10 Commandments For Better Digital DJing, #10

Phil Morse | Founder & Tutor
Read time: 3 mins
Last updated 28 November, 2017

DJ gear
Think of all the tricks you could do and stunts you could pull if you had all this DJ gear! But unless you obey today’s commandment, none of it will make you a better DJ.

So we reach the end of our ten commandments for better digital DJing, with a fitting commandment that highlights two related temptations for digital DJs, things that they previous generation of DJs didn’t really have to worry about.

Temporarily forget this commandment and you could end up missing the point about what’s really important in DJing, screengazing more than you have to, spending more money that you need to, and maybe even boring your audiences!

Today’s commandment

Today’s commandment, then, is this:

Remember that DJing is about people and music, not gear and tricks.

In the video and resources, we explain exactly why this is particularly a “digital” problem, where turntablism and controllerism fit in to the modern DJ’s arsenal of tricks, how you can be technical but still respect the DJ’s art, and why it always pays off to stick with a limited amount of gear and really learn to use it properly.

These ten commandments are part of our Campaign for Better Digital DJing, which aims to improve the image of digital DJs among other DJs and the public.

As such, we’re asking you to click the Facebook Like button at the end of the post (if you enjoy it, of course).

Video

 

Resources

I wouldn’t like you to misunderstand us here. We’re not saying avoid looping, key mixing, effects and so on – we’re saying these things should be used to enhance a set based on good music, proper programming and getting your audience to dance (and doing something about it if they’re not) – all things that haven’t changed in decades.

Here are more resources from the blog that explain and offer practical advice on ensuring you keep this balance right:

Finally, also please understand us on the gear thing. Gear is great! But once you choose a piece of gear (hopefully having studied our gear reviews to make the right choice), it’s time forget about the tech for a bit and concentrate on being a DJ. Move from the “What shall I get?” mindset to “What shall I do with what I’ve got?”, and resist the temptation to look for the solution to your current problem in another piece of kit.

We hope this material has been useful to you, and thank you once again for Liking this post in order to help us spread our campaign for better digital DJing far and wide…

Check out the other parts of this series:

What are your views on our tenth commandment? Are you guilty of spending too much time worrying about your gear and too little actually using it? Have you pulled “one trick too many” in front of an audience, or caught yourself screengazing instead of interacting with the crowd? Please let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

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