DJ-ing is one of those skills that you can learn at home with a bit of practice and some creative thinking. But before you can start playing music at parties and shows, or releasing your own tracks, you will need to master the basics.
How To DJ: A blog about starting an electronic music career.
How To DJ: A blog about starting an electronic music career.
I’ve been DJing a lot more than I’ve been writing this summer. The past few months have been packed with performances in cities across the country, including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.
I started this blog as a way to document my journey as a young DJ, so it only makes sense that I share some of the things I’ve learned this summer. Here are 5 things I learned from playing shows in 5 different cities.
1. Always bring your own audio cable
If you didn’t bring your audio cable with you, you might end up using one of these:
Cables can get beat up easily when you travel. They’re dragged across the ground and stuffed into suitcases every weekend so it’s important to make sure yours is in good shape before you go play a show. When you travel, always pack a backup cable just in case something happens to the one you use regularly.
How To DJ: A blog about starting an electronic music career.
Podcasts and Blogs
I listen to a lot of podcasts on my commute to work, and I came across one a few days ago that really caught my attention. It was titled “How To DJ”. The podcast was narrated by a young guy named Kyle who’s just starting his music career. He has no experience with DJing, but he does have a passion for it, so he’s decided to give it a shot. I could relate to that because I’m trying to get into the music industry too (but as a producer).
It’s important to have goals in life, so I thought I’d share some of mine with you guys: 1. Learn how to DJ 2. Produce music 3. Play live shows 4. Spin vinyl 5. Get paid for being a DJ 6. Have fun These are all things I’d like to do over the next few years, but they’re not necessarily in any particular order. So let’s get started!
Where do you start? What equipment do you need? How do you get gigs? How can you stand out from the crowd? Is it too late to start a career in electronic music? These are all questions that I had when I started DJing in 2004.
When I first started my DJ career, I felt like there wasn’t a lot of guidance. There were many resources on how to DJ, but very few on how to start an electronic music career. If I’d have known what to expect and had the proper knowledge, then I would have been much more successful earlier in my career.
The goal of this blog is to help aspiring DJs learn from my mistakes so they can progress faster than I did.
If you want to make electronic music or DJ, the internet is an amazing resource. There are so many tutorials, articles and websites which can give you advice on how to succeed in the industry.
Sadly, there’s also a lot of misinformation out there. Misinformation made by people with no experience, who have never been in a DJ booth/recording studio, who do not understand the industry, who have no idea what they are talking about.
I’m writing this blog to provide a genuine guide on how to start your own electronic music career. I’ve been involved in the scene for over 10 years now and I’ve learnt some valuable lessons along the way. I’m going to share everything I know with you so that you can avoid making the same mistakes as me!
So you want to be a DJ? It’s not as simple as it looks. There’s far more to being a good DJ than matching beats and remembering not to play your fader too loudly.
So what is it that makes a good DJ?
Now, I’m not claiming to be the best DJ in the world, but I can say that I’ve been DJing since 2006 and have played at some of the biggest festivals in the UK and abroad. I was also lucky enough to be BBC Radio 1’s resident DJ for a year.
You’re going to need more than luck though…