There’s no end to the amount of DJ tips and tricks on infinite DJ blogs and forums online. After years of DJing everything from house parties and weddings, to bars and larger clubs, I’ve received advice and pointers from many DJ’s and have also learnt a lot from my own mistakes. Here I am offering 5 Essential DJ tips and tricks that will keep you prepared for every gig.
1. Back Up Your Files
Digital audio content is generally stored in the hard drive of your computer. If your hard drive is damaged you could potentially lose all of your music. Backup your files on an external hard drive and save yourself the headache!
2. Have A Backup Plan
Bring a separate format of your files to gigs – like CD’s or USB flash drives – in case something goes wrong with your files or preferred equipment. A skilled DJ knows how to improvise and play on multiple formats of equipment (CDJ, Controllers, Vinyl) and software (Serato, Traktor, Ableton, etc.) Practice on other formats when you get the chance, so that you are comfortable if you ever need to use them.
3. Know How To Improvise
Be ready to make changes to your playlist. It is a coveted luxury to play everything that you want to all of the time, but most DJ’s will experience the need to adapt to certain audiences. It’s great to have knowledge of several genres if you ever need to change the vibe.
4. Redlining Reduces Audio Quality
You should almost never be in the red zone on your mixer’s EQ. Although it may give your music more punch – you are over your mixer’s dynamic output, ultimately eliminating quality from the sound. It is better to keep the volume lower hitting peaks in the yellow EQ region and adjust the EQ (high, mid, low) individually to bring out certain qualities of each track i.e. the bass, vocals or kick.
5. Always Learn From Others
Always be learning more DJ tips and tricks from people better than you – friends and other artists. Reach out through sites like SoundCloud to get other artist’s opinions and suggestions on your mixes. Do the same for other artists, and help people who wish to learn from you – the best way to learn is to teach your skills. You never know what information or suggestions a person might have that could improve your technique.
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