that you can put USBs in and have them work reliably) so make sure you put them onto CDs just to make sure you don't bone yourself.

Oh yeah, make sure you have decent DJ headphones. they cost about 100-150. the higher end ones about 300 or so.

anyway, basically just DJ at small venues to practice. once your set is over, you need to be mingling with people, letting them know that "you are a DJ" and offer to get them in on a discount next time you come etc etc.

the Top Dj's get to the top by getting REALLY good at this and DJing well, making awesome mashups etc etc.

Or producing their own stuff and getting signed to a record company etc etc.

the latter is pretty much the norm now. . .but producing is such a large topic that you're going to have to look at that on your own.

In fact, the only DJs that I know of that don't produce are James Zibelia, and Tommy Trash... But those guys are ridiculously good

anyway you're not really aiming for all that when you start. pretty much keep networking, expand your mailing list, promote yourself and the shows you do(skills you learn while being a promoter if you go that route)

You'll probably get pussy just from being a promoter . . .I had sex with a 9.9 in the VIP room of a club(got to find that picture, someone took of that if you want to see it ). . .just because I was there and had some sort of "power"(I was keeping the schedule of the dancers and telling them when to go, and bringing them back etc etc. . .apparently no one else wanted to do it because they were lazy. . . but I'm not retarded like that

but I digress, you will get pussy as a promoter/host, and most times it'll be a breeze (I also banged some of the dancers too Being a DJis just the next step up. But you got to remember.

DON"T BE A DOUCHEBAG.

DJ's (who are not big name, up and comers etc etc) are NOTORIOUS for being a huge pain in the ass to deal with. . .(from experience dealing with them) if you are cool, do what you say you'll do, don't get fucked up at every event (you shouldn't be drinking unless its with your customers that you brought who will eventually buy you drinks anyway) stay away from the Drugs, have a great attitude, dodo what needs to be done. bring lots of people. you WILL be a commodity.

Basically. . .common sense.

eventually Women will just come to you without you doing much work outside of what you're already doing.

later on once you get money from gigs, use that money and buy the equipment you need to DJ on a laptop, and learn how to do mashups, and advanced DJing techniques.

But really you don't need to learn all that untill about a couple years down the line. Most producers suck at DJing, even at the basics.

all you need as a DJ is the basics (beat matching especially), some USBs and CDs, and some decent headphones. You can practice at small venues on your way up. just offer to do it for free. You can also ask to practice at the clubs you promote at.

I DJed at this nice trendy restaurant I went to on weeknights for like 3-4 hours a week for about 6 months(it was the dead time and I helped bring people in who were walking buy and heard the music so the manager gave me free drinks since I was doing it for free.). during that time, I got two people offer me really nice gigs which PACKED the place out and I was the center of attention. . .those were awesome nights.

oh one more thing. If you play music that you find really sounds great, people will react to that and love it too.

P.S. on the drinking thing, I made a point not to drink mostly because I wanted to be sober enough to a) meet women and b) get fans/friends/expand network etc etc. of course this was like a CHALLENGE to the people I met and or fans I brought as they were like "ok, YOU ARE DRINKING" and bought me drinks. -.-

Anyway, you can take it as far as you want to go. I've met Big name DJs (only took a picture with one though. . .that was stupid as I should have done it with all of them. . .) been involved in events(to the extent I can't say on the forums) at some of the largest clubs on the planet (at least two on the top 100 clubs list of DJ mag) made tons of great friends with up and coming producers and DJs(musician friends are the best seriously.) met lots of hot women easily(I was doing that before anyway but still.) Ive gotten into large festivals for free, multiple times, got free entry to other venues and events, free VIP to venues and events, I even shared the last two bottles of Don Perignon with two other people after a successful event in ADDITION to getting paid. . .
I don't abuse that privilage though as most of my friend's lively hoods rely on paying customer so I try to pay wherever I can. but every once in a while Ill get offered some sweet freebies.

It is a bit of work, especially if you already have a job. . . but if you put in the work, you'll go on a crazy adventure.

It was a LOT of work after a certain point. . .but that's another story.

[BIGBOY]

Thanks CJ_W for such a detailed response.

Any advice for my situation? I'll definitely look into learning cd decks down the road, but for now I'm just trying to hook up playing music off my laptop at a large house party. I'm assuming I need a mixer at the very least so I don't have to blend the tracks on my laptop.

[CJ_W]

(07-05-2013 10:46 PM)BIGBOY Wrote:  

Thanks CJ_W for such a detailed response.

Any advice for my situation? I'll definitely look into learning cd decks down the road, but for now I'm just trying to hook up playing music off my laptop at a large house party. I'm assuming I need a mixer at the very least so I don't have to blend the tracks on my laptop.

Edit: just read your post again. . .personally I would pass it up. Having to bring your equipment to each venue is an extreme pain in the ass. it is a lot better to just get a gig in a venue that already has the equipment (where all you need is your headphones/laptop and your music). That and the equipment is constantly going obselete/new models and stuff coming out. It's confusing as hell and needlessly expensive. really, you only need cheap equipment to practice on. Unless your friend is doing it at a venue/OR has the equipment you need that venues would usually have, it's not really worth all that trouble/money in that short amount of time. . .I totally didn't realize that you necro'd the thread haha, but yeah, getting all the right gear, and learning how to use it as a house party/wedding DJ will take you a bit more than you have time for now. If you are doing this event just to get laid, you're working too hard for that. It would be a lot easier to just go to the party, meet chicks, mention that you are a DJ, add them to facebook/get their Digits and invite them to places you will spin at(with a promise for a discount etc). I have only encountered one guy who brought his own mixer. this happened one time in like the three years I had been doing this for

now of course if you WANT to be a house party DJ. . .that's a whole 'nother ball game.

if you decide to do it anyway. . .

I actually never learned to use laptops for DJing as I didn't need to. If you're doing something immediately I'd suggest youtubing all of that info.

I also never bought a mixer or CDJ's as I was cheap and just learned form DJ friends/youtube

I'd really implore you to learn how to DJ without using laptops. Laptops can fail a lot, wires can get messed up, clubs you go to may have issues with your computer etc etc. after you master that, then go on to using the laptop.

Beat matching really isn't a hard skill to learn. . .if you can count to 16(or 32 for trance) then you can do it quickly

but yeah, just do what you can for this situation and take the time afterwards to learn/network/promote

[TheMachinist]

Im a DJ with 15+ years in the game. There HAS TO BE A SERIOUS LOVE FOR ALL GENRES OF MUSIC if you want to be successful. It's not something I advise one just getting into just so they can meet chicks. If you wanna meet chicks and be "the man" in a club environment then consider getting into promoting.If you wanna have some SERIOUS crowd control skills and the ability to turn people on to new music or music they may not know then DJ'n might be for you.Also ANYBODY can play the latest Top 40 stuff but it's the guys that can weave stories and set moods using sounds from across the spectrum that are at the top. Also experienced DJ's are usually the gate keepers to getting anywhere above house party DJ. These are people with a SERIOUS love for the art of DJ'n and as long as your intentions to learn and respect the craft are true then they will usually show you some things and help you get better. If you show up on the scene and instantly think your special they will not only put you in your place but they will usually stonewall you.I've seen it time and time again.I've been around the block and DJ'n has opened some doors and granted me access to things I might not of gotten to see or do. The club scene is cool but you can very easily find yourself sucked into a VERY BAD cycle of booze,drugs and sex with nameless groupies. Most of the top well respected and well known DJ's don't drink or do drugs for this very reason.There may be some that do or have at some point in their careers but one quickly realizes that you have to remain professional at all times or the bookings will slow down or stop altogether.

[CJ_W]

(07-06-2013 10:40 AM)TheMachinist Wrote:  

Im a DJ with 15+ years in the game. There HAS TO BE A SERIOUS LOVE FOR ALL GENRES OF MUSIC if you want to be successful. It's not something I advise one just getting into just so they can meet chicks. If you wanna meet chicks and be "the man" in a club environment then consider getting into promoting.If you wanna have some SERIOUS crowd control skills and the ability to turn people on to new music or music they may not know then DJ'n might be for you.Also ANYBODY can play the latest Top 40 stuff but it's the guys that can weave stories and set moods using sounds from across the spectrum that are at the top. Also experienced DJ's are usually the gate keepers to getting anywhere above house party DJ. These are people with a SERIOUS love for the art of DJ'n and as long as your intentions to learn and respect the craft are true then they will usually show you some things and help you get better. If you show up on the scene and instantly think your special they will not only put you in your place but they will usually stonewall you.I've seen it time and time again.I've been around the block and DJ'n has opened some doors and granted me access to things I might not of gotten to see or do. The club scene is cool but you can very easily find yourself sucked into a VERY BAD cycle of booze,drugs and sex with nameless groupies. Most of the top well respected and well known DJ's don't drink or do drugs for this very reason.There may be some that do or have at some point in their careers but one quickly realizes that you have to remain professional at all times or the bookings will slow down or stop altogether.

Yup. A lot of genres are mixing right now, so to be a SUPER successful DJ you're going to have to at least like all genres. You wont really have to spin hip hop at a house or edm event. . you just have to really like what you spin. There is some really good stuff out there house or "edm" wise that people don't know about.

The drugs and booze thing is spot on. Hell, even as a promoter it's just not a good thing to get involved in that. . .

The whole Dj stonewalling you thing though. . .well if you're business first, girls second (which you should be in anything in your life) then you'll open doors. The girls will come, but if you force it, by focusing on girls first instead of:

promoting yourself
networking
building a fan base
not being a douche

then you're gonna fail.
It's pretty much like any other job. . .even more so, as the prevalence of douche bag DJs is HUGE, and gives clubs, organizers a hard time that they don't need and have no patience for.

Basically if you treat yourself like a business and make yourself an ASSET to the club/venue/event then you'll get the perks (i.e. making a living, the rock start treatment, groupies, whatever) but you gotta put in that time doing so first.

IF you go in expecting to get laid just because you DJed once or twice. . .you're doing it wrong/missing the point. The women don't come to you because you Djed, the women come to you because you DJed. . .with hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands etc.. of YOUR FANS, who CAME TO SEE YOU.

Doing this for girls is all fine, but you gotta know that you gotta take care of business first. and ALLOW the women to come.

but just have fun with it, yeah it may sound serious on a bunch of internet forums, but it's really just having the common sense you'd have at any other job/social situation where people depend on you/you provide a service.

Thing is. . .there are a lot of DJs trying to come up who don't have that common sense.

This happens a lot!(to the point where it's really really shocking sometimes) I've had Djs show up to my events I booked them like an hour late, have seen them get fucked up on drugs and get thrown out of clubs, act like complete assholes, not bring any customers, not help promote the event/themselves, have shitty attitudes etc etc etc. by not doing all of this, you're already about 90% of the way there.

the other 10% is just getting better at DJing, producing your own stuff etc etc.

most guys here would do fine with that 90%

that other 10% is what separates the "ok" DJs that do still get women easily etc from the huge guys who play at stadiums of 100k people/make "fuck you" money at each gig the play at.

THAT takes the 10,000 hours of learning the craft (producing mostly, although marketing yourself has a chunk there as well)