Live streaming your DJ set

A whole bunch of DJs around the world are currently restricted to their homes. Not the ideal environment for people who like being around other people, preferably on a busy floor. Maybe you’re just having fun, or maybe you’re ready to get DJing professionally. Either way, let’s make the best of it with this guide to live streaming your DJ sets from home. 

Get the streaming software

First, you’re gonna want to download and install OBS. Open Broadcaster Software is a free program that allows you to assign and transmit audio and video feeds to live broadcasting platforms like Twitch, Facebook Live and YouTube. Install, set it up (here’s how) and enter your stream key to begin streaming to your preferred platform. It’s pretty easy to get set up. 

Pro tips for live streaming

Often you’re unable to monitor the live feed of your set yourself while doing it. Maybe you’ve only got one device, or the bandwidth is poor. Have a DJ or audio buddy watching your stream from their place to comment on the audio and video quality so you can tweak it should anything go wrong. Typical problems include clipping, audio dropouts and unintentionally broadcasting in mono. 

Copyright

Yeah, about that. You might get cut off for playing previously released music when you use Facebook Live and YouTube. Facebook and Instagram allow you to hit larger numbers than platforms like Twitch, but you might not want to restart the stream every time the AI comes along to shut you down. It seems that standard practice among DJs right now is to use Facebook to begin the set, alerting people to the unrestricted party on Twitch. Another option is Zoom, which was recently used to 

Streaming your DJ set live is a great way to kill some time and share your selection with a new audience. Due to the recent changes, people are behaving differently online. It’s a good opportunity to get your name and your work out there. Sign up for the DJing Basics course with DJ Courses Online today and use this time to take the next step in your DJ career. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Using the mic at your DJ gigs

Whoa! Nobody said anything about public speaking when you signed up to be a DJ, right? Well here’s a little tip for you: a DJ that connects with a crowd is way more likeable than an elusive shadow in the corner booth. When it comes time to stepping up your game in the world of career DJing, use the mic to address people and keep the vibe alive. Here’s how to ace it. 

Learn a few phrases

You don’t have to make it all up on the spot. Just learn a few key phrases that people want to hear and use them often. Here’s some stuff that works every time: 

• How are y’all doing tonight?

• Everybody make some noise!

• Get your hands up!

These easy phrases are expected by crowds all over the world. It’s part of the gig. Get comfortable with them, and then start expanding your repertoire of crowd-pleasing lines!

Know your audience

There’s a pretty big chasm between a banging house party and a formal corporate event. Know your audience. Corporates don’t want to be interrupted while they’re having a conversation, so don’t tell them to get on the dance floor until they’re ready. House party guests don’t care about how badly you’re behaving, so feel free to use colorful language and joke around. Being a professional is about matching people’s expectations. Use the appropriate language.

Practice

Talking to crowds can be terrifying. You gotta practice! At every event, you should be talking to your crowd, even if it’s just to announce your name or make a small connection. Make sure you grab that mic at least once at every gig you do. 

Being able to speak is part of the job of DJing. Just remember to keep your sentences short. And don’t be surprised or offended if the host asks you to cut the music and make an announcement to the guests. Overcome your fears and get better at DJing by signing up for a course with DJ Courses Online today. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Elevating your online DJ profile

How do the same DJs seem to keep getting gigs? Ask around and you’ll find it’s most often a case of recommendation through trusted friends. Relatively few people are Googling ‘book club DJ’ because chances are strong they already know someone personally. So in order to make the move towards a professional DJing career, it’s super important that you have an online presence that shows people what you’re up to. If they get a recommendation to check you out, impress them. Here’s how. 

Release regularly

If you haven’t posted anything in 6 months, you’re not active. Even if you’re really pretty busy in real life, it will appear as though you’re sleeping through the season. Pin your best clips at the top of your feed. Make sure the next thing below that is no more than a month old. Keep your feeds alive with content.

Get a website

You know what bedroom DJs and amateurs don’t do? Invest $10/month in their own websites, that’s what. A site doesn’t have to be glam. It doesn’t have to be more than one page. Having your own site is a way of saying yes, I am in fact available for business. It distinguishes you from those who are content to make a lot of noise on social media alone. Link all your social media channels to your site. Have a large, quality image of yourself. People most often book you based on how you look.

Email people

Emails are the secret weapon of entrepreneurs. A list of people who want to hear from you should be at the heart of your communication strategy. Emails are far more effective than social media at driving people into action. Anticipated, regular emails are how you maintain a presence in the minds (and hearts) of your audience. 

You’ve heard all this stuff a million times. So get on it! Make a career for yourself as a DJ by acting like the pro you feel you already are. Get there quicker by signing up for a DJ course by DJ Courses Online today suits you best.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Different approaches to your DJ mix

It’s not all about using two decks to avoid silence. It’s an artform that takes practice. And you can design your own unique style by DJing with different approaches to each mix you do. Check out a few ways to improve your DJ skills by approaching the mix differently. 

Single out performance features

One way to approach your next DJ mix is to decide that for a certain track, you’ll be using only a certain effect to its full potential without layering in different effects. There are so many ways to spice up a track - reverbs, delays, slicers, hotcue triggering, filters - that it becomes tempting to flick around from one to another. Don’t! Make it a practice to say, ‘OK on track B I’m only using the beatmasher’ this time. Limit yourself. Limitation forces you to be creative. Then, for the next track, only use the next feature.

Experiment, practice, hone

There’s more to DJing than mixing track A into B. You might get your kicks just nodding along to a basic A-B mix, but at some point you’ll want to improve your looping and sampling. Remix decks are a good way to get away from the beginner stuff. They’re designed to allow playback of stems rather than mixdowns, and really crack open some amazing possibilities. The best way to get good? Spend a few minutes a day repeating what you did yesterday and taking it one step further.

Cross-mixing genres

You know what happens when you switch genres mid-set? You take a risk. The crowd might hate it and leave the floor. But you know what else happens? People notice you. And if it’s an artfully done and well-rehearsed move, most people will assume you have some taste. It’s almost always an energy shift which you can use to your advantage. Flip the switch by going half time (playing an 80bpm tune over a 160bpm tune) or double time. Make sure you’ve practiced your major cross-genre mix moments beforehand. Software can be unpredictable when you break the format.

Controlling the energy is what it’s about. You’re a vibe creator. Challenge yourself to create unusual flow in your set and go beyond the temptation to simply be normal. Eventually, you’ll want to make a name for yourself, which means taking a chance. On yourself. Get more into DJing with one of the three Advanced DJ Techniques courses offered by DJ Courses Online today.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ

Planning a DJ routine

Time to get your set together! Right, where to begin. Well, uh… wait a minute, how does that track go again? Where did this batch come from? That’s right. The very first thing is knowing your music backwards. Like, loving it to death even though you’ve heard it 100 times. Listen to your favorites every day. Then you’re ready to start putting together a proper mix routine and implementing some of your DJ tips and tricks.

Mix the isolated parts

Listen out for parts that are isolated. Examples might be a vocal acapella, a drum break or a melody line that stands alone in the mix when the beat and bass have dropped out. These are usually good transition points. Mix the isolated part of one track with the bass and beat from another. Hey presto! You’ve got a unique mix that nobody else has thought of!

Highs, mids, lows

Frequency bands are how DJs think about a track and its mix potential. A good mix will aim to cover all three ranges by using the highs of one track with the mids and lows of another, for example. Play just the mids from one track with the highs and lows of another. This is all basic stuff, but learning to DJ comes easier when principles are clear. Create a new fusion out of two previously separate parts by interleaving the three frequency bands of two separate tracks like a sandwich.

Mixing in key

Without getting too much into music theory, mixing in key is a great way to control the flow of your set and the energy of the crowd. In the same way that you’re able to beatmatch, you’re able to keymatch. Keymatching is simply choosing songs to blend into each other that share a similar position in the musical spectrum of keys. The key of C major, for example, works well with A minor or even F major and G major. This is because they’re related. Check out some more on the circle of fifths for theory about which keys to use. 

You have to know your music. Spend the time listening to the music. Headphones in while walking to work. On the bus. While working. This habit really goes to the heart of DJing, and your love for music will carry you through when you’re tired of hearing the same track again and again. But do it anyway. Upskill your party curation with the Advanced DJ Techniques course DJ Courses Online today.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Switching from controllers to CDJs

Making the leap from using a controller to using CDJs can be a little intimidating. You don’t know the booth gear as well as your own controller. Your custom functions (like keyboard shortcuts) are no longer available. There’s a learning curve to DJing on new equipment. Let’s check out a few things all DJs should know before making the jump.

Hot cues

Even if you find hot cue buttons on most models of CDJ, they’ll be in a different position. There are generally fewer than 8 and don’t have more than one function. Their playback behaviour is also generally toggle, meaning that they’ll latch on and start playback of a track rather than toggle playback momentarily, like a drum pad. Hot cues aren’t as widely used on CDJs as on controller devices and seem to be more of an afterthought than a primary function. 

Browser behavior

CDJs don’t have a keyboard. You can’t search by track name. This means that you have to be more organized! No use having 30 million songs if it takes you a year to find each one with the browser knob, even with the hold-down speed scrolling function. By the time you reach CDJ fluency, you’ll want a few solid playlists and very little switching out of old and new material between gigs. Build a good library that reflects your taste, and then tweak it. 

Jog wheel behavior

CDJs are generally considered more of an artform than controllers. Even though most controllers have jog wheels (but many dont), DJs mostly agree that CDJs are a little more tactile and don’t raise many latency issues. It’s generally easier to scrub through the track and find the downbeat. There’s sometimes a HARD/SOFT knob which allows you to control the stiffness of the wheel. 

Unless you’re a master DJ, fewer functions generally means more fun. With CDJs, there’s less to go wrong, and you spend more time feeling the music and the touch of the gear than you do hunting solutions with your brain and keyboard. It’s a recommended step for anyone learning to DJ to get to grips with a pair of decks at some point. Sign up for the DJing Basics course with DJ Courses Online today to take the next step in your DJ career. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

3 ways to DJ better

It’s your gig. You organized it. You attracted your followers to the venue. You aligned the stars. Now it’s time to be good. To give them what they want, and some of what you want too. Each event you play should make you a little better than the last. But only if you’re taking it all in and learning to DJ while you do. Here are a few ways to get better at DJing faster. 

Mix like a pro

Many first-time DJs import a bunch of summer hits into their software and just start mixing without really knowing what’s coming next. You need to know the tracks you play. Where are the builds and drops? What’s the overall flavor? Is it universally mixable, or is it a little different? Analyze your songs. Filter out the ones you don’t really care for, and find more to fill their place. When you know them really well, you’ll notice your mixing get better fast. 

Connect with the crowd

People need a flow. To get into a track or a set, they need to place their trust in the DJ and their track choice and skills. It’s a process that gets built up over the night. So watch their movement. If feet are tapping, and people are moving more, you’re doing something right. Make eye contact, smile, talk to people and get into the groove yourself. All basic advice, but often overlooked by DJs who focus too much on the technical side. 

Learn from your mistakes

Each gig is different. Even holding a residency will place different demands on you on different nights. Conditions at outdoor events can wreak havoc while DJing. Touring takes this to the next level. Sound rigs can be unpredictable, management and venue owners can be jerks, crowds can be boring. Think of the whole journey as adding entries to a database of knowledge that only you have. You want that book to be fuller every time. Remember what goes right (and wrong) and learn from each new DJ event you play. 

A million DJs, a million ways to get the job done. But everyone is subject to the same game. You want the crowd to get going. You want to be recognized for all your organizing and your taste. You want to have fun for real. Get better faster by signing up for a course with DJ Courses Online today. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

3 things DJs do wrong

A few things have to be in place for a good night to happen. Sometimes one of them goes wrong. Sometimes all of them do. We’re always learning something new when learning to DJ. So check out a few tips about why your night out might have gone a little off plan.

Sound problems

The rig doesn’t have to be the ultimate. An epic party can start on a pair of cheap knockoff PA tops. But it does have to put out audio for the duration of your set without a crackle, hiss, buzz or pop. Sometimes you don’t have a choice. For every other time, insist on going the extra mile and haul your own gear if you have to. If it fails, they won’t look at the speakers, they’ll look at you. 

Not knowing what to play next

Do your prep! The basics of every gig are a pre-event whip-through of your track selection and order. Getting to a gig and fumbling around between every song looking for the perfect next one aint helping. Rather be wrong than unsure. That’s how you learn what works. You wanna shine, so be even better than your last gig by doing your homework every time. 

Beatmatching badly

Here’s the thing about dance DJing: most of the time, the crowd doesn’t really care what’s playing, as long as there’s a beat going. But mess up that beat and your floor will empty out quicker than a bottle of rum on Mardi Gras. If you need to hit the sync button, do it. If you need to practice for another 100 hours, do it. Just get the beatmatching thing right for every track. 

Don’t worry. That’s the key thing. DJing is mostly about showing up with loud speakers, music and a smile. That’s what the crowd expects. That’s what the clients demand. Wherever you’re at in your DJ journey, keep the vibe positive and keep on learning how to do the thing. Check out which of the DJ courses offered by your favorite DJ academy suits you best.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

The musical body math of DJing

Music is a type of math. Or rather, it’s the opposite on the boredom scale, but having a mathematical approach is a useful way to understand what you’re doing as a DJ. Have you heard of the circle of fifths? It’s the way that song keys are classified. And you can use it to your advantage when selecting tracks by key. Get into the flow of learning to DJ by checking out a few basic principles behind the effect of sound on the human body. 

Step to the right

Our biology controls us. That’s why we can predict that when you raise or lower the key between one track and another in your set by a fifth (seven piano semitones), a ‘brightening’ or ‘darkening’ effect happens. It’s true. According to the music theory that we all respond to unconsciously, going from a track in C Major up a fifth to a track in G Major has a more uplifting effect than going down two ‘steps’ to a track in Bb. Here’s the circle of fifths diagram that helps explain it better. Step to the right and you raise the energy. To the left and you darken it. That’s biology, folks. 

Body tempo

Your heart rate is the main reason that we love music at 120bpm and find 250bpm a little fast. A normal resting heart rate is around 60-80pm. Once you start dancing, you raise that up to 120-150. Higher than this range and your body starts to feel overwhelmed. A whole lot of music theory is structured around this principle. Nothing mysterious, just common sense and basic workout science. 

Frequency magic

You know all that stuff about 432Hz having mysterious healing power? Mostly baloney, and most evidence of sound frequencies being healing is underproven. But we all know what happens when we cut the lows! Be aware that low frequencies allow your crowd to catch their breath. A dip in the mid frequencies allows them to talk more easily, while boosting them emphasizes the melody and harmony of the track. And high frequencies are best used to remove the excitement so that you can drop it back in. One, two, three, bingo!

You obviously don’t need a biology degree to DJ. It does help seeing yourself as more than just a playback machine, and having an in-depth sound knowledge will raise your chances of working on bigger and more complex rigs. Don’t be intimidated by the science. Be fascinated by it. Learning psychoacoustics is a good place to start. Use these principles in your mix by signing up for a DJ course by DJ Courses Online. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

4 types of DJ business model

Imagine there was an article listing a whole bunch of business models for a mobile DJ. Hey, here’s one! The ever-popular bedroom DJ is overpopulating the planet. Maybe you wanna stand out a bit and, you know, actually have a plan about how to level up. Get smarter by learning the business side of DJing. Here are the business models being practiced by the pro DJs. 

 The solo player

Booking yourself out to parties, bars and clubs. You start with family and friends, then put the word out. Good as a side-hustle for those who have day jobs. This is also the phase during which you need to acquire your own gear, music collection, and stuff like liability insurance. A fun, low-pressure environment to test the waters of professional DJing. 

The team player

Working at an existing DJ entertainment booking company as an employee. These companies typically have a catalog of DJs, MCs, dancers and performers. They’re in charge of finances and you don’t have to invest in gear. Work is stead and less pressure than running the admin yourself. But you’re kinda locked in, and can’t really work for yourself on the side. Pay can be a little lower than doing your own thing, but more reliable. 

The sub-contractor

Booking both yourself and others out for gigs. Independent sub-contractors have the advantage of being both more free than an exclusive operation and in charge of your business. You’re able to take a cut of bookings for other DJs, but also accept the reputational impact of their performance. If you recommend them and they suck, you suck. And vice versa. Good option if you’re more into the entertainment angle than the business angle. 

The boss

Booking out sub-contracters and employees under a formal company banner. This is where you’re in charge of them all. The Sauron of Serato. You’re tax compliant, legally liable and in charge of all finances. You’re marketing other smaller companies under your banner and you have a large stake in the company. 

DJing isn’t just about spinning records. It can be, but if you’re hungry for more, you’ll need to level up by embracing one of these models. Could take some time, but hey, if you’re serious about sharing good music with good people, you’ll see the value. Get into the game with a course by DJ Courses Online today.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

The psychology of DJing

Every gig you play is going to contain a few predictables. People are pretty much the same everywhere when it comes to music they know being played at party volume. Pick up a few tips for learning to DJ in the headspace. Here are a few things you can use to your advantage when prepping your next set. 

The leader group

When you’re playing a set, there are often 1-3 people in the crowd or hanging around the dance floor that will lead the way for the rest of the audience. Their actions set the mood of the night. Remember, people tend to do what other people are doing, and that always starts with a (brave) group of leaders. Identify them early and play for them. If they’re enjoying your selection keep going, or find something that they’re into. Soon, they’ll be the ones to break open the dance floor, and the rest will follow. Works like a charm. 

Delayed gratification

If you’re doing your job, the crowd will soon be loving the tunes and you’ll have a group on the dance floor. This is where you want to keep them. When you reach this moment, delay their gratification for a while before playing your A-list of hits. You see, once you’re done with your A-list, that’s it. There’s no coming back from it. Don’t burn the crowd out too early. It will mean resisting temptation, but always save the bangers for the end of your set, even if it means that you don’t get to every one. Rather not allow them to drift off before you’re done. End your set with them cheering for more. 

It’s not about you

DJing has had such a huge profile boost in the last couple of decades that it’s tempting to believe the hype. But always remember that this is about providing a space for the audience. Having a DJ steal try to the limelight is lame. Saying no to the same request three times is lame. This is about your audience. If you’re not too hot on playing what they want to hear, you’re in the wrong profession. Or maybe just at the wrong gig. Either way, change what you need to so your supply matches the crowd’s demand, not the other way around. 

DJing is a bit more psychological than playing in a band or producing music on your own. It requires getting inside the heads of your audience. The aim is to be constantly reading body language and interpreting signals from those present. There are certain things you can’t learn by reading, so consider satisfying your hunger for DJ knowledge with a course by DJ Courses Online.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Bring your DJing to life with effects

Something as simple as a drum loop can be brought to life using effects. Stuff like reverb, delay, chorus, flanging and phasing. They’re all send effects which duplicate your dry (unaffected) signal and then play it back into itself, altering the sound in some way. Let’s check out a few practical uses of these built-in effects. 

Effect the background

Veteran DJs don’t use a lot of effects on their main mix. Too much reverb or chorus can kinda steal the energy from the floor and make it seem like you can’t wait for the next track to play. And it can sound a little tacky. You do want to be enthusiastic, but you don’t really want to be this guy. So if you’re dying to use effects, use them on backing drum loops and samples instead of your main mix. Using Traktor’s Remix Decks or Ableton Live’s session view, you can run multiple clips at once. If you’re playing something that sounds good on its own, limit the effects work to the backing loop instead. 

Keep it simple

Some of the effects bundled in to DJ software can be pretty sophisticated. Parameters on a standard reverb effect might include Dry/Wet, Size, Highpass, Lowpass and Freeze. A good rule of thumb? Stick to two parameters per effect. Don’t try to cram too much creativity into your playback. It’s cool to play around with them while you create a signature style, but over time you’ll want your ‘effect moments’ to resemble one-trick ponies. The further away you take the people from the original sound of the track, the more attention you’ll lose. Keep it simple. 

Sparse works better

Effects generally work better when applied to sparse moments in your set. Experiment with extending your mix out and allow a moment for only the beat drum loops to run. Then, apply different effects and compare the results with applying them during the main part of the song. Sounds better when there’s less going on, doesn’t it? Generally, effects should be thought of as auxiliary moments, and don’t often work well during the main hook or drop of a song. Especially if it’s a really well known number. 

To sum up, you’ll want to use your DJ effects sparingly and at the right moments in your set. If you’re only doing 64 bars of total flanging an hour, that’s OK. Reverb is a great one for building tension, and delay often works well when timed to ¾ time. Find your inner effects guru by signing up for the Advanced DJ Techniques and Tips DJ course with DJ Courses Online.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Comment tagging your DJ library

Every new event you play as a DJ has its own requirements. Unless you have a residency at an established venue and play the same tracks every week, you’ll need a way to find and pull up tracks on the fly. That means being a librarian and having an efficient way to find your tracks by something other than title or artist. Genre and BPM are the next best things. But there’s an even better way: tagging. Check out the professional DJ Courses Online version of library organization.

Away from playlists

Imagine creating a new playlist for every event you did from scratch. Yikes. Playlists are great for when you’re completely in charge and don’t expect any requests, but how often does that happen? Nope. Being able to find music one the fly is better. That means going off-script. DJing a constant supply of new music also wreaks havoc when you’re trying to ‘lock things down’ because you’re constantly refreshing your set. The solution is to move away from order and towards spontaneity. Yes, use playlists as a springboard for your set. But if you’re aiming to level up, begin moving away from them. 

Towards tagging

As you build your collection, get to know the comments field of your metadata. It’s a good tool to input short little phrases that are specific to you and how you think. For example, you might have a phrase that reminds you of a song you know really well to describe all other songs that mix well with it. So, for example, labelling a song ‘drinking in la’ for mid-tempo 90s electronica. It doesn’t have to be genre-based. It could refer to songs with identifying backbeats or weird time signatures. Or tracks that are really lofi and old in their production quality. Whatever categorization strategy (and comment phrase) you use, it should act as a mnemonic. That is, to remind you of other songs like it, making finding similar songs way easier.

Universal language

Why use ID3 tags at all? Software like Traktor, Rekordbox and Beatport Pro already have this functionality in the form of crates, which are simply personalized collections categorized by a tag field instead of a by a sequential playlist file (m3u file). Well, using ID3 comment tags ensures that your all the hard work that went into labelling your personal collection isn’t wiped out when you want to switch software one day. Forced compliance and planned obsolescence are standard operating procedure with many software manufacturers. Cover yourself and own your data! 

There are loads more tips on how to go about tagging your work. Use phrases you’re likely to remember. Avoid special symbols (!@#$%^&*), which can fail to display. Group tracks together in little packages that work well together. Use numbers in your tagging (eg ‘major trap 1’) to allow you to filter the comment column to sort results into an order. The key thing is to show your personality through your selection and rise above searching only by BPM or genre. That’s the trick to building a name for yourself. Go deeper into DJing with a course by DJ Courses Online today. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ

Three types of cue points

Know thy software. DJs need to have a relationship with both their hardware and software. There’s always some feature you didn’t know about or some way of hacking it to your advantage. One way to take the stress out of professional DJing events is to set your cue points before the event. Let’s check out the three types of cue points found in Traktor and other software like it. 

The downbeat load marker

The downbeat load cue point is the point at which your track will begin playback. Even if you’re using something other than Traktor or Ableton, you should have some marker that represents the ‘first cue point’. It might not be at the start of the actual file. Many tracks have instrumental or atmospheric introductions. The most obvious downbeat marker is the very first kick that plays in the track.

Mix out marker

The mix out marker is simply a good place in your track to begin the mix out process. This is most often at the start of a breakdown, so that as the kick from track A ends, the kick from track B can begin. Pre-deciding these mix out markers means that at a glance, you can see where the track’s mix out begins, which is a visual signal. But it also means that you can quickly load to that point should you want to re-trigger and restart your mix out rather than restarting the track from the beginning. Bear in mind that your countdown warning will not apply to this marker, only to the end of the track. You’ll need to be watching your track A carefully if you want to begin mixing halfway through! 

Ending loop marker

Sometimes you want to extend the outro of your song while bringing in the next track. Outro loops are the way to go! Somewhere towards the end of your track, select a nice 8- or 16-bar section and loop it. Then, simply take your time bringing in your next track. Again, having the marker in place beforehand is the best way to save time and energy and avoid common errors while mixing. The last thing you want is to be trying to make admin decisions when you’re meant to be enjoying and feeling the music. 

Preparation is key to the enjoyment of your music! But let’s be real, there are often times when you have to play tracks you haven’t planned. It’s best to understand the power of mix point markers. Get to know your controller shortcuts for setting mix points on the fly. Rely on your ability to read the waveform and anticipate the downbeat, break and drop. Get advanced with your mixing ability by signing up for the DJ Techniques II Course with DJ Courses Online today.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ

What could DJs do better?

Like all of us, DJs often make the mistake of thinking that their success is someone else’s responsibility. The reality is that the music industry is a super competitive place. To succeed, you’ll need to do something that demonstrates your allegiance to one thing: yourself. Get enrolled with the DJ Courses Online Career Tips class for deeper insight. Here are a few things about the industry that we have the power to fix. 

It’s not all about getting paid

You know that phrase ‘it’s just business?’ Well, it can be hard to hear when you’ve shared insane emotional highs with your ‘business partners’. Music is a lot more personal than other business. People are truly invested in each other and nobody likes the idea that music is only business. This is why there’s never been a sponsored ‘Coca Cola song’ that worked (this one isn’t sponsored and doesn’t count). Humans draw the line when it comes to their music. It’s almost sacred! So align yourself with those humans who aren’t following music made for any industry, but rather music made for others who share their taste. 

Be careful what you sign

DJs often sign to one label or agency. One of the more common complaints you’ll hear is that labels and agencies aren’t taking responsibility for developing their DJs. There might be good reasons for that, but DJs can feel trapped in a contract and powerless to create their own business. It a super-important thing to remember in an atmosphere where ‘getting signed’ is spoken of as a magic cure-all for escaping obscurity. Be careful what you sign. 

Align with the sound

The barrier to entry for DJing is floor level. This has enabled a vast majority to self-publish and has opened the floodgates for music that, frankly, sounds entry level. We tend to reward people not for their taste in music but the volume of their voice on social media. One thing we could do better is to take personal responsibility for not allowing bad music messaging to even enter into our lifestyles. This is harder than it sounds. A friend wants you to comment on his/her socials. A bad mix is playing in the background when you have the power to change it. Take a stand for better music and allow the public image of the DJ to matter less than the sound coming out of the speakers.

Music is timeless and the industry keeps shifting to keep up, much like trying to harpoon a whale. Remember that. At the end of the day, commerce is racing to keep up with the people’s enjoyment of music, not the other way around. As a DJ, the best thing you can do for your audience is to be more selective about what you stand for outside of personal glory and success. That way, you’ll find the people who you’re truly doing business with. Sign up for membership by DJ Courses Online and take the next step in your DJ journey. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ

Three common challenges for DJs

DJing is one of the most fun things you can do with your weekend. Whether it’s having a group of besties over or heading out to play a party somewhere, it’s a great use of energy. But there are some things can stress you out about being a hobby or career DJ. Let’s check out a few things that you might need to fix to move away from stressful nights. 

Lack of preparation

The number one source of stress is lack of preparation. Dumping your tracks onto a flash drive isn’t good enough! You have to spend the time curating your set like a garden. Setting cue points can require massive amounts of time. Cue points are the point in the track where your software will start playback. But some tracks have instrumental or atmospheric intros which need to be skipped. Make sure your cue points are set for every track so that you don’t end up mousing around the on the night. That way, you’ll be able to spend less time doing admin and your set will flow. 

People control

Most people at parties are drinking, which is, like, what makes it a party. Drinking means fun. Fun means irresponsibility. And that means people barging into your booth, demanding requests, knocking things over. People can be total hazards. Set your boundaries early, while they’re sober. Hey, requests are fine, but a DJ is in charge of the music on the night. It’s better to turn requests down than become the target for other people’s nostalgia and personal taste. You’re there for the crowd. Behave like a pro. Act like a pro. The venue or event booker should be on your side. 

Wondering if you’re doing a good job

DJs sometimes find it difficult to talk about this, because we’re the ones who people look to for their taste. Doubt is a part of the job. It’s totally normal to spend half the night wondering if anyone is actually enjoying the music you’re selecting for them! Even the playlist from the client might not be the right selection. So remember a few things: you’re never going to please every person there. You are constantly scanning for feedback like eye contact, tapping feet, dancing. And if it’s a corporate or wedding event, always remember: hey man, you just work here. 

Being on top of your DJing game makes things awesome. Nobody needs stress, especially if you’re the one setting the atmosphere for others to loosen up. So put your relaxation and confidence at the center of the job and do your preparation! Learn more DJing tips by signing up for the DJ Techniques Level 1 course with DJ Courses Online today. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ

DJing beyond track selection

There will probably come a time in your DJing career when you want to expand on your skills as a selector. As fun as it is keeping the room alive, there’s so much more to DJing than track playback. Let’s check out three different ways of going beyond standard DJ practices to create more of a performance. 

Live instruments

You’d be surprised how many people are still so impressed by a DJ who plays percussion along with their beats. Let’s face it, there often isn’t much else to do while waiting for the track to time out. So get a pair of bongos or some shakers, set up one extra mic and show the people you mean positive energy! If your set is planned out in advance, you could also invite a separate instrumentalist to join you at your next event. That’s an evening out worth sharing with your friends. 

Controllerism

Controllerism is the art of using hardware MIDI controllers as instruments. If you’re already using stems or remix decks in your set, you’re halfway to being a controllerist. Hardcore controllerists tend to avoid any kind of continuous file playback. They prefer instead to think of their MPCs, Launchpads and APCs as pianos or drums that stop sounding when the note is released. This obviously makes for a far more difficult DJ set, but when people notice that you’re actually playing live, it changes the energy in the room. Not for everyone, but certainly a rewarding journey if you love it as much as these guys. 

Mashups

Mashups are tracks or stems that blend together two or more complementary tracks to create a synthesis. One track might be the acapella from a hip hop vocal, and the other an instrumental from a pop song. The point is to blow the audience’s minds by playing two familiar but separate tracks together. Doing live mashups requires an advanced knowledge of stems or remix decks and plenty of preparation. But the results can be insane. If you’re interested in performing mashups, start with Find your own https://thehighestproducers.com/acapellas/

There’s room for everyone to develop their skills as a DJ. And generally speaking, those who have made it have succeeded by devoting time to being really good. That means being at least familiar with some of the practices. Getting good costs you time, so get busy. Go beyond track selection with the Advanced DJ Techniques course offered by DJ Courses Online today.

Planning the night

There’s a way that people are. Zoom out of any human culture a little and you’ll notice how strongly we adhere to rituals. It’s a good thing to remember when planning a DJ night. At events, people generally behave in small  groups and crowds. As upcoming DJs, we can use this predictability to our advantage. Here are a few ways to better recognize your audience’s behavior at the next event. 

DJ the playbook

Once you’ve done one wedding, one 50th birthday, one corporate bash, one festival and one bar mitzvah, you’ve learned most of what DJs are expected to know. The format doesn’t differ much between these categories. Weddings and birthdays are ultimately about picking popular music from the past. Corporate events are about behaving like a big name rock star and picking music that out-of-touch people think is happening right now. Festivals are about expressing your taste for whatever the crowd is into. Bar mitzvahs (and rituals like it) are about honoring tradition. There’s a playbook for every different type of DJ event. Learn it, then DJ it.

Plan for chaos

No matter how much prep work you’ve done, someone will inevitably ask you to do something that you’re not prepared for. This might be spinning a track you don’t have, switching up genres completely, making a housekeeping announcement, clearing the dancefloor, starting the dancefloor, moving some furniture, etc. The list goes on. Your role is often a weird fusion of playlist curator, sound engineer and roadie. Be helpful. Don’t brickwall people when they ask for simple stuff, even if it’s not technically your job. Expect unexpected things to happen, and roll with them. Check out the career tips course from DJ Courses Online. 

Curating vs creating

DJing is mostly about vibe curation. This means two things: that you’re in charge of keeping things uplifting, and that you’re not always creating a vibe. There’s a difference between creation and curation. Curating a vibe is directing the mood of the room in response to what’s expected of you. This might involve very little action on your part. It’s not illegal to put on a 1 hour mix and simply groove away while acting busy. In fact, it’s a very easy way to make money. Creating a vibe, on the other hand, is about controlling or even forcing the mood to be a certain way. It’s a statement, one which reflects and showcases your taste more obviously. Depending on what you’re hoping to achieve, you should consider yourself a vibe curator or creator on any given evening. 

Getting better at DJing yet? It’s all about practice, preparation and people. Make your own path a bit clearer by learning from the pros. Get in on a DJ course by DJ Courses Online today and make the next step in your DJ adventure. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ

Encouragement for DJs

There’s a lot more to DJing than people make out. It’s part euphoria, part chaos. There’s an emotional impact to being in the spotlight, taking requests, and often delivering on a wide range of unexpected moments. All while keeping a smile going. So here’s some encouragement for DJs of all levels, courtesy of the DJ professionals behind DJ Courses Online! 

You’re doing a good job

Reading a crowd takes some getting used to. But ultimately, it’s the reason that the client isn’t hiring a Spotify playlist. DJ for long enough and you can sometimes start to feel like nothing more than a mindless button-pusher. The job does involve a lot of waiting for tracks to end, after all. But believe me, the vibe is better off because you’re there. There’s nothing more vibe-destroying than autoplay drifting off into bad music territory while your party host is running amok. People with taste are still required. Be comforted by the knowledge that you’re doing a job that the crowd appreciates, even if they don’t know it. 

Don’t take it personally

You want people to hear your mixes and tracks so much. You want to see yourself going viral. You want production value, exposure, paychecks and ongoing performance inquiries from event bookers. But why? Is your identity really so dependent on popularity? Are you genuinely so helplessly addicted to these images of success? Don’t take it personally. This is not about you. It’s about the audience you are trying to serve. Relax. The DJs who make a name for themselves are generally too business-minded to be having any much fun any more, which isn’t a path for everyone. Nobody makes a long-standing career out of actually believing that they are what their brand promises. Be cool. 

It’s about fun

So much of the professional events scene involves bidding wars and egos. So much good music is sacrificed in the name of a nepotistic, strategic, statistical approach, often at the expense of the fun. It’s meant to be a laugh, not a chest-beating contest. So have a laugh every so often. If the people are open to it, play a silly song or sample in your set. Throwing in a trap remix of your favorite childhood TV show theme tune does a lot for your sense of freedom,  and the crowd might love it. Every so often, you have to forget the career moves and image. Try spending one night imagining being not just a DJ, but just someone with two decks, a mixer, a PA system and the ability to use them. Not everyone can. 

DJing is a fusion of technical ability, pure taste and the willpower to show up, time after time. It’s more than the hype reel. You honestly have to just keep doing the work that lazier DJs don’t want to do. You have to earn your reputation. But through it all, remember that you’re in this for the long haul. With that approach, the art of DJing will be something that brings you joy for the rest of your life. So go ahead and get into it today by signing up for one of the DJ courses offered by DJ Courses Online.

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.

Playing your first gig

Ready to shine? You’ve been working on collecting the sickest tracks. You’ve been practicing your beat matching. And now a buddy has asked you to handle the music at a house party. Time to take this thing to the streets. Don’t worry. You got this. Here are a few things to remember about first-time DJing. 

Your gear

Let me guess: you don’t have the money for the gear you want right now? Here’s the thing: you’ll always have your eye on something new and flashier. There is always going to be someone with more dope gear than you. But stick with what you need. Here’s why. You don’t want to be carrying around anything you don’t use. You often end up playing on venue or event rigs, and don’t bring your gear anyway. You aren’t trying to impress other DJs with fancy stuff, you’re trying to impress strangers with your taste. Keep it simple: two sources of music, and a device to mix them together. 

File prep

There’s a world of work to be done before a gig. Don’t do it all on the day! Keep curating your music collection by making sure that you have a solid, easily readable collection of tunes. MP3s can contain bad metadata, garbled text formatting and corrupt data. And having a spanner in the works like a track that doesn’t play on time is one way to kill the whole vibe. So do your prep work by testing playback on every song in your set. If you have a pair of CDJs at home, do the same for the file display window and make sure your tracks behave like they should every time. And always take a second copy of your music selection on a backup USB!

The boring stuff

Admin, admin, admin. It’s what separates the pros from the hobbyists. Make sure you’re totally on top of it. That’s how your build your reputation as a pro. Being drinking buddies with the event organizers will only take you so far. If DJing professionally is a long-term vision, you’ll need to make friends with spreadsheets and invoicing software. Most often, paying clients want you to act like a businessperson offstage and a rock star on stage. You’ll know when it’s time to level up. When you do, remember this advice. Get good at the admin. 

Chances are nobody will notice all the mistakes, nerves and fumbling at your first gig. Give yourself a break! The important thing is that you keep doing it. You’ll learn something new every time, even if it feels like you’re never where you want to be. DJing like a pro is like doing anything else like a pro. You earn it. But help yourself out by learning from the pros with one of the DJ courses from DJ Courses Online, and shorten your walk to awesomeness. 

John Bartmann is a music producer and DJ.