DJ Tips and Tricks

*content from https://djingpro.com

When you leave the bedroom and begin playing at venues the basic skills have been learned and hopefully mastered. Many DJ's will not strive to perform any better by learning more advanced DJ tips and tricks. They've learned their skill, they're playing to crowds, and they're now happy.

But what if you want to outshine the other DJ's you're playing alongside? What can you add to your DJ sets to make them stand out?

Or maybe you're making mistakes and need to take something away from your sets?

Whatever you need these top DJ tips and tricks will make you stand out above the rest!

Let's take a look at the ways to improve your mixes and to add a few things many DJ's don't have. We'll also point out some of the mistakes you very often hear from beginner and experienced DJ's.

1. Preparing your DJ set

As soon as you know where it is you're going to be playing you should prepare yourself. Get to know exactly what you will need for this particular set. And make it a habit to fully prepare for every set in the future.

You should know what the crowd are expecting to hear and what time slot you are playing for. Take the right music and also some fall backs just in case you get a tough crowd.

Get your music sorted into folders that make it quick and easy to find what you want to play. You could even make a playlist specifically for that gig. Get a stack of tunes that work perfectly together and you won't be guessing so much on the night.

2. Film yourself DJing

When DJing for a crowd it's important to look the part. Nobody wants to watch a boring DJ that never takes their eyes off their equipment and has a blank expression.

You should interact with the crowd, dance, sing along, and smile.

Try setting up a camera in your home and filming yourself mixing. Imagine that you're playing at a venue. Put on the exact same show as you would if you had a crowd in front of you. Watch the video back to get a good idea of how you look to others.

Do you like what you see? Would you be impressed if you were a part of the crowd? If the answer is no then work out where you need to improve your performance. Then film yourself again, put on a top show, and practice until it's perfect.

3. Watch out for red lights and clipping on equipment

When I take over from another DJ to play my time slot, I'll often be greeted by red lights clipping on amps and the mixer. So many DJ's still neglect the lights, but by letting them remain in the red is risking damage to equipment.

You'll also have distortion of speakers and headphones. This makes your set sound terrible, and risks a speaker blowout. If you see this you need to turn your gains, EQ, or master volume down until you see green.

As a general rule, Gains and EQ should remain at the 12 O'clock position throughout your set. Simply by being aware of this already stands you apart from about 75% of DJ's that I've met!

Catch us next week for more DJ Tips and Tricks on Let's Go Big Tunes blog page.