August 24th, 2012
DJ Culture
by Chris Mihas
"See this? We'd like you to take it and shove it where the sun don't shine. You're fired!"
Ever been fired? If you’ve been working for any time as a DJ, chances are it’s happened to you. It’s certainly happened to me, more than once.
The reason for a DJ’s dismissal can vary – doing a poor job, partying too much, not focusing on work or the boss just wants to switch things up, for instance. But as I’ve found out myself, whatever the grounds are, it’s never pleasant, and can easily damage your dignity.
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July 14th, 2012
DJ Culture
Is there such a thing as a school disco playlist? I'd say chart is the place to start... and probably it's the place to end too.
Digital DJ Tips reader Nick Bohannan writes: “I have been asked to be the DJ at a school disco, and remembering your advice to play gigs as soon as possible, I took the booking!
“Thing is though I have only just started, I have the new DJ Instinct by Hercules and I have literally only got a couple of songs so far. However, the disco is next term which gives me six weeks to pick good songs.
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June 26th, 2011
DJ Culture
Not even all radio DJs are allowed to sit down. Is it ever acceptable for a performing DJ?
Reader DJ Malarky writes: “I was recently at a wedding where the DJ had a house table that was draped to match the room and his equipment was laid out very nice on top. However, throughout the night I happen to notice the DJ sitting behind the table as he played his entire set this way. I might add, he did stand whenever he made announcements but then sat back down when playing his set.
“I hadn’t really thought about this much except it did look a little different to me. What are your thoughts on this matter? To sit, or not to sit… that is my question.”
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June 25th, 2011
DJ Culture
Many people dream of DJing for a living - but how do you know when to go for it?
Reader Lee Scollo writes: “There are some issues regarding the life of a professional DJ that I am curious about. For instance, how does a DJ know when they can quit their day job and become a full time DJ?
“Also, when someone finally achieves this full-time occupation how do they maintain a healthcare policy and various retirement benefits? Are there any articles here that would satisfy my curiosity?”
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June 22nd, 2011
DJ Culture
Knowing when to drop your peak-time floorfillers is an important part of successful DJing. Pic: Rob Wilder
One of the thoughts that usually races through a DJ’s mind at a certain point when playing an important set is: “What do I do about playing my best tunes? Do I start with them now, or is it still too early?” Knowing exactly the right moment to unleash musical fury onto the dancefloor (or foot-tapping, sing-along music in a cocktail bar) requires a combination of intuition and experience, and is something that can separate a good DJ from an average one.
That’s why I always tell people on the floor who come and request a peak time track at the very start of the night that DJing is much like having sex! You should never release the energy too fast at the start of the act…
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June 21st, 2011
DJ Culture
Ever got to your DJ gear or music-making software and gone blank, or found yourself faffing around doing anything but creating something? You're not alone...
Creative professionals everywhere struggle with the challenges of getting things finished. Successful creative professionals beat those challenges. This is a sentiment that should resonate with the bedroom DJ/producer. With the rise of affordable music equipment there has been a flood of people trying to get into this field and the competition is fierce. But DJing and music production are just two of the more recent career areas to face these battles, as they join artists everywhere who must learn the skills of self-motivation to survive in these competitive fields.
This is a guest post by Digital DJ Tips Editor Phil Morse for New York DJ & Production college, Dubspot. To continue reading it, go to to the Dubspot Blog.
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June 19th, 2011
DJ Culture
The Rane SL4 allows two Serato Scratch DJs to transition seamlessly.
Reader The Leetenant writes: “What tips do you have to make a smooth transition between DJs at an event where all of the DJs use a virtual vinyl set up, but one guy might have Serato Scratch and the next guy uses Traktor Scratch or Torq?
“I know that one solution would be to have four turntables and two mixers, but what type of transition is recommended if there is only one mixer and two turntables available?”
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June 18th, 2011
DJ Culture
The front of the Mixtrack: As you can see, it has no headphones socket.
Beginner DJ Bill Dunn writes: “I’m looking at buying the Numark Mixtrack, but I do not wish to buy the Pro version as it comes with a built-in sound card, and I already have a good sound card.
“Please can you tell me whether the non-pro Numark Mixtrack controller has a headphone output for track monitoring purposes? This might be a stupid question but I want to be sure… thanks for your help!”
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June 17th, 2011
DJ Culture
Want to mix from 78 BPM to 137 BPM? Find out how as we discuss ways to move around the tempo ranges when DJing.
Beatmixing has brought with it something that has been quietly boring dancefloors since the first 4/4 beats were electronically created – the tempo trap.
Stuck in a groove at 126 BPM or wherever, many DJs the world over default to hitting “sync” and mixing track into track into track, never altering that tempo, often never altering the genre, and so never adding that extra spark of excitement to their sets that well-timed changes of tempo can bring. If this is you, we forgive you! But it may be time you learned how to escape the tempo trap…
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June 17th, 2011
DJ Culture
Grab your free copy to print out, read on your iPad, iPhone or Android phone, keep on your laptop, or browse online.
Over the past two weeks, we’ve been running daily posts, videos, resources, links and worksheets based around our Ten Commandments For Better Digital DJing. Now, to bring the whole series together, we’ve prepared a special e-book containing a full resume and explanation of the ten commandments.
It’s great for new digital DJs who want to make sure they’re learning the right skills, and also a good read for experienced DJs, especially those switching to digital for the first time.
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June 16th, 2011
DJ Culture
Can't get a club gig? Get a gig in a store! It's all exposure and it could all lead somewhere for you.
Throughout this series, I’ve tried to show you how to understand the industry and marketing as well as how to set up yourself as a self-promotion engine for your DJ business. You’ve learned the harsh realities of this line of work, developed a brand, created your marketing materials, and networked yourself in the name of getting ahead.
What if it’s not enough? What if you made great demos, a beautiful website, press kit, and have the gift of gab, but promoters and would-be clients are still not impressed or interested. The solution is to go beyond gigs.
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June 15th, 2011
DJ Culture
by Brice Sarver
Sasha and Digweed play at Coachella Pic: Drew Ressler
Above and Beyond. Gabriel and Dresden. Swedish House Mafia. Infected Mushroom. Kyau and Albert. Sasha and Digweed. Super8 and Tab. These names are synonymous with high-quality productions, amazing live shows, and great DJing.
They’re also all composed of more than one person, something you doesn’t see frequently in the DJ community. Read on to learn how having a partner can add to (or subtract from) your DJ career.
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June 15th, 2011
DJ Culture
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!
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June 14th, 2011
DJ Culture
Jason Emsley's The Laptop DJ Handbook gives a good, broad overview of the state of digital DJing today.
A blog like Digital DJ Tips is great for latest news, product reviews, opinion pieces and so on, but blogs aren’t so good at stepping back and presenting a broader overview of where we’re at – in this case, of course, talking about digital DJing.
That’s one of the places where The Laptop DJ Handbook (US$19
/ £14
) by Jason Emsley delivers. This large-format, rather chunky softback book is written by a California-bred, London-residing techno DJ/producer who has worked for (and still freelances for) Native Instruments, the makers of Traktor.
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June 14th, 2011
DJ Culture
The original Napster: After this, the music industry was never the same again.
Commandment number nine is related to our first two commandments, which were do it for a genuine love of the music, and have respect for your peers and forefathers.
I’ve heard all kinds of arguments made by DJs who disagree with the following “commandment” over the years – but at the end of the day, they’re wrong, and they’re not only shortchanging themselves, but also the people who make all the great music they claim to love so much.
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June 13th, 2011
DJ Culture
by Dan Morse
Finding music online is a skill that you need to master for digital DJing success.
Back in the day, you could walk into a record store, have a quick catch up with the guy behind the counter and he would hand you a stack of records to go through. After an hour or so, you would trot up to the counter and be walking home with your new purchases, confident in the knowledge you were happy with what you got.
These days, we as DJs are curators of both new and existing music. It is down to us to sift through the hemorrhaging mass of new material that appears daily, as well as the growing back catalogues. When you break into the world of DJing, that role can be very daunting, with the obvious question: “Where on earth do I start?”
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June 13th, 2011
DJ Culture
This commandment is only as complicated as being able to use your ears critically.
If you have this skill, it won’t make you a great DJ – but all great DJs have it. It’s something that was relatively simple in the pre-digital days (hint: If you checked your needle for fluff, you were halfway there).
However, for digital DJs in particular, if you don’t understand what this commandment is about, your DJing will be inferior to that of other DJs who put the effort in to get this right, or of vinyl and CD DJs in general.
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37 Comments »
June 12th, 2011
DJ Culture
To sync or not to sync? The seventh commandment might have something to say about that...
Our seventh commandment is, maybe of all of them, the one that gets emotions up highest both among digital and vinyl/CD DJs, and also the one that has the steepest learning curve for digital DJs.
However, it’s something that most digital DJs will be called on to do at some point, and for that reason alone, it’s well worth putting the time in to teach yourself this particular skill.
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