Hie Everyone!
You know something, Till today i have beed sitting at home, making remixes, compiling them onto CD's and Playing them on my computer or mini home Disco theque. I am in a Hotel management College that has a Disco as a part of the entertainment Zone, and the DJ of that Disco got to know about me. Funny thing is i dont know who told him and how he Knew but he knew! He offered to teach me about the basic concepts of DJ'ing which he did. He als otaught me how to use the Studio Master Mixer, The two CD players and the computer all in collabration. He was and is still teaching me and is Hell bent on making me an excellent DJ and he says that Itll take atleast one year (which I dont mind at all.). Ever Since, My Identity even in college has changed from Namit to DJ and even while in class Imm called DJ and not my real name!!!! I really like that. A Few days ago I went to My Friends Brthday Party which she was giving at a Discotheque and the DJ there was out sick and someone had come in place of him and was doing the DJ, and was making a pretty bad show of it! I offered to DJ using my own CD's(which luckily I had got at that moment) and that guy rudely tod me that 19 year old guys dont DJ. I said Ok! Fine Lemme play one song and lets see public Demand. My friends were Skeptical too as to whether idd be able to play on that equipment (Gemini mixer) but One song, Mind you One song had all my friends screaming and dancing their hearts out. I really felt nice to be DJing all alone That day (FOR DA FRST TIME!!!) and I was doing the DJ for nearly 2 hours all alone. I felt great and It made me feel proud that I managed to do it! All thanks goes to My teacher DJ at the College Disco and All my friends here on the forum too. Many Many Many Thanks to all!
I want advice from everyone as to how to proceed further and I am really keen to learn all about the concepts of Sound as well as all about the concepts of Mixing, Beat Matching, And how to adjust, hi, Low , Medium and Gain to get good and clear sounds. Do Help!

DJ NAMMU

Well there was me thinking that I was going to get a quiet night in....then Paula comes calling .

Okay, first of all be thankful that you've found somebody who is willing to spend the time to train you . D.J's like this, are very few and far between, although one thing to remember when you are learning the business is to maintain your individuality. Yes a good "mentor" will teach you the ropes and is certainly a must but make sure that you don't copy them and become a clone.

When dealing with other D.J's, remember that there is still a lot of ego and pride attached to the occupation, and those D.J's who will immediately view you with hate once you have announced that you are "in the job". Ignore these narrow minded individuals, but don't become one of these yourself when talking to them. Nobody likes to be made to feel inferior and if you come across as being too confident, big headed and appear to "know it all" then the other D.J is likely to be on the defensive.

With regard to training, my own trainees spend around 6 months on a part time basis purely helping out. During this time, they will either be purely observing how myself or Richard run the gig, or will be using the mixer, cuing up the next track etc - all under supervision. Then they will progress to the mic work. Usually in this period they will have seen what D.J'ing involves (the good & the bad!) and I will know that, by then, they have the dedication to carry it further.

On the whole my own trainees, will spend at least 12 months before they are allowed out to do a gig on their own. This doesn't mean that they won't be doing a good gig well before then, but I prefer to set a minimum period, since after all, they will be working under my name and reputation.

Depending on age and the individual, you could pick up D.J'ing in a few months, or it may take a few years. A year to pick up the basics is, in my own opinion, a little bit of an exaggeration, you could possibly be running your own successful roadshow by then. If by "D.J Teacher" you are refring to somebody who is being paid to teach you??, then I am a little sceptical about somebody who is being paid by you, telling you how long it is going to take, so soon into the course. I mean, he has a financial incentive to keep you on the course for as long as possible!.

My own training policy would roughly be along the lines of:-

Stage 1:- Purely observing, watching how the equipment and lighting goes together and how an experienced D.J runs an average gig.

Stage 2:- Using the mixer and cuing up the next track. How to set up and maintain adequate EQ settings for changing room acoustics (i.e people arriving and leaving). Finding the right point of a track (Removing quiet intro's), basic mixing and how to merge two tracks without mic intervention. (I'm not an expert in beat mixing although I can obviously bring in two similar tracks without crashing). I leave the beat mixing to another D.J -Chris (Prodical Son).

Stage 3:- Basic mic use, hold to talk into a mic, mic technique etc, this would probably just involve them making basic one line announcements such as "Buffet Ready", "Last Orders", "Taxi for Smith" etc. At this point I would also be asking them to suggest a next track to follow the current one. At first inexperience often shows, but when they start following a routine which works, then you know that they are starting to think AND read the dancefloor / Audience.

Stage 4:- More involved mic use, introducing tracks, announcements. Also basic technical routines such as changing fuses and lamps. common equipment faults and how to rectify or get around them.

Stage 5:- Running an actual gig by themselves, but with me still being present, at this stage the individual has usually being helping at least once a fortnight for the last 10 - 12 months. Sometimes it can take as long as 18 months before they are ready to go and do a show by themselves, other times it could be only 6 months for them to reach a semi - pro level. The 12 month philosophy is just my own training policy for peace of mind, but I have seen people who could easily do an average gig, long before then.

Remember that Mobile D.J'ing for an audience of all ages is more than just being able to beat mix. You may have a full dancefloor but the next track - although mixing perfectly into the last, could possibly have very adverse reaction and empty the dancefloor.

A good Club D.J will be able to beat mix popular tracks AND keep a full dancefloor. A bad club D.J will purely mix to satisfy his own ego and if as long as it mixes 100% and he can slap himself on the back, then to hell with the dancefloor.

For the average Mobile D.J at a Wedding Reception, then sometimes it is more important to mix the era's and play something for everybody!, rather than to actually Mix the TRACKS. Yes, it is possible to mix and do mobile work, but knowing when to change the music to a different era, and inform people of the fact by using a mic.

This is one of the main differences between Club D.J's working a Set at a popular nightclub, and the 5 - 80 year old mixed audiences at Ruth's 50th Birthday



Just my thoughts!

Ok i no of two 16 year olds sorry!!

hehehehehe!

I thought you were packing in and selling up Shaun??

Hey DJ - (can I call you that) ... did you get the mp3s in the end???


Regards
DD

It's good to see that some DJs are still willing to pass on their knowledge and information to someone else. I agree with one of the previous posters, many DJs are too arrogant or are insecure enough to train someone else.

I got to know the basics from someone who saw some talent in me before the first couple of nights with him were over. I thought I had the worst mic voice in the world but he assured me it wasn't as bad as I personally thought. He laid the foundation for what I do now, but he always told me never to try and copy his style. His style was personal to him and I should always have my own way of doign things on the night.

I can see why the DJ was so hostile towards you. In this business we get sooooo many people come up and tell us: I'm a DJ mate, can I bang this tune on... or ... So what gear you got then, can I have a go?... or ... I've got such and such at home, have you got it?

I'm used to these type of people and know that in every situation I must keep my calm, but not everyone can do this. Perhaps the DJ in question thought you were just trying to encroach on his territory and this was the straw that broke the camels back.

Still, don't let the experience so far go to your head. My YT (remember them? Youth Trainee), got a little too confident and started pestering pubs and clubs in my area - obviously, I got to know about this, but I let him learn the hard way that experience counts for an awful lot. My YT did not have enough experience, in my personal opinion.

He's since lost the ego and the setback has probably made him realise that you can't just jump into a job like DJing.

Hope this helps,

DJJ

Hey Today, November 14, Was celebrated as Childrens Day here in India. On this day every Year Teachers Wish their Students A very Happy Childrens day and often there is a function as there was in our college today. Lots of games were arranged and of course there wasa Dance party Too by the DJ. Hey was a great Guy and I spoke to him to help me and he taught me the basics. Sudddenly While the track was going on the lights went off on a Scheduled Power cut of one hour and our teachers took us off for Dinner. All of us wanted to dance after dinner so we went down again to where the dance party was being held. The Power had come but the DJ had dissappeared!!! And all of us were waiting. I saw a girl I have a crush on and she was looking upset and I couldnt stand it so I Quickly ran and god my cd's from my Vehicle's Glove Compartment, and started Playing. This was the first time I was playing in front of everyone and many people were pretty shocked that how could a terribly down to earth Hard working normal student like me be a DJ???? And I really liked making that girl Dance and watching her dance. Later that Girl also got the award for the Best Dancer!!! But It felt really nice to DJ in front of so many People! Bt I really dont Understand that how is it that I always happen to have my CD's on such occasions???? Though I later realized some mistakes I had made, specially the main one being That I was using slow songs whereas I should have used faster songs. THIS IS ONE THING I NEED TO LEARN: HOW TO ASCERTAIN WEATHER TO USE FAST OR SLOW SONGS IN A PARTY. PLEASE HELP ME IN THAT!!!

DJ NAMMU

Me thinks you had better start wearing your y-fronts over your trousers and calling yourself "SuperDJ"!

Knowing when to play slowies will become obvious to you with experience. Good luck.... you seem to be having some at the moment!

Good to hear your response, McCardle, and to find out that some trainees can let a couple of compliments go to their head, to the point whereby they think they are the best DJ in town. It's good, in one respect, to know this happens across the country.

I should have continued with my info on the trainee, but I didn't want to bore everyone... what I will say is that the trainee is back with me, he did no harm to my reputation when he went out looking for work by himself. Fortunately, he's always respected what I've said to him when he is being shown the ropes. There have been times when I have calmly told him the error of his ways and there have been times when I've gone through him like a dose of salts... but, it's always been constructive criticism and he has taken it on-board.

My trainee has sourced a coupe of nights work with my equipment, which I can't complain about, becuase I'm getting my cut of the payout. He's gradually getting a good reputation from the work he's done so far, but in this game, DJs should be constantly learning new ways of doing things.

He now knows that he will not get a job after only doing a few shows by himself and I think that the managers of pubs/clubs cannot take the risk of taking on an unknown. In McCardle's case I think that the pub/club owner only had the £££'s in their mind when he dropped you in favour of the new kid. These managers will soon learn the lesson of their ways when people will start complaining and walking out.

I've told my trainee take things easy and slowly and not to pester pubs/clubs for work. I've told him to get a good reputation for your work and gain experience and that's when people will come looking to him for work.

I think he knows the error of his ways, but everyone must learn from their mistakes. I've put him on the right track and I really think he knows how to get more work in this business.

I'm sorry to hear that McCardle has been stabbed in the back by his former trainee. My trainee never went as far as what's happened to you, mine just thought he was good enough to jump ship and go it alone - he found out, that this was not the case. However, I will think 'Job Done' when he sticks it out, gets a good reputation and valuable experience and hopefully goes on to bigger and better things. If this does happen, I will take great pride in that my time has been put to good use.

I hope McCardle will not be put off by the bad apple and you will take on a trainee again someday. The guy I started off with said to me that there's nothing better than seeing the fruits of his labour doing a good job and moving onto bigger and better things.

Cheers,

DJJ