DJ Magic Wong gives you an intro to DJing. He walks you through the dj equipment, the dj mixer, the turntables, Serato dj software and he then explains beatmatching, phrasing and shows you how to do some basic dj mixing.
It doesn’t matter if you want to dj trance, house, dnb, breaks, hip hop, electro, raggea, hardcore, techno or any other kind of music… this is a great intro.
So many people want to be DJs but very few even know what a DJ does. I hope this dj tutorial helps you out!
For example… did you know that you can actually create a build up in the middle of a track without a build up just by looping? Try it… Set your loop in and loop out points on your CDJ or digital djing system for 4 or so bars. The music will be looping over and over and over. The same four bars… All you have to do to create a build up is to turn a little “echo” or “delay” effects up on your mixer and then start to turn the jog wheel on your pioneer CDJ.
The result? The loop starts to get shorter… and shorter until it is almost a static noise similar to what can be heard at the climax of a build up!
Then you just hit the exit button to exit the loop and pick up right from where you left off in the track!
I get a lot of emails asking How To DJ with Serato and weather DJing with Serato and Traktor is different from learning how to dj on DJ CD Players or vinyl turntables. (For more advice on DJ Gear like Serato, Beatmatching, Mixing and Getting Gigs make sure you sign up for our dj training newsletter by CLICKING HERE NOW!)
Now for those of you that don’t know, Serato and Traktor are digital mixing systems that let you mix just off of your laptop or the conventional CDJs or turntables while still being able to play the MP3s off of your laptop.
So instead of explaining the differences myself I found a great walk through of the serato dj software and dj mixing system online.
You will also quickly realize after watching this video that DJs are really just technology nerds that somehow get mis-placed as cool…
So you want to know How To DJ! At the very least you are interested in DJing….
You have probably already asked yourself a lot of questions. When I started out I was asking similar questions:
Do I want to learn how to dj mix so I can be a party dj for my friends or do I want learn how to dj electronic music at clubs, raves and parties? Do I want to know how to dj electronic music or hip hop? Do I want to learn how to dj vinyl or learn how to dj on cds? How do I dj remixed tracks? How do I beatmatch? What gear should I choose? How do I get gigs?
I send out FREE video dj lessons pretty every few days to help new DJs like you get answers to your questions so you can get DJing quickly. Sign up for free DJ Training Videos by clicking HERE right now!
It doesn’t matter if you want to learn how to dj techno, how to dj trance, how to dj electro or any other genre of dance music… the LearnToDjFast.com video dj lessons newsletter will help you learn how to dj mix quickly!
The first frustration that DJs usually find is choosing and learning how to use dj equipment, dj software and mixing software like Ableton Live. The next challenge is learning Read the rest of this entry »
Lets be honest, nobody likes to see a DJ with his head stuck in a laptop up in the DJ booth. He might as well be checking his email or writing up his grocery list for after the gig!
You have to give programs like Ableton Live and Traktor DJ Studio credit. They are kickass pieces of DJ software that can do some pretty incredible stuff. Even just the ability to get the Dj Software to beatmatch for you opens up so many doors for your DJing. If you want to learn more about digital DJing, sign up for free DJ Lesson Videos by clicking HERE right now!
But the obvious downside was that all of this computer based software did not do well with the performance aspect of DJing…. until now.
Over the past few days I have seem some really cool pieces of software that really get the DJ involved. Take the video above for example.
A dj from Uruguay, Gustavo Bravetti, does an awesome job of demonstrating how creative you can get. He shows how you can use ableton live and Nintendo Wii controllers for your DJing. Read the rest of this entry »
To learn to dj like a pro you will have to train like a pro dj. What does this mean?
First of all get the Free Dj Training video lessons by clicking here NOW!
Lets take a look at 5 of the top pro athletes in the world right now: Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Syndey Crosby, Wayne Rooney and Payton Manning. These guys are the top of their field and live their dream lives and yet they all still swear by a number of things: The first is coaching. Even the best have coaches to make their learning process easier and faster. They all have training aids such as videos. They all study other great players in history.
My point here is that if you want to be a HUGE pro DJ, follow the footsteps of the pro DJs that have already made it. There are TONS of resources out there for DJs. There are dj videos, dj manuals, dj guides, dj books, dj dvds, in person dj lessons, online dj academies and even biographies on successful DJs now and from the past.
Get out to parties, nightclubs and raves by yourself. Hang around the DJ booth and watch the DJs mixing. You’ll learn a TON. Check what dj equipment they are using. CDJs? DJ Turntables? DJ software like Ableton Live or Serato… How are they mixing? How much time do they spend looking at the crowd? What are they looking for?
“What dj equipment do you recommend I start with?”
This is a question I get asked daily from my Dj students. Its usually proceeded with “I have a budged of $xx and I’ve been told I should buy turntables or CDJs…”
While I have a FREE DVD coming out that will teach you everything you need to know about DJ Gear, let me give you the answer to this in a few words. In the meantime, you can learn a lot about DJ Gear through our Free video DJ Lessons. Get yours now by clicking HERE!
Don’t buy turntables if you are just starting out.
Don’t buy expensive CDJs (Pioneer CDJ 1000s – dj cd players).
Don’t buy a $2000.00 laptop
Most DJs that start out want to get the coolest pro DJ gear possible. This is a waste of money at the start because you will just be learning basic mixing techniques to begin with (cue & throw, beatmatching, pitch riding etc).
Instead of throwing away thousands on gear when you start, buy some cheap CDJs and a cheap mixer, or even better a DJ Software and digital controller package. These will be low cost solutions that you can learn mixing on quickly and easily.
The best part is that you will have tons of cash left over. Use this cash to build your music collection (which is most important) and to learn more about DJing by getting dj lessons or buying some programs (DVDs) to get you mixing better, to learn to promote yourself and to learn how to get big gigs!
This is a question I get a lot from a lot of aspiring DJs that want to learn to DJ. When I sit down and think about the question it makes me laugh because there are so many things that go into succeeding as a DJ. Theres the style of music you play, your motivation for djing, your style, your cd, your marketing and promotions, how to build a following, how much you network, the dj equipment you choose and many other factors.
But if I had to break it down to one secret it would be this:
Your mate that used to DJ says “go out and buy a pair of turntables and start learning to mix. You log onto the message forums and old school DJs say “buy turntables and learn the real art of DJing“.
Here are the facts…. When the physical music industry fell apart 10 years ago, a lot of distributors went out of business. They owed the record labels a lot of money which they couldn’t pay so a lot of record labels also ended up going out of business. The distribution channels for vinyl records fell apart, so much so that 99% of labels stopped printing vinyl.
This is the number one reason why DJs stopped using Turntables. It wasn’t because records were too expensive. It wasn’t because vinyl was too heavy to lug around. DJs stopped playing on Turntables because they had nothing to play!
A lot of the DJs went against my advice and bought tables only to find out that they couldn’t find music to play! The only markets for buying vinyl were Ebay and local classified listing sites. Nightclubs too abandoned the turntables for dj cd players such as the Pioneer CDJ 1000s.
The great news for the die hard vinylists and for people that are learning to DJ is that you can now DJ with vinyl and have access to all of your favorite songs. The best of both worlds.
I wanted to post this video as an example to help answer a question that I get asked a lot: What is a Re-edit? Different variations of this questions usually get thrown my way:
“What is the difference between a remix and a re-edit?”
“How do you do a re-edit?”
“Why do DJs re-edit?”
Its simple, a remix is where you take a track and completely rewrite it. A re-edit is where you take different pieces of the track and re-organize them as this crazy David Guetta video sort of illustrates.
For those of you that don’t know, the hip hop sample of the guy speaking “body moving….body moving….body moving” is from a Run DMC track from the early 90s. David guetta re-edits one of his favorite tracks Bodyrox – Yeah by dropping in this well known hip hop sample before “Yeah” kicks in. He isn’t mixing this in live….he edited this at home in the studio.
Of course the next question is, why would DJs want to re-edit a song? Its usually because they don’t like a certain part of a song but they like another part. So they cut the part they don’t like out and add more of the part they did. Or maybe they think a certain vocal would sound great over a grooving track so they’ll throw that in there during the break down. Or they want to make a song a little more interesting for the dancefloor by dropping in a sample from another popular track (as illustrated by David Guetta).
The top pro DJs in the world use re-editing a little differently though…
1) How To DJ. Advice To Help You Learn How To DJ: How To DJ 2) Advice On DJ Lessons For Beginners: DJ Lessons 3) How To Be A DJ. Advice On How To Become A DJ: How To Be A DJ 4) A Review Of The Best Dj Games: DJ Games
