3 Tips To Make The Most Of Your DJ Practice Sessions

Marc Santaromana
Read time: 2 mins
Last updated 8 January, 2020

It’s always a good idea to practise, but it is an even better idea to practise correctly. DJing is a craft that requires hours of work, especially when you are just starting out, but one thing that can speed up the learning process is to make the most out of the time you do have to learn.

Here are three things you can do to have more effective sessions.

1. Have a plan

The best thing you can do before you begin practising is to come up with a plan for your session. Decide on one, or a few, specific things you’d like to get better at.

It is way too easy to get lost in the fun of DJing and lose track of time just to realise you haven’t really accomplished much in terms of developing your skills. Deciding what to work on before you start gives yourself a goal to achieve instead of just aimlessly mixing.

2. Set a time limit

For each of the specific skills you’ve decided to work on, set a definite time limit for each. This is especially important for DJs who may have other responsibilities, and not have as much practice time as they would like.

By setting a time limit, you make sure you’re spending your practice time efficiently and you’re able to cover everything you planned on working on without cramming.

3. Record and review your session

The most important thing you can do when you practise is to record your entire practice session and review how it went. This will considerably speed up the learning process and make you a better DJ, faster. This is because you’ll be able to pinpoint where you are improving and what skills may need more work.

Once you’ve reviewed your last session recording, you can then create a better plan for your current session. That means you can set aside more time for the skills that you feel need more work, and lessen the amount of time given to skills you already hear yourself improving at.

Finally…

It’s tempting to just get behind the decks and to start noodling and doing stuff you already know, but that’s not how you get better at DJing. If you want to improve, you have to identify what it is you want to work on, and then work on getting better at it.

These three steps will help you start to make the most out of your practice time and allow you to improve at a faster rate. Give them a go and see how they aid your sessions.

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