DJ'ing

This is a story about how I got hooked up in the music world and learned everything about what is needed to be a reasonably good DJ, and the equipments you would necessarily need when it comes to DJ'ing. My younger days were filled with lots of fond memories (not to say that now it's not...). Growing up in the 70's era, we didn't have things like PS2's, so what was our favourite past time? House parties on most of the weekends!! I was lucky because I had brothers who practically organised parties, every other weekend. You should see the walls at our old place, cracks everywhere (due to loud music..) Thank God it's been torn down long ago for development in that area.

Couldn't get it out of my head, so, I picked it up where they left off. Slowly began mixing songs for private parties and after building enough courage decided to get involved in the club scene, the rest was history.

DJ'ing has evolved beyond it's humble beginnings. Back in those days DJ's were popular for being Radio Deejays/Announcers. Today, there are many different types of DJ's out there in the market due to different factors like : performance settings, choice of music, the intended audience etc.

Call it whatever you want, playing, mixing, scratching, but eventually everything boils down to skill. Now, that's powerful.

The whole idea in DJ'ing is to be able to seamlessly blend tracks together so that they become one huge never ending song (not to be confused with a broken record...). Nowadays everyone wants to be a DJ. If ever you dreamt about how the whole thing works and how they do it behind the decks, you gotta read on. Here's a couple of clues on how to get started because getting the right DJ Equipments is essential, unless you've got your hands on a pair of ipod DJ Mixer. I mean this has simply got to be the best invention till date . Imagine no more going into a club with boxes & boxes of records, coz everything you need, will be in your pockets!

DECKS
Get a minimum of two devices, which could either be a combination of a DJ CD Player or a Turntable set. This, would allow the user to alternate back & forth in between tracks to create a continuous flow. Every equipment is going digital age but you will still get complaints from the "Old Timers" 'cause digital sound will never be as good and punchy as the ones from vinyl. On the other hand, I personally, prefer to play with Cd's. Another reason is that I get to travel light (no more bulky vinyl boxes to carry around)

These modern day decks come fully equipped with extras, like BPM (beats per minute) Counters (trust me, it will come handy), Loop Controls, Multiple Cue Points etc.

For the die hard vinyl collector, if you still want that "feeling", go get yourself that direct drive turntable and you will be safe. Don't waste money on belt driven ones. Make sure your pitch control is located on your right, for easier control.

AUDIO MIXER
Besides having to own the two Decks, an Audio Mixer is the next big thing you should grab. The Audio Mixer plays an important part in a DJ set. This will allow you to change the sound/tracks without having a break in the melody or beats.

Look for a Two Channel Audio Mixer for starters. This unit should preferably be equipped with a Cross Fader, Individual Gain Controls, Individual Faders and Head Phone sockets etc.

Plug these two equipment together and you're off on your beat mixing/beat matching journey.

AMPLIFIER & SPEAKERS
This solely depends on individual. I wouldn't know where you would hook up your set, could be in your bedroom, maybe. If that was the case then plug in the cable from the mixer into the CD or AUX port at the back of your Hi-Fi.

A lot of research has to be done before you go get your Amplifier or Speaker Set, so, take your time, choose what you think will be the best for you. Getting an amplifier and speaker separately (as in brands) works for me; it may be more costly but this sort of set up would definitely produce better sound & performance.

ACCESSORIES
The rest of the things would be items like Headphones, Slipmats and Cartridges (for Turntables). If you plan to go further with all this, then probably you have to start thinking about other equipment as well that you should add into your list e.g. Effect Processors, Samplers, Computerised Performance Systems, Drum Machine etc. A lot of these technologies are being updated all the time. I've recently encountered a DJ Mixing Software to solve all your problems and will make life that much easier for any DJ, it's called Deckadance, it's from the makers of FL Studio (it's a Digital Audio Workstation for Windows PCs).

With all that said, it's time that you start listening to more than one genre of music. Create that magnetic body language (that's the secret I tell you...), get your wardrobe collection changed, have that ultra modern hand phone (helps to evaluate your status, even if you're nowhere...) and lastly, create & believe the hype!

Whether you do it for fame or fortune, let the music guide your fingers & pump that beat in your soul.