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Topic: A KID TRYING

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hello everyone i what to learn to dj BADLY. its a funny story how i whated to be a dj ( i love play DJ Hero and I whated to DJ for REALS) so anybody can give me tip and avice ro get me stared and im 15
 
Posted Fri 27 May 11 @ 10:06 pm
The first thing, stay in school. Your English is terrible. Now, maybe English is not your native tongue. No excuse. You could have asked someone to help you, with this post. If you want to do something, do it right. It requires hard work to be a DJ, just as it does to communicate with someone. Some here may disagree, but I think it is more important to learn how to read and write, than to be a DJ. When the music stops, what will you do? So, my advice to you would be to practice, practice, and practice. That goes for your English and being a DJ. Good luck.
 
Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. As AMaHM pointed out, work on your communication skills. No employer will take you seriously if they can't read your resume'. Also, once again as AMaHM pointed out, practice, practice, practice. After that, no one can "tell you how" to be a DJ....it is a personal path you wish to embark on......
 
Ok guys take it easy on him he's only 16. Never mind we were all doing calculs and writing novels at 16. Since then the education system has failed. Honestly I feel very sorry for your generation. Anyways, welcome to the Virtualdj community and this is a good place to start.
 
I saved you the trouble of clicking a link and I have just copied and pasted some solid advice.

I have read pages upon pages of questions, problems, "how-do-I's," etc that I have decided to try and bring a lot of answers to all these questions to a singular post. Sure there are a guides here and everywhere else on how to do this and that, yet the same questions are always asked. If you feel I have missed something or if you know a better/different way, add your knowledge to this thread. Let's get started!

How do I get started mixing?
This seems to be a big one. The simple answer is make the down beats line up on EVERY down beat between two songs. What is really being asked is,
"How do I sound like all the awesome DJ's I have seen and heard?"
There is only one way.

PRACTICE.
PRACTICE.
PRACTICE.

Then when you think you have it down, practice some more. You can't go out and buy the shoes that Kobe Bryant uses and just expect to play like him. Same thing applies. Just because you go out and buy the gear and the media doesn't mean DJ'ing will just happen. Also, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEAT MIX!!!! Song selection is WAY more important than beatmixing. Unless your name is Tiesto, Deadmau5, Etc, your are gonna have to research your crowd you plan to play for and make sure you can actually pick the right songs to play. The big names like those mentioned can show up and play whatever they please and people will come to watch. But I can guarantee you that at one point they started just like you. I would also suggest heading to your local bookstore and read up on music theory. The patterns and ways songs are constructed needs to be understood to be able to mix at THE RIGHT POINT in the song. Is it a 16 count, or a 32 count intro? What key are the two songs in? What about the energy level of the two songs? Just because they have the same tempo, doesn't mean they will blend well.

How do I hook (insert gear here) to (insert gear here)?

My favorite variation to this question is the level of urgency: "Help I have a gig tonight! How do I...?"
If someone came up to you and asked you to drive their car in the Indy500 and you had never driven an Indy car, would you be completely honest and tell them that you have never driven Indy cars before? Most of us drive every single day. Just because we drive doesn't make us race car drivers. Even if you have ever raced a guy from one red light to the next doesn't qualify you to drive an Indy car. Also, you aren't going to log into a Indy forum and ask,

"How do I drive this thing? I have a race this weekend! Help!"

Now DJ'ing is not a +200mph sport. I get that. But before a driver sets foot on the track in Indy, you can bet he's done his homework. He knows his car inside and out. He knows the track. If money were no object, I could go out and buy an Indy car and enter myself in the race. How well do you suppose I will do? I have watched a lot of races. I even played racing video games. Oh yeah, I stole the gas for my car too. It's no biggie. The company that makes the racing fuel get's enough money from other teams and sources. They won't even notice the fact that I didn't pay.

Doesn't sound very professional does it?

Same theory applies yet again. Have a legal media library. Buy decent gear. Read the owners manuals! I will say it again: READ THE OWNERS MANUAL!!! If you buy a used piece of gear, Google is your best friend. Type in the name of the gear and the word "manual." The thing about DJ gear is this: From the analog source to the speakers has not changed much. Speakon, XLR, RCA, and 1/4 Unbalanced are pretty much all there is to it. Where most of the questions come in, they are about how do I get sound out of this computer and into my audio gear? That is the function of a soundcard. This next bit is very important:

A soundcard is simply an analog to digital to analog converter


It takes a digital signal (the mp3/wav/mp4/etc) and converts all those 1's and 0's to analog sound. Likewise, they can take an analog signal (like a microphone, instrument, or a live feed) and convert it to 1's and 0's that the computer understands. Soundcards can be built in (i.e. the headphone jack on your computer) or they can be external. External cards come in a variety of flavors. Some are integrated into MIDI controllers. Some are rackmountable. Some, like Serato's interface, include the software. They can be big, Like the M-Audio Profire 2626 or small like the Numark DJIO. They come with a variety of inputs and outputs. Some communicate with the computer via USB, and some via Firewire.

Now with all those variables, you can see where knowing the specific information about the gear will help answer the question. That being said, here is a simple guideline:

The computer needs a soundcard to get sound out.

If it's an internal card, look at the jacks. 99% of the time it will be a 1/8th (3.5mm) jack. These are typically called headphone jacks. They make cables that have a 1/8 plug on one end and different plugs on the other. With an internal card, most of the time you will need a cable that has a stereo 1/8 plug on one end, and two RCA's on the other. If you don't know what an RCA plug is...
The 1/8 plug will plug into your internal soundcard, usually on the headphone jack. The RCA end (typically red and white) will plug into your mixer. This is where it gets confusing for some. How you setup VirtualDJ will affect what is coming out of those RCA plugs. You can setup your sound configuration as a mono separated and send one deck to the red RCA and the other deck to the white RCA. Then you would need an adapter for the RCA end of the cable.
Most mixers will have a red and a white RCA jack for each channel. This is for stereo sound: Red is the right signal and white is the left. You will need 2 splitters. The splitter has a single female RCA on one end and two male RCA's on the other. Plug the 2 male RCA's from one splitter into the red and white RCA on a channel on your mixer. Do the same with the other splitter on the other channel. Now you have effectively turned each channel from red and white RCA's to a single RCA for each channel. Now take your cable from the computer and whichever RCA you assigned to deck one plugs into the deck one adapter on the mixer. Do the same for deck 2. Now your mixer becomes the volume control for each channel. Your headphone cueing will be done from the mixer as well.

If it's an external card, most of the time they will have RCA jacks on them. It's as simple as red to red and white to white. Now instead of a mono signal, you can send a stereo signal to each channel on your mixer. The adapters you used before are no longer needed. The attacment from sound card to computer will either be USB or Firewire. This is the desired method. Most QUALITY external soundcards offer much better performance that using built in sound.

To buy or not to buy

This is a black and white issue.

VirtualDJ Home is now available completely FREE for non-commercial use.

Designed for home DJs, VirtualDJ Home includes nearly all the features of VirtualDJ Pro, with only a few limitations.
If you don't own or don't plan to use any additional DJ hardware (mixer, turntable, DJ controller or video projector), then VirtualDJ Home will meet all your requirements.


If you do plan on hooking up a mixer, controller, turntables, CDJ's, video projector or TV, then you need to purchase the Full Pro version. If you plan on playing for the public, even if it's at your buddy's house in his basement for a house party, then you need the Full Pro version. The full Pro license also gives you access to all the sweet skins, plugins and updates. FREE! FOR LIFE! If you want to be taken seriously as a professional DJ and if you want to be truly respected as a peer on these forums, then going pro is the only way to go.

You are ALWAYS on stage.

You never know who might be watching and listening. It really doesn't matter if it's Facebook, the mall, the gas station, or at a gig, your next client could come from anywhere. Be mindful of what you say and who you say it to. Mom's advice: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." This should be your golden rule. In addition to the gigs I book for myself, I also do work for 3 different DJ companies in my town. How did I become the "go to" guy for 3 competitors? I treat them all with respect. I don't share information about any of them with the others. And I am always ready when they call.

So keep this in mind before you post on Facebook or message boards, hit send on that email, or cut someone off in traffic: That could be your next client.

Communication

If you are still reading all this, here is my final bit of advice. Learn how to communicate with proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. This is not a cell phone text message. Communicating properly will get your questions answered much quicker. I don't care if you are 14 or 40, communicating properly not only helps here, but when you sit down with prospective clients, it's important to sound professional. Walk into a meeting with a bride to be or a bar owner and spew out a bunch of street slang, you are likely to lose out on the gig. This is a business and if you expect to be treated with professional respect, you need to communicate as such. That line is worth repeating:

This is a business and if you expect to be treated with professional respect, you need to communicate as such.

This IS a business. Taxes and insurance are paid, as is upkeep on gear and investing in a quality LEGAL media library. Contracts are used and there should be a business plan in place. Until you turn 18, you cannot enter into a contract. My advice is to call the DJ's in your area and tell them about wanting to learn this business and offer to be a roadie for free. Spend the next 3 years soaking up as much as you can. Polish your communication skills, graduate from high school, then go to college and major in business and marketing. Then come back here and share what you learned with some young kid who wants to be a DJ when he grows up. Maybe even offer a roadie job to him...

I hope this helps you succeed!
 
TIP #1: Try to forget DJ Hero completely. Just like Guitar Hero has absolutely nothing to do with real guitar playing, DJ Hero has very little to do with actual DJ'ing.

TIP #2: Download and install the free Virtual DJ Home to get an idea how software-based DJ'ing works.
 
Just as I said in another topic about DJ hero, I said it would raise the popularity of DJing. Making it even more commercial, every man and his dog!
 
DJ Cyder wrote :
Ok guys take it easy on him he's only 16. [/url]



That's the problem, everyone has been easy with him. I'm trying to help him, not hurt him. He needs to start with the basics, which includes practice skills. Judging from his post, he does not have good practice skills. Everyone wants to skip over the basics, that's why we have so much mediocrity.

DJnutz, that's a great post, with a lot of info.
 
Also another thing to consider is the social sacrifice you make by being a professional DJ. Every one of the members of the community that have posted in this thread thus far are taking their weekends away from their friends, families and themselves to make a living and do what they love to do.

What kind of DJ are you aspiring to be? Mobile DJs give up their entire Saturdays to travel, setup, play for a few hours and then tear down. Club DJs work multiple nights a week. And then there are the Hybrids (Mobile & Club), who work both types of events... sometimes with very little rest in between.

Partying with your friends at home and messing around with music may be a good time, but it's not quite the same when you're doing it for a living. Sure it's a great job, and it's fun to play music, but you're NOT partying like everyone else is. The job is to stay sharp, focus on your audience and show them a good time while sacrificing some of the social aspects of your life.

I'm not trying to detour you from joining the realm of the DJ, just giving you fair warning as to what you're signing up for.
 
You have a life time to learn how to read and write properly, your skills improve with age, especially if your a DJ handling thousands of music files on a weekly basis.

I couldn't read and write when I left school and have educated myself since, I now work in senior positions within large companies which are mainly considered graduate jobs.

DJing is a good job for someone with poor schooling, most of the work is manual if your mobile and other than that your playing music.
 
Charlie Wilson wrote :
You have a life time to learn how to read and write properly, your skills improve with age, especially if your a DJ handling thousands of music files on a weekly basis.

I couldn't read and write when I left school and have educated myself since, I now work in senior positions within large companies which are mainly considered graduate jobs.

DJing is a good job for someone with poor schooling, most of the work is manual if your mobile and other than that your playing music.




What?????????? Step away from the crack pipe. Charlie, I disagree with everything in this post. He does not have a life time to learn. If he came into my salon today, I would not hire him to clean up. I interview plenty of teenagers, and they all have to have basic skills. I am glad that you were able to educate yourself, but if you had learned to read and write earlier, maybe you would own the company, instead of working for someone else. "DJing is a good job for someone with poor schooling", is an insult to most of the DJs that I know. If you aim low, that's what you will end up with. I would never tell someone to put off their education. The world is full of people with minimum education, do we need more? I was not the smartest kid in school, but knew that I needed to work harder, if I wanted to succeed at anything. We did not have these cute little terms like, ADD or ADHD, when I was growing up, it was stupid or slow. Let's try to encourage him to reach a little higher. This is the craziest post I have read in awhile.
 
uuuuhhhhhh

when i was 16 i was doing calculus , writing novels and doing cheerleaders ......

ok ,forget the novels , and the calculus ....

ok, i was TRYING to do the cheerleaders .....

i could never seem to get those clasps undone on the back of their br

never mind


look, the only way to be liked is to be likeable

the only way to help is to be helpful

are we doing that?

we can't fix the world ....

we can help one person......


we are hitting him with a lot and arguing amongst ourselves sows confusion ....

we might be just another example of adults grinding their axes and not helping???????

lets introduce him to the home edition , try and help him and maybe get one young person

started right....?

i agree with Rick that Nutz's info is very good , but for him it is probably just too much .....

he's new to all this

we could just be nice , stick to the basics and take it one step at a time.......?
 
You know something has gone terribly wrong with a thread when Chuck is the one offering reason ;)
 
musicalcheers wrote :
You know something has gone terribly wrong with a thread when Chuck is the one offering reason ;)




I know. When I read it, I could have sworn I saw The Baby Jesus. I'm on my way to church now.
 
 
well, i am known for my truthiness and sober secretions......
 
 


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