Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Outdoor parties and raves are the backbone to the electronic music scene. Unfortunately, illegal activity and social stigmas place these parties under the watchful eye of law enforcement.
Learn how to avoid getting arrested at parties
Tags: Parties, Raves
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Choosing a great pair of headphones for DJing will help you build a better mix by letting you hear the mix in a better quality sound and by cutting out interruptions from all the sounds around you.
Using a small pair of headphones you get from Ipods are definitely not what you’ll want to DJ with. In fact, most headphones you’re able to buy at the local stores aren’t all that great.
Read which type of headphones you should get for DJing
Tags: DJ Headphones
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Saturday, January 30th, 2010
You could go out and buy a professionally made DJ stand that fits all of your gear perfectly but where’s the fun in that? Instead, build your own for under $30.
DIY Your Own DJ Stand For Under $30
Tags: How To Build A DJ Stand
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Friday, January 29th, 2010
Your grandma may have been playing oldies on her gramophone back in the 1800’s but what we’re up to is way beyond what she’d ever imagine.
I don’t recommend taking grandma out to your next rave but there are a few things you can learn from the same gear she used to spin ‘recs.
Tags: Beginner DJ Tutorial, DJ Cartridges
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
When it comes to learning about gear or how to DJ, there are plenty of websites available to the beginner DJ on the net.
If you want to learn how to DJ, checking out the following websites is a great start. You’ll be able to see what’s happening in the music scene, the new gear being release and find some great tutorials from mixing to scratching.
Learn How To DJ With These 12 Websites
Tags: DJ Tutorials, Learn To DJ Online
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Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Mix CDs is still one of the backbones of DJ promotion. Passing out promo CDs at events is a great way to get your name out there while giving people something to listen to on the way back from the party.
Creating a CD cover in Photoshop is easier than ever, with the help of these tutorials you should be on your way to making some great mix CDs.
Tags: CD Design, Promotion
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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Beatmatching can be somewhat of a difficult topic to discuss since it’s such a hands on experience. Explaining beatmatching using a post may leave you trying to decipher what I mean while you are scratching your head telling yourself “what the hell?”.
The simplest explanation I could give you is something you’ve probably have experienced a million times but haven’t put the two together.
Beatmatching is simply matching the beats from two songs so both of them are in sync which allows you to mix the tracks.
When breaking down the beat by counting bars and beats, you’ll often use the kick drum of the first bar and count off 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. This simple counting example can be applied to real world examples such as a blinking light while you’re sitting in traffic.
Have you ever sat in a turning lane with your blinker on and noticed that it was syncing with the car in front of you? This is a very simple, real world example of beatmatching.
You’ll notice that at certain points both of the lights will be blinking on at exactly the same time, much like the kick of the two tracks you are trying to beatmatch.
Eventually, the lights go out of sync because one is faster than another. Think of the lights going out of sync as being one track just slightly faster or slower than the other. See what I’m saying?
Now, if you could adjust the speed of your blinker to the same speed as the car in front you’d be able to match the lights (beats) of both cars (tracks).
With a turntable, you have the benefit of using a pitch slider to adjust the speed of the tracks.
If Track A is running at 140BPM and you are going to throw Track 2 (138BPM) into the mix, you know immediately that Track A will eventually get ahead of Track B.
To make sure you can beatmatch these two tracks you will need to adjust the slider on Track 2 so it matches the speed of Track A.
Once you have both of these tracks running at the same speed, you will need to further adjust and fine tune Track B by either nudging the platter to make it faster or touching it to slow it down slightly. It’s generally good practice to use the pitch slider, however, whenever you are adjusting the tracks to beatmatch because of the extra control.
Now that both of these tracks are in sync (think of the lights blinking at the exact same time) you can begin to mix the two tracks together.
Congrats, you’ve just completed a simple mix with two beatmatched tracks!
As you can see, you can look all around you in meatspace to find simple examples of beatmatching. Continue to train your ears and count wherever you go, practice, practice, practice.
I know this is a rather stupid example of beatmatching but I hope it helps you further understand.
Over and out.
Tags: Beatmatching
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Monday, January 11th, 2010
Choosing equipment can be quite a task if you are inexperienced or just getting started.
There are many different pieces of equipment and factors to consider before making any purchase to ensure you make the best choice to begin your DJ career.
Read The Beginner DJ Equipment Guide
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Saturday, January 9th, 2010
Beginner DJs have a lot of hard decisions as they start their career. Perhaps the hardest of those choices is which music format you will be spinning.
A proper choice of music formats will lead the beginner DJ down different paths throughout their career.
Continue reading about music formats for DJs
Tags: CD, Digital, DJ, Vinyl
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Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Buying turntables can be a nerve wracking experience for any beginner DJ. You have so many choices when it comes to the types of turntables but you may ask yourself what is the right one for me and which ones should I avoid?
Before you make any costly mistakes it’s best to do research, as always. Luckily for you, this post will tell you some of the things you’ll want to avoid when buying turntables.
Read on about what to avoid when buying turntables
Tags: Buying, Turntable, Vinyl
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