So we’ve established that the world of DJing is a combination of real love and real hype. It’s church. It’s a fix. It’s a way of being. But it takes a professional DJ to strip away the misconceptions and straighten out some stuff about the artform. Check out a few general axioms which they don’t tell you about DJing.
The smaller the venue, the more the DJ is doing
That old stereotype of festival DJs just pushing play and then fist-pumping the crowd for an hour? True. But really only at the massive events which need to mitigate risk. Even a small DJ fail can cost a lot of money. At an outdoor market or house concert, however, people are literally putting their drinks on your table. You’re so exposed that you can’t hide what you’re doing, and the crowd wants more than an auto-playlist. They want to be read.
Not everyone can DJ
It takes rhythm and a love for music, people and parties. Not everyone has these skills. Not everyone has put in the hours learning advanced DJ techniques. DJing has always been more than simply playing records. Radio DJs needed to speak on air, and even use props to make sound effects. There’s a certain expectation that comes with the role. People skills are definitely required.
DJs usually can play an instrument
They say that most DJs are frustrated musicians. It’s kinda true, too. It’s certainly the case for producers, who found a way to short-circuit the decade-long period of playing an instrument by going straight to making the sounds. DJing feels like being a conductor of an orchestra. So don’t be surprised to learn that many DJs are actually talented instrumentalists, but see the value in keeping up appearances. And then, of course, there’s the occasional globetrotting DJ duo who’s also so musically trained that they release sheet music on their website alongside tour dates.
When you have control over all aspects of the music, DJing becomes what you make of it. You can be a turntablist, a hype person, a jukebox. You can choose to make a name for yourself as a smartphone DJ, a livestream-only DJ, a DJ who plays most gigs in a forest. You have such freedom to express yourself. And we’re just here to remind you of that.