Most often, DJing just means showing up for the gig with the gear on time. But when you’re getting creative by throwing your own parties or selecting new music, you often need to figure stuff out for yourself. Everyone’s had questions about what works and what doesn’t, what people want, how to get noticed. Stuff like that. Get a sense of the questions that career DJs get asked.
What makes a tune work?
At the heart, good musical composition and powerful lyrics. That’s the cake. Then, the right balance of frequencies. That’s the icing. A tune needs to connect people emotionally, to bring them together regardless of any differences between them. Nostalgia is a key part of this. People love what they know, and new material can’t always compete with songs that are nested deep in their psyche through the years of repetition.
What’s the goal of DJing?
To enhance the acoustic atmosphere of a space so that the people in that space can experience a heightened emotional state. This means knowing the equipment well enough to be able to shape that experience. For example, knowing that a house system is a little dull in the high frequencies means that you need to respond by pushing the highs a little.
How do you start a scene?
The idea of starting a scene is a little flawed. Music scenes that propagate and grow are the result of breaking into and then building community. Individuals don’t have all the power to themselves. They merely direct the desires of the scene by taking action and showing up with solutions to the crowd’s problems (weekend boredom, lack of transport, cultural underrepresentation, etc). This takes a certain amount of empathy. Being able to see into the desires of groups of people is a good start. Then there’s playing the music they love, every weekend!
Made up your mind that you’re a DJ, like it or not? That’s the spirit! So you have the passion, you might even have the gear. Now you need the knowledge to level up your abilities. YouTube is a good place to learn, but focused DJ video coursework is what DJ Courses Online does best. Check out the courses on offer today.