So I've been told I should DJ...

[MC Ardle]

In the last month or two, I have had heaps of people commend me on my music (not trying to brag). The "Curiosity" link in my signature is actually a link to my soundcloud account, so you can take a look for yourself. About a dozen of those people suggest that I should consider being a DJ.

That sounds like a good idea, but I have next to no idea what DJ-ing involves. I know that they play songs and scratch discs, and the good ones make their own music, but that's about it. So I have two questions:

1) With the level of knowlege and competency of music that I have so far, how difficult would this be for me to do?

2) What exactly does it mean to be a DJ: a) both 20-30 years ago when it was new

and

Nowadays?

Thank you for your input.

[Soul Splint]

This might be elligible to go in community instead of offtop; you'd definitely get some more advice there. Maybe you could PM a mod and ask.

[Overdriven]

Oh cool, another dude with the same issue I have/had!

Basically, you need to know the songs you mix, and know how BPMs work. also, try and know what songs are heavy where in terms of bass, mid, and treble. That helps a lot when messing with the way stuff sounds.

As for what DJing is, when it was new, it meant spinning records. these days, it can mean a multitude of things. One is stringing together songs, the other is mixing them with an actual electronic mixer and/or software (and mess with them using the FX and loops and sound settings on said mixer). And scratching discs is not necessarily something you'd do as a DJ these days. 99% of the time, you won't be scratching simply because it's unneeded or would be out of place.

Im not the expert here (yet, since I'm still somewhat of an amateur) but those are the basics every DJ needs to know.

Oh, and rule #1 of the art of DJing: have fun. I end up going NUTS with the music I end up mixing (granted, I only just started out, so I don't do this as often as more experienced DJs would, but still, you have fun, and the crowd will take it and feed it right back to you.)

[MC Ardle]

Thanks. I think I have some grasp on it now. I've looked on Wikipedia to learn a bit more.

Is there anybody here that currently works as a DJ that can explain their work? Insight from such a person would be much appreciated.

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

6 months ago or so I dabbled in a very fun, very rewarding version which you could easily call 'entry level' DJing. I have a Numark Total Control board which ran me about $150. It connects via USB to my laptop running Virtual DJ.

Both of these are admittedly NOT the standard, and every one of the pro DJs I've been able to hang out with tends to use much more pro hardware, a macbook, and traktor.

Regardless, if you have a musical background, if you really feel your music, if you can assemble a list of 200+ songs around 120-130bpm no shorter than 4 minutes... which you could not only feel comfortable playing but also say you 'know' intimately... it's an AMAZING hobby. I LOVED doing it. At least 5 to 10 times in a set you feel out the risk of trying something you're not sure is going to work.

At its worst you might feel bored standing in place waiting for a song to play out or feeling uncomfortable that you've missed a cue or let yourself down in some way. At its best, you create a different show every time, making live mash-ups, making people dance, and in general you get to look and feel like an absolute badass. You have to REALLY suck or play a REALLY pretentious crowd to not at least feel good about it; in my experience anyway.

It also depends on what you plan to spin. If you're going to play chart toppers of the 60's and 70's you may as well stick with a winamp playlist.