How To DJ - A Step By Step Guide

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“I nearly went mad”

LEARN HOW TO DJ If you’re the type of person who gazes enviously at DJs as they send the crowd into a frenzy with the right beat of the right record at the right moment, then it’s time to take action.

Use our handy guide on how to become a DJ and set yourself on the path to vinyl Valhalla

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1. LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED So you want to be a disc jockey? And why the heck not? It’s an art form that attracts gadget geeks and ego freaks, button bashers and fist pumpers, scratchers and storytellers, bass monkeys, techno junkies and everyone in between – sharing the music they love to make people dance. Whether you’re playing a house party to a small group of friends or watching thousands of people bouncing up and down, there is no better feeling than seeing a crowd forget all their worries, throw their arms in the air and lose themselves to the music. Sound good? Well then, let’s get this party started…

2. OK, DJING SOUNDS COOL. BUT WHAT IS IT? DJing is the art and technique of creatively manipulating and mixing two or more different tunes together to form a continuous mix, also known as a ‘set’. Techniques vary dramatically depending on the style of music being mixed.

For example, hip hop DJs often favour quick cuts and chops between tracks, whereas

house, disco, drum’n’bass, techno and trance DJs lean towards more of a blend, overlapping and layering beat-synched or ‘beat-matched’ tracks and blending their elements together so one tune seamlessly merges into the next.

3. VINYL, CD, LAPTOP OR USB? There are many ways to DJ these days, but all still bear a basic resemblance to using the original vinyl turntable. Now, with advances in technology, digital options such as compact disc playing CDJs, USB controllers and computer software such as Traktor, Serato and Ableton allow you to mix music from all sorts of sources (vinyl, CD, MP3/WAV files and more). But, essentially, all of these become your ‘turntables’ or ‘controllers’, allowing you to play and manipulate tunes. Which one you go for depends on your circumstances.

4. FORMAT PROS AND CONS If most of your music is in digital format, burning tracks to CD or USB flash drives makes USB CDJs a perfect choice. Plus you can carry thousands of tunes with ease. Vinyl is heavy, expensive and rare, but for most, digging in vinyl crates for those amazing records and building a collection is what it’s all about. Plus the quality of vinyl is unsurpassed and you look like an absolute bad-man when you rock the black wax! Still, interfaces like Traktor or Serato do, however, offer a popular compromise: allowing DJs to use time coded vinyl records or CDs to play back their digital computer-based files. Try before you buy and do plenty of research online to help work out which is right for you.

5. QUALITY SPEAKS VOLUMES Remember that digital audio files come in all shapes and sizes. The smaller the file size, the more compression it is likely to have undergone. You might not notice the difference in your iPod headphones, but over a club soundsystem a highly compressed file will sound downright disgusting, causing people to burst into tears and ask why on earth you are ruining their favourite tune.

Do yourself a favour. If you’re going to use MP3s, stick to 320Kbps. Better still, rip CDs and download tracks as WAV files and everybody’s happy. Capiche?

6. TAKE ME SHOPPING AND KIT ME OUT So let’s talk equipment. For a basic set up here’s what you’re going to need: • Two Turntables – record player or CDJs, or a single unit USB Controller or Midi Controller) • DJ ‘closed cup’ headphones that encase your ear • DJ mixer – ‘two channels’ for two inputs, ‘three channels’ for three inputs, etc.

• Monitor speakers • Amplifier • Power leads, speaker cable and (red and white) stereo phono cables to connect everything Just remember, DJ gear can cost a fortune, so read reviews and start with the cheaper, beginner’s options, which will be perfect for building your skills. Then you can choose to upgrade when you are ready.

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7. LISTEN UP Ok, so you’re all kitted out. Time to get started.

The first thing you need to get your head around is the ability to listen to two tunes at once. One will be playing through the system (the one your crowd is dancing to). The other you must ‘cue up’ and listen to in your headphones. Using the ‘cue assign’ buttons on your mixer will allow you to select which channel (input) to listen to (the record you want to bring in). The knack is learning how to match what’s playing to the crowd with the other track in your headphones.

8. CUE ME UP, SCOTTY! Cueing your new track to the exact point where you want it to start is very important, especially as you won’t always want to start where the music or digital track decides is the beginning. With a record this means having the first beat poised under the needle, ready for you to ‘drop’, or using your CDJ jog wheel or digital readout to do the same on other platforms. By rocking the beat on vinyl back and forwards in time to the music or using the ‘cue’ button/function on digital controllers, you can make sure you’re ready to let the beat drop or play when the right moment comes.

9. BEAT-MATCHING Any DJ needs to learn how to beat-match. In terms of tempo, each tune has its own ratio of ‘beats per minute’ (BPM). Therefore if you want to blend a new tune into one that’s already playing, you need to match the BPM of the new tune to the one you are playing it into. On digital platforms the BPM is often shown on the display making it easier to adjust the ‘pitch control’ (the slider which changes the speed percentage at which your record plays) so the two numbers correspond. However, nothing rings truer than your own ear, so keep listening to the mix to make sure it stays in time.

10. STAYING IN TIME You want to make sure your tunes are going to stay in sync before you start to bring up

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the volume of the incoming tune. Using the listening technique above, it’s time to listen, adjust the pitch control, wait, listen, adjust and so on, until both tunes are perfectly in sync.

Learning, with practice, whether the beat you are introducing is playing faster or slower than the current tune is what it’s all about. The trick here, once you’ve noticed whether your track is a little behind or in front, is to nudge the turntable accordingly, either jolting the track forward or using a little bit of friction to slow it down – all whilst listening to the beats in your head and aiming to get them in time. Of

course, if you are using auto-sync, ‘virtual DJ’ or playing using laptop software, you’ll never encounter this problem. But then you’ll also never learn to mix properly.

11. CROSSFADING, VOLUME AND EQs How you navigate a mixer and the technique you adopt is down to choice, but most mixers offer you a series of ‘channels’ (inputs) with an up/down volume slider for each and often

rotary knobs allowing you to adjust the ‘gain’ (volume/level adjust) and the equalisation of the channel’s bass, middle and treble output – all of which can be used creatively in the mix.

For most DJs, however, the most influential tool on the mixer is the ‘crossfader’ – a horizontal slider which fades from one input or tune to another and allows two channels to blend. Held somewhere in the middle you are allowing both tunes to mix out loud, until you complete the transition by sliding the crossfader as far as it can go towards the channel you want to be heard. Tunes have different volume levels, so use your volume sliders, gains and the level lights to make sure both channels output at the same level.

12. TIMING IS EVERYTHING… KNOW YOUR MUSIC Grasping a good sense of timing and knowing the structure of your tunes is essential to being a good DJ. Mixing two choruses or mid sections at the same time rarely sounds good, so try and drop your new tune at a point where it will build up as the current tune starts to break down. Most dance records have extended outro and intro sections offering the perfect point at which to begin layering one on top of the other. Use waveform displays on CDJs and laptop displays to see when a breakdown is coming, or a point where, structurally, the current tune beings a new cycle of bars, which is often the perfect point to drop your next track. As you progress,

your instinct will tell when a drop is coming.

But remember, 99 per cent of dance tracks are based on a 4, 16 and 32-bar structure.

There are four beats in a bar, and generally this means after four bars, the music will reach the end of some kind of cycle and begin again.

After every 16 bars (4 x 4 bars) you’ll probably find the best place to drop your next tune. The structure of the tracks should mean you have a nice build up or drop to play with here before you slide the crossfader over.

13. TURN ON, TUNE IN, OR DROP OUT Make sure your records stay musically in tune.

Just because the beats of two records are both in sync, it doesn’t mean the records are in tune or in key. Listen first. If a mix sounds musically wrong, don’t do it.

14. THRILLS AND SKILLS So, you’ve nailed the beat-match and your mixes are tight. It’s time for some fun. Start playing with effects (like filters, echoes, delays and reverbs), looping (when you loop a section of a tune repeatedly), hot cues (using designated buttons to call up preset cue points from a certain track) or even teach yourself to scratch – the difficult art of manipulating the turntable and crossfader at lightning speed to chop, stab, juggle and ‘cut and paste’ between records. If you’re not feeling quite so expert, at least you can

BASIC DJ TERMINOLOGY • SeT: A collection of tunes mixed continuously together in a performance.

• CuE: To ready your tune at the point where you want it to start.

• DroP: Letting the tune go/where the beat kicks in.

• Scratch: To manipulate a record back and forth to make a scratching sound, used in time and with the

crossfader for ultimate effect.

• BeatMatching: Adjusting the pitch and BPM of tunes so they play in time.

• Crossfade: The transition from

one channel to another.

• Levels: Usually referred to in terms of the recorded volume of a track.

• EQ: Equaliser, referring to the bass, middle and

master a well-executed ‘spin back’. Similar to a ‘rewind’ where a DJ literally winds his record back to hype up the crowd and play it again from the beginning, a spin back can be executed to complete a mix. Spinning the turntable platter back (in vinyl mode on CDJs) to coincide with the big drop on the next record before slamming the cross fader over and completing the mix.

15. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Remember, you can become the most technical DJ in the world, but without knowing what tunes to play or how to react to a crowd, you might as well hang up your headphones right now. While it’s good to develop your own style, the ability to be flexible when things go wrong presents both a challenge and an opportunity to use your skills and get back on track. Ramming more of the same tunes down the crowd’s throat when they are not enjoying themselves will leave you staring at an empty dance floor. Get this right however, and your crowd will join you on a musical journey that will have everybody bouncing and smiling from ear to ear. And that’s what it is all about.

16. WELCOME TO THE PARTY PAL! So that’s the basics. But look online because there are thousands of forums, video tutorials and great bits of advice that will get you honing those DJ skills in no time. And after that?

Well, when you’re jet-setting between clubs where they spell out your name with lasers, just remember who taught you the tricks of the trade in the first place. treble controls on your mixer.

• CanS: Nickname for headphones.

• Pitch controL: The slider which changes the speed percentage at which

your record plays.

• BPM: Beats per minute.

• ChanneL: An individual input source on your mixer. Also refers to left or right stereo channels.

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answer back

Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing Partner & Group Editor lan Fairservice EditorIAL DIRECTOR Gina Johnson gina@motivate.ae GROUP Editor Mark Evans marke@motivate.ae Deputy Editor Rob Chilton robert@motivate.ae tech Editor Thomas Shambler thomas@motivate.ae features Writer Matt Priest matthew@motivate.ae Art Director Freddie Colinares freddie@motivate.ae Art Director Olga Petroff olga@motivate.ae Senior Designer Sheila Deocareza sheila@motivate.ae Picture Researcher Wenona Pinto Syed wenona@motivate.ae Contributors Phil Dudman, Gary Evans, Joe Minihane, Simon Spence

may 2

simon reid

Hailing from Kent, England, this Brit house devotee is the creator and resident DJ at MustHaveSoul What type of music do you play?

Music made with soul. From disco to house music. As long as it’s quality.

How did you get into it?

I’ve always been into music, but as a DJ it all started in Ibiza in 1998. I had all the kit but not a clue what to play. Then I saw Danny Rampling at Amnesia. His music inspired me and helped me to focus on the sort of sound I really wanted to play back then.

Of course, it has evolved several times since then.

What’s your crowd like?

The MustHaveSoul crowd is as diverse as Dubai. From those in the know, to those who just want to come and have a good time.

Whatever the crowd, we always have a great party at 360º.

What’s your guaranteed floorfiller tune?

At this moment it would be Let It Go from Copy Paste Soul.

And which tune clears the floor?

I wouldn’t say that I’ve had a true floor-clearer in at least the last few years. But one that I remember very well from years back is Royal House, Can Ya’ll Get Funky. I don’t think Dubai was ready for something that old-school at that point.

Tell us why we should we come to your night.

If you come to MustHaveSoul you’ll get passionate DJs, local and international guests, playing quality dance music at what I truly believe to be one of the best small venues in the world: 360º.

HEAD OF PRODUCTION Sunil Kumar sunil@motivate.ae Senior Production Manager Sudhakar Chandran sudhakar@motivate.ae Production Supervisor Binu Purandaran binu@motivate.ae General Manager – Group Sales Anthony Milne anthony@motivate.ae HEAD OF SALES Mark Pickup markp@motivate.ae Tel: +971 50 557 4126

Head Office: Media One Tower, Dubai Media City, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Tel +971 4 427 3000; Fax +971 4 428 2270 Dubai Media City: Office 508, 5th Floor, Building 8, Dubai, UAE, Tel: +971 4 390 3550, Fax: +971 4 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, UAE, Tel: +971 2 677 2005, Fax: +971 2 677 0124, E-mail: editor-wo@motivate.ae

MustHaveSoul, 360º, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, 6pm to 2am, free. Tel: (04) 4068999. facebook.com/musthavesoul

London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK, Email: motivateuk@motivate.ae

Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai

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