One of the best ways to be regarded as a good DJ is by constantly developing your own style and improving on them accordingly. Failing to improve the already acquired knowledge makes it easy for your competition to sweep you over to the sidelines and outshine you in every way.
The general basics of DJing involves the mixing (blending) of two or more songs together to create a perfect harmony and that isn’t enough to exceed delivery expectations in this digital age. Learning the appropriate use of music, techniques and functions of different knobs on controllers, CDJs, turntables and drum pads changes the game for a better DJing experience.
In order to get more familiar and better with any DJ hardware designed to assist your creative and unique DJing experience, listed below are a few things to consider that will make you stand out:
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- Become more acquainted with your DJ equipment all around
Having a DJ hardware is one thing, understanding and maximising its full functionality is a different ball game. Take your time. Load up two tracks and mix them together without pushing any buttons or dial on your console or mixer. Now try again picking one or two controls and see what they do. See how creative you can get and what short falls you have while putting them into use. Identify areas you need to improve and also find solutions to the issues in your setup.
- One step at a time
Learn one new trick at a time. There are loads to DJing tips, tricks and techniques to be learnt out there. Mastery of one before trying out another is of great importance. Just jumping in, never helps. Pick one tip or technique and practice. Continue until it feels natural utilising it during your set.
- Try out other genres
Sticking to your comfort zone of just mixing one music genre will never improve your capabilities as a DJ. Jump out of your comfort zone and try mixing other genres. This step will create a different level of mixing challenges while expanding your skill set and hardware comprehension giving you a fresh DJing approach.
- Learn from others
Learning from other DJs should be the greatest tool in our arsenal. No one is a mountain of knowledge and everyone is always learning. Meet other DJs and join progressive DJ communities. Ask questions and also share tips from what you already know.
- Understand key mixing
Any modern DJ software can analyze tracks for music keys to enjoy Harmonic Mixing. Harmonic mixing is the blending of two pre-recorded tracks that are either in a similar key, or their keys are in association with each other. Music key of a track can be adjusted independently of the tempo adding a whole dimension to continuous mixing where the melodies all work in perfect harmony. Try out mixing tracks that have similar or exact matching keys to unlock a treasure chest of creative possibilities.
While the list above isn’t exhaustive or anywhere near complete, it illustrates the basic considerations to help you get better and familiar at being a professional DJ.
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and then