Do you find DJing frustrating? Well, that is possible, especially if you cannot differentiate the real DJing from wrong beliefs about being a better DJ.
Apart from taking advantage of DJ and music production courses, it is essential for you to allocate more time focusing on important things that can help your performance as a DJ. These things include intuition, observation, programming, crowd-reading, marketability, and more.
You may do things which you believe can make your DJing better without knowing that it will actually ruin your performance. So, it is necessary for you to figure out the things that will not actually turn you into a better DJ.
Knowing what you should not do is as essential as knowing what you should do. That is why we give you the following things to avoid for you to become a better DJ:
- Having Plenty of Tracks in Your Collection
How many songs do you have in your collections? Thousands? Millions? If you think diversifying your track list can help your DJing, you need to think twice now. By having millions of tracks, you are just hoarding. You cannot play 8 to 10 terabytes of songs in just a single gig.
What to do? The best thing you can do is to simply cut down the number of songs in your collection. That way, you can find music that suits your style. Then, once you enrolled in the best music production courses in London, you will discover the proper slashing down of collection. - Making Use of Pro Gear
We have already witnessed how some professional DJs amazed the crowd using Kontrol S4, enamored a massive audience through more than a couple of X1’s, or utilized budget controllers to stun the onlooking audiences.
Most neophyte DJ advance to pro gear, believing that it can make them better. We are not saying that those pro gears cannot be part of the standard DJ setup. However, if you want to do something impressive, you need to consider pro gear to a certain place. - Playing Records
It is true that mixing vinyl is fun and sexy. However, it does not deliver a professional make.
As a DJ, you have your own taste when it comes to a music format. For some, it is vinyl over digital or CDJs over controllers. You may also find controllers enough as long as you can do manual beatmatch. However, you also need to consider your listeners and try to encourage them to appreciate diversity and be open-minded when it comes to hardware. - Playing Pop Music
Most new DJs play a sound that is currently popular. As a result, they find it hard to be easily noticed. Instead of basing your music on Billboard charts or Beatport Top 100, why not build your own sound. - Not Playing Pop Music
Let’s face it – building your own music is a nice idea, but you need to determine the right things to do with that kind of sound. You also need to know who is relating or listening to your sound. For you to become a better DJ, you need to know what your audience really needs.
When you consider DJ and music production courses, you will learn the perfect time to play or not to play popular music. - Making Use of Sync
As technology continues to advance, it becomes easier for DJs to match or alight their beats. But, take note that it does not necessarily mean that you will not take any effort to know what and where you need to improve.
Whether you are a professional or upcoming DJ, you need to realize that improving your skills should not be stopped once you learn the proper aligning of beats. You do not need to rely on sync to do your job most of the time. Instead, try to continue improving your ability to match beats. - Not Making Use of Sync
You may be confused now, right? Although using sync cannot be an excuse of not improving your skills, still not making use of it will not be beneficial for you, too.
Not using sync is a standard functionality before DJs learn on how to sync, quantize, and snap. However, you can still remain a bad DJ regardless of sync function usage or lack thereof. So, the best thing you can do is to take advantage of the best music production courses in London to help you determine which is beneficial for you to do. - Dancing
Yes, you read it right. You may get yourself groove or shuffle your feet behind the deck, but it actually does not make you a better DJ. Now is the best time for you to realize that dancing while you are mixing will never transform your set to be a better one.
Although there is no wrong on dancing or being seen by the crowd that you are enjoying yourself, you need to make sure that you will not use it as criteria of determining your abilities as a DJ. - Getting Plenty of Likes
When you receive tons of Facebook likes or get thousands of plays on Soundcloud, you can be overwhelmed and think that you are already great in DJing. Take note that these things cannot automatically make you an amazing DJ. These things only indicate that your marketability is good, and you are starting to capture the attention of your target audience.
Instead of getting overwhelmed with the flooding likes on social media networks, we recommend that is would be better if you will personally talk to your potential bookings. Then, you need to try getting to know them better to determine their real needs.
Meanwhile, you need to know yourself better. This means that you need to go deeper about your approach and attitude and how you deal with your audience. It is also essential to deeply understand and improve your musical style. - Doing FX and Button-Mashing
Whenever you are playing with effects and tricks while DJing, you can experience a lot of fun. However, you need to reflect whether it will sound good or whether it can add to the whole experience of your audience.
Replacing record-flipping and beatmatching with finger drumming or playing with the FX knobs has the right place to do. If you are good at FX or button-mashing, then it is better if you can determine what you are trying to accomplish in integrating those effects. But, if you find no point for doing it, you need to just go for the track ride.
Are you aspiring to be a great DJ?
Whenever you are trying to improve your DJing, always remember that there are various types of DJ. You can be a club DJ, wedding DJ, radio DJ, and so on. The point is, you need to know what type of DJ you want to be so that it becomes easier for you to learn the necessary skills and music style you need to focus on.
Each type of DJ has its own strength and specialization. For you to completely improve your DJing skills and understand your craft, it is best if you would consider DJ and music production courses. Keep in mind that being a good DJ means that you know how to welcome changes and new learning.
