How much time do you practice DJing?
Gnat
1,183 Posts
Out of idle curiosity: How long have you been DJing? What kind of DJ are you and how much do you practice? Also, how and what do you practice? What are your weaknesses and how did you overcome them if at all? Strengths? Do you BPM everything or go by feel?For example, I've been DJing for about 3 years. I'm a bedroom DJ that is starting to gig out and I would say I practice @ home 3-4 hours a week. I mainly practice mixing new material and new genres (starting to deviate from hip-hop lately and incoporate less "safe" material where the BPM fluctuates). I scratch some but do not make that my focus. I'm terribly right handed and were it not for my RANE, wouldn't scratch on my right turntable at all. I'm a little TOO perfectionistic about beat matching and didn't really learn to do BIG CUTS until 1.5 years into DJing. My focus on BPM and beatmatching is a strength as well as a weakness in that I like making REALLY smooth transitions but end up ignoring a gang of material because it is not within BPM range.I realize this is a convoluted slew of questions but I was just really curious as to the mental-technical side of DJing and how OTHER DJs conceptualize their ability and technique.
Comments
I never thought of doing that.
GIG
Your cheekiness necessitates the obligatory response:
"I get paid for giggin @ your MOM's bedroom."
Of course, your mama! (kicks self)
I gets risky with my BPM usually works out on the strength of the tracks
I feel you on the perfectionist thing but in another way. i.e selection. As a stoned out in my room type, constantly making playlists and previewing the feel of the event. Ill play this until this time and then people wuold feel like this so then this and this song.
Basically i would also edit the shit out of a lot of stuff (listening to it until it gets "boring") and cutting out parts that we're less funky or messed with the "flow.
However an event changed my technique dramtically, I was dj'ing this latin themed night and had a whole intro set-up for the peeps that we'rent too much into salsa. Anywyas all night was a see-saw of comments and requests. People would ask for stuff and i would tell them to wait just a little bit more because i had it in my "plan"
Then i realised the versitality and go with the feeling approach was way better for me and the crowd.
So you live and you learn and become a better DJ over the years.
ps: worst mistake of my life was being a kid (13) reading the source and wanting to buy turnatables from their ads in the back. It would be so cool! i thought I almost had the money too. But never did it and now that I dj i regret those smoked out years that could have been added dj experience and still smokin
9 years
i play everything. i don't practice at home. i dj in clubs 3 nights a week and that keeps me plenty sharp. i also make mix cds all the time so i work out ideas for blends and new ways to use effects when i'm doing that.
i'm not superscientifical with the scratching but that shit is boring so i don't practice. sometimes i play a little too weird for a vanilla hip-hop crowd and have to rein it in a little.
i'm really clean. i have a good ear and you won't hear me mix 2 records that sound bad together. i'm good with equipment - i'm nice with using effects and dropping samples. i'm able to move through a lot of different kinds of music throughout a night and making it feel natural and fun but still throw in surprises. i don't plan any order or anything and i'm good at reading a crowd and taking them where i think they want to go without compromising what i want to play too much. spoonful of sugar theory.
I BPM everything (I use Serato) and then go by feel.
4 years
I do several themed nights every month:
SOLID! - Dancefloor gig 60s/70s soul, funk, northern, latin, reggae, afro, jazz
FEDERAL SOUL - Similar to above but at a bar
RED ROOM SUNDAYS - lounge gig playing rock/jazz/soul/disco/boogie/new wave/hiphop from all eras
MASALA BEAT CLUB - Dancefloor gig playing Bollywood/bhangra and hiphop/reggaeton/dancehall with desi flavor
HEAVY PETTING - 80s-themed dancefloor gig playing disco/boogie/new wave/electro
We're also trying a few new nights in December:
HONEY MACHINE - lounge gig playing 60s/70s international sounds
SLIM'S - bar gig playing 60s rock, garage, freakbeat, & soul
- These are all paying gigs
- I play original pressing vinyl at all of them except Masala Beat Club which is 80% CDs
My record room has space for only one turntable, so gigs are my only practice.
I don't want to damage my vinyl, so I have no "turntablism" skills.
I'm extremely versatile and am always obtaining new music. I play a wide variety of music for many different audiences, and have a good ear for what will get people dancing, or what will work well in a lounge situation.
But more importantly, I promote like a motherfucker.
I remember what my records sound like and cross my fingers that my memory will serve me well. 9 times out of 10, it does.
9 years
I play the typical funk soul jazz breakz hiphop disco boring shit. I'm semi-retired now, but back when, I used to practice everyday. These days, I haven't found my other needle in 3 weeks. About two or three years ago, I really lost the drive for DJ-ing and have focused more on production.
-lack of deep knowledge of latin, brazillian, reggae, disco and current hiphop
-doing the doubles thang -- I still dont do much of this
-busting really tricky turntablist shit, which may be a strength
-incoroparting technology
-left hand
I think my biggest strength is my ear. I try not to ever rock something very dissonant nor do my mixes sound that way. I'm also very organized and think out sets. But I'm able to go with the crowd mostly because Im so well prepared.
I bpm everything as well. I organize my cases by bpm. Why wouldnt anyone do this?
i only tend to practice at home if either get a bunch of new records, or have a gig coming up that's outside of genres that i've been playing on the regular... then i'll hang out at home with a 40 and mess around for a few hours, working out transitions (sometimes even taking notes "+2" to match this one with that...)
that said, i really should practice more... shit like rocking doubles WELL and scratching WELL can't be accomplished without some homework...
I've been djing for about 6 or 7 years (playing out at clubs, music festivals and house parties for about 4 years)
I don't practice much - at most 1 hour a week and usually only with new records that I have not mixed / played out before. I play, in order from most to least, Hiphop, Dancehall, dance classics, b-more club, house
Lately, I have been getting pretty faded and mixing pretty sloppily and overusing air horns, bomb drops, etc as a result. I have a lot of fun doing it when I am drunk, but need to lay off it. I always want to play b-more club records when I am the drunkest, but the crowd does not always want me to and they don't sound that good when I am too drunk to mix them well. I should drink less while playing out. Also, my party crates have gotten very disorganized making it tough to find shit sometimes. I know where most everything is, but sometimes I just cannot find what I am looking for.
I think I am good at building up the energy in a room and I know my crowds well. I hardly ever play a track that slows the dancefloor and my old school dancehall sets are fire. I do not plan my sets, and I probably have about half of my records bpm'd. I am lucky to play to crowds that respond well to a wide variety of music and drink pretty heavily. I can play pretty much whatever I want, although lately I think more and more people only want to dance to hip hop.
14+ years
at my peak, I was practicing up to 3 hours a day, 5 days a week (sometimes 6 or 7 days a week). I was super into the whole DMC battle style for a long while, but now just enjoy playing records and doing the blend/remix/mashmarsten thingy. Now I practice maybe a couple hours a week, usually doing scratch exercises to keep my chops up. And I usually practice mixing when I'm putting records together for a gig.
probably record knowledge. I'm not super-duper deep crates dude like most guys on here, and I am bad about remembering names and titles of songs. I know it when I hear it or see the jacket kind of thing.
cuts and clean mixes. most of my early DJ friends/mentors were house/techno/jungle DJs, so I really picked up a lot of those types of mixing techniques which focus more on the mix, eq, etc. rather than the scratching and juggling.
I go by feel, but I come from an old-school state of mind. I think I was in the last generation of DJs that learned on their own, or watching other DJs and DMC videos. Now we got Scratch Academy, how-to videos (hell I even do private lessons to bring in some extra cash) that show you all these tricks that older djs learned over years of experience and whatnot. I always feel in the back of my mind that BPMing is cheating in some ways, but whatever works is the bottom line.
I am a Hip Hop DJ first, that being I carry that into my work ethic(be original, always elevate, always learn, represent your own style even if you've gone beyond style, ect). I would also say that being a hip hop DJ is how you play the record. I spend a lot of time working at it, inside and outside. I am trying to constantly elevate what I do, that means that you have to be excellent in all areas of DJing. Party rockin, skills, presence, skratchin, backspinnin, knowing your records, nice on the mic. I think everyday you should strive to learn something new and work towards getting mastery of it. I don't buy into people saying they are not good in this area or that, don't get me wrong I respect cats for their strengths but on the for real tip don't be commin up in my face with I don't do this or that shit cause it's not my thang. That is straight up wack. I don't buy into the whole club vs. skratch dj bullshit (or the I only work here mentality). Like you gotta be this or that. Fuck that, run the party and kill everyone on the cut should be the attitude, anybody coming with an excuse should shut up and quit being insecure and get their weight up. I would say that my weaknesses were when I was younger that I didn't believe in myself enough, until one day I just didn't buy my own bullshit anymore and made the concious descision to be about it. My greatest strength is being determined to be my best, knowing that my ideas have power to become reality, and always seeking to improve myself.
As far as BPMing that's part of knowing your records, you gotta be on point. Either you are just good enough to know the tempo by ear or if you gotta count that shit out, it's best if you take it serious.
As far as what hand people skratch with, I feel that you will be strongest on the hand you write with. Being that your most dominate hand will have the best record control, it ain't all bout clicks. You must seriously work at developing and expressing yourself with style and control. Cats that think skratchin is boring probalby can't cut worth shit. Pioneer cat's made this shit dope don't sleep on it and be wack tryin to diss it. Also all the peeps who just skratch and don't know how to DJ that is hella wack, you are an embarrassment to hip hop get your weight up. This is real talk right here, always look in the mirror and own up to your weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths other wise you really ain't cut out for this.
Yeah, that's sort of where I'm at these days. I went through a phase where I was BPMing everything, but I fell behind and didn't really feel like catching up. So I generally go by memory these days; I might check the BPM when I first get something, but it's just a broad reference, like the difference between 97 BPM and 102 or something like that. As long as you're in the right ballpark, it doesn't matter that much.
Oh yeah, the other questions:
DJing for 10+ years
I'm a hip-hop/funk/B-boy type DJ. I don't have a strict practice routine like I used to because I stay sharp doing gigs, but I do practice fairly regularly, usually because I have a hard time playing records without also wanting to mix/cut them.
I'd say my strengths are my ear, my mixing skills, and my record knowledge (though it's not as deep as a lot of folks on here).
My biggest weakness is probably that I don't cater all that much to the crowd, though I do that on purpose and kind of consider it a strength as well as it helps set me apart a little bit. You're not doing your job if you don't play hits and sure-shot classics, but I don't feel like I'm doing my job if that's the majority of what I do, if that makes any sense. That might limit my appeal or how far I can go with DJing, but I'm comfortable with that. Also, I'm really, really bad at promoting myself. I just don't like doing it.
Ha,ha, ha. You a funny guy.
14 years in gigs, 16 since I got decks.
I play everything. I don't practice at home. i dj in clubs 2-3 nights a week and that keeps me plenty sharp. i also make mix cds all the time so i work out ideas for blends.
I'm not superscientifical with the scratching but that shit is boring so I don't practice. Sometimes I play a little too weird for a vanilla hip-hop crowd and have to rein it in a little.
iI'm really clean. I have a good ear and you won't hear me mix 2 records that sound bad together. I'm able to move through a lot of different kinds of music throughout a night and making it feel natural and fun but still throw in surprises. I don't plan any order or anything and i'm good at reading a crowd and taking them where I think they want to go without compromising what I want to play too much. Spoonful of sugar theory.
I BPM everything (I use Serato) and then go by feel.
Urrrs, as you can tell I think we DJ the exact same way...
Oh get over yourself. I'm nice with mine... i've judged at numerous DMC finals including the World, and I used to manage the Scratch Perverts. I've also DJd a few gigs with DJ Cash Money and other luminaries, so I do know a little something about this scratching stuff.
And yes, I think it IS boring, very few people have the skills to make it work in an environment OUTSIDE of a battle. If I hear one more over-zealous DJ scratch 'aaah' or 'fresh' over an entire verse i'm gonna explode.
Scratching Fresh and Aaah is played out. Seesm like these are the only sounds DJs cut. I also hate when a DJ back cues the same phrase or phrases for 30 seconds straight during a set. Hate it! Just let the record play! I think scratching is dope if it's done right. Other than that a scratch happy DJ
sounds like you need to "quite being insecure" and "get your weight up."
seriously though, dude's post reads like some sort of ill-conceived motivational speech.
huh?
TECUMSEH: Post a live mix to prove how bout it or you are, or you are SOFT!!!