How do I get started?

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theofficialtevo

New DJ
Oct 16, 2011
6
0
36
I am brand new at DJing, and want to know what steps I should take to get started. I have a Hercules DJ Control Mp3 e2, Virtual DJ 7, Traktor, and a MacBook Pro.

Thanks in advance!


Edit: As far as demographics, I am not concerned atm - I am shooting for "bedroom DJ-ing" at this point. I dont really have a specific genre preference, I listen to and therefore would like to mix electro/dubstep/house/DnB/hardstyle/happyhardcore
 
Welcome to ODJT! If you stick around, you will definitely learn a thing or two. The forum is a good place for advise, but its certainly not a beginners tutorial. Somewhere on here (I believe its a sticky) there is a long list of books purchasable on DJing that focus on technique. Theres also plenty of youtube videos and other online resources on all the beginners skills like beatmatching, harmonic mixing, and the use of loops, cues, eq filters and such. Research and aim to improve every day. Try using the record feature on Virtual DJ and share some of what you create with your friends (and on here if you can handle some tough love criticism haha). Start out with the music you're really passionate about and once your good with that, try moving out of your comfort zone a little, even if its not music that you would play at a gig, it will help you improve. I'm not a pro, but a little while ago I was in your position and this is everything I did as a bedroom DJ, hope it helps!
 
chasegreist said:
Welcome to ODJT! If you stick around, you will definitely learn a thing or two. The forum is a good place for advise, but its certainly not a beginners tutorial. Somewhere on here (I believe its a sticky) there is a long list of books purchasable on DJing that focus on technique. Theres also plenty of youtube videos and other online resources on all the beginners skills like beatmatching, harmonic mixing, and the use of loops, cues, eq filters and such. Research and aim to improve every day. Try using the record feature on Virtual DJ and share some of what you create with your friends (and on here if you can handle some tough love criticism haha). Start out with the music you're really passionate about and once your good with that, try moving out of your comfort zone a little, even if its not music that you would play at a gig, it will help you improve. I'm not a pro, but a little while ago I was in your position and this is everything I did as a bedroom DJ, hope it helps!
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Sounds like a plan, thanks! I am also a photographer, so I am very used to criticism (;
 
You'll get a lot of advice about actually djing itself. That's great. My advice to you if you're serious about djing to come up with a business plan first. What do you want to do and where do you want your business to go. Too many start up a new business and don't have a business plan setup. Which is why a lot of new businesses fail.

Make your goals realistic in what you want to do to start and where you want things to go. Don't just say you want to make lots of money djing but how do you plan to make this happen? Think of this as a business first and then djing itself being second.

You might want to read a book on how to be successful with your business. You also to start might want to join a DJ company to learn the business. Networking with other djs is key too and in time you might want to join an organization for us djs. I now belong to the New Jersey Disc Jockey Network Association. Just things to co
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
You'll get a lot of advice about actually djing itself. That's great. My advice to you if you're serious about djing to come up with a business plan first. What do you want to do and where do you want your business to go. Too many start up a new business and don't have a business plan setup. Which is why a lot of new businesses fail.

Make your goals realistic in what you want to do to start and where you want things to go. Don't just say you want to make lots of money djing but how do you plan to make this happen? Think of this as a business first and then djing itself being second.

You might want to read a book on how to be successful with your business. You also to start might want to join a DJ company to learn the business. Networking with other djs is key too and in time you might want to join an organization for us djs. I now belong to the New Jersey Disc Jockey Network Association. Just things to co
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I'm not really interested in a business just yet, more just getting good as a "bedroom DJ"
 
I must agree that when I started I didn't think of the business aspect at all, but a year later now that I know what I'm doing, I'm really considering it. It really depends on your needs... As an 18 year old student who started DJing in high school, it was purely a hobby and I was happy with just that. If you know you want to dj as a job, I'd start networking asap but if you're not sure, I would take your time and enjoy learning it as a hobby.
 
chasegreist said:
I must agree that when I started I didn't think of the business aspect at all, but a year later now that I know what I'm doing, I'm really considering it. It really depends on your needs... As an 18 year old student who started DJing in high school, it was purely a hobby and I was happy with just that. If you know you want to dj as a job, I'd start networking asap but if you're not sure, I would take your time and enjoy learning it as a hobby.
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Well, I have considered it, but I just don't think I'm at that stage in the game yet. I can beatmatch - then again, all I have as of now is a Hercules mp3 e2 controller. I think once I get some more legitimate hardware and learn on that I will look at it as a possible business. Let's also keep in mind that I am 16. Lol
 
theofficialtevo said:
I'm not really interested in a business just yet, more just getting good as a "bedroom DJ"
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I just wanted you to be open to the idea that if you plan on seriously persuing djing as something you seriously want to do to think of the business side and not just the part of you being the dj at a gig who rocked the event.
 
theofficialtevo said:
Well, I have considered it, but I just don't think I'm at that stage in the game yet. I can beatmatch - then again, all I have as of now is a Hercules mp3 e2 controller. I think once I get some more legitimate hardware and learn on that I will look at it as a possible business. Let's also keep in mind that I am 16. Lol
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Your age doesn't matter. Brian B started out younger then you as a dj and quickly learned from others that were successful. He got to be a very good dj and also a business man. He now owns a ton of gear and is very successful.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Your age doesn't matter. Brian B started out younger then you as a dj and quickly learned from others that were successful. He got to be a very good dj and also a business man. He now owns a ton of gear and is very successful.
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I know what you mean - at one point I will hopefully be playing at larger gigs, but for nowI am mainly interesting in learning to mix / learn on the hardware that I have / upgrade to better stuff. Is it really that important to tackle a business plan this early on? (Not trying to sound sarcastic/smart, honest question - you know more than i do)
 
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