Avoid creative mistakes

You may be having fun mixing beats in your spare time, but becoming an actual DJ is more intimidating and challenging than that. Performing in front of thousands of people who expect a really exciting time can surely make a DJ vulnerable to mistakes. For beginners, nothing could be more impairing than falling victim to the worst ‘rookie’ DJ mistakes ever.

From hitting the wrong player button to not reading into the crowd’s demands and everything in between. Even the best DJs have made mistakes at the starting of their careers, and you will too. Although, you can still learn from their mistakes and hope to avoid them. Here are common DJ mistakes beginners can learn to avoid:

1. Locking the decks

In your comfort zone, you are almost the king of control. Jump into a live experience and you should never make the mistake of assuming that you have the ultimate control of the decks. When practicing on your own time, it is easy to manage the controls on the player deck. You are not intimidated by a crowd or the loudness of the environment. On stage, the entire ambiance is something else.

Even the best of DJs in the industry have made the mistake of pressing the wrong deck load button at least once in their life. To avoid the embarrassment, you can activate the automatic lock on the playing decks. You may also find software that comes with features to avoid such a situation.

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2. The music dilemma

Many beginners are told to or they just assume that knowing about all the latest music is necessary. No doubt, one should know about the latest beats taking over the hearts of an audience. Although, a combined knowledge of the classics and new beats is more realistic for a successful DJ scene.

Some specific gigs may require you to collect new music but the classics have survived the test of time. This is why a classic beat is more likely to get the attention of the floor. Most new music can be upbeat but disposable at the same time.

3. Value yourself

This one mistake may not be just true for only DJing. There are plenty of other professions that don’t offer a kick-start. DJing and other such professions require hard efforts to earn your first reputable gig that also pays.

For many beginner DJs, money is less of an issue than getting exposure. The true artiste always wants to be heard. In the search of establishing a foundation, newbies will often take any offer that comes through. Avoid falling into this pit of devaluation. Not only are you harming your chances of a lucrative career but for other DJs as well.

4. Begin networking

Knowing other DJs in the business is not just about learning and training. Networking can get you access to more and better gigs. It is not necessary that you get to know only the best. There should be a connection with other newbies as well. Getting to know the DJ community is also essential for having a sense of support. When you are a newbie in a creative industry, it is healthy to appreciate others and gain some for yourself. It fuels your motivation to do better.

For these reasons, don’t make the mistake of delaying the effort of knowing about other DJs and connecting with them. The earlier you start, the more chances you will have to develop a repute through better gigs and community support.

5. Know the music

This one is similar to the mistake of using excessive new-age music and ignoring the classics. Many newbies are into experimenting. It can result badly. When discussing common beginner mistakes, experienced DJs advise going with songs you know best. Even if they don’t makeup to a large number. This is much better than expanding to a large variety of songs that you may end mixing horribly.

Mixing songs you know best gives you a better opportunity to show your talent for mixing. Once you know you have done your best with a certain number of songs, you can start expanding that number.

6. Lack of social media

Improper use of social media is one mistake; no use at all is another. When you are starting in the DJing industry, social media can be your initial gateway to an interested audience and peer DJs. Nowadays, one has such a variety of platforms to choose from. These platforms not only help you showcase a peek of your talent but meet and connect with people you must.

The way you use social media is important. Your goal should be making targeted posts, which should also be engaging. In your beginner phase, you will feel limited about using social media; you may even feel isolated. This is why you need to use it for developing connections. Once you get a couple of gigs under your belt, you will have more and better to share.

7. Learning the shortcuts

You might find yourself too dependent on a controller and this could turn out to be a mistake. You should try to learn keyboard shortcuts for the DJ software being used. It seems like a lot to ask when you are already learning to mix and struggling with landing gigs. However, you can start with the basics. It can truly change your experience as you perform your initial gigs. Furthermore, it will only add to your expertise in the long run and also work as a backup plan when your controller fails to respond, which can happen to the best.

8. Choosing gigs carefully

Just as you should not agree to volunteer excessively, don’t consider performing every gig coming your way. Being a rookie, you want to get more and more gigs. So, it seems like a bad idea to reject some when it finally seems to happen.

Every gig you land might seem like a blessing but not each one is in your favour. A lot of people are likely to take advantage of your beginner innocence. You are at risk of losing money and value as a DJ if you don’t choose authentic gigs.

9. Music backup

Save yourself a lot of hassle by having a backup of the tracks. We all take so much care for backing up all the important data associated with other aspects of our life. So why not do the same for a DJ career? Not having a sufficient backup for the tracks and mixes is a mistake that can cost more than just time. Technical faults are known to happen during gigs, which could result in the loss of original data. A back up on cloud or a quality storage device will be your best friend in such situations.

10. Getting comfortable

As a beginner, it is understandable when you don’t get a lot of gig opportunities. However, it is advised not to get comfortable with a single promoter. Doing gigs for the same promoter can limit your experience.

While being careful is necessary, try to get a variation among your gigs. It will give you the opportunity of learning to navigate through a tough environment. Broadening your gig horizons also means meeting more DJs/clients. You will also get to practise your skills on different software and hardware.

Being a DJ is an exciting job that will take you places and you will experience moments that you will remember for the rest of your life. It is a creative process naturally prone to trial and error. Expect yourself to make mistakes but most importantly, learn from them while expanding your knowledge.

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