The information that I covered in this part (#3) includes the following sections, which I talk about in more detail further down this page: Programming and set flow, do you need to beat mix, examining some popular DJ software, & thoughts about Ableton Live?
DJ'ing for Beginners, Part 3 of 4:
In this video I talk about music programming, set flow, mixing styles, beat-mixing (bars and beats and phrasing), mixing in key, DJ software, Ableton Live, and much more.
Here's the outline that I used when putting together this third part of the series:
Programming and Set Flow:
- Think about “contingencies,” ie. problems that might happen, and plan how you'd react to solve them.
- Theory about BPM's and energy levels. Gradually rising, sudden drops.
- Different mixing styles, drawn out versus abrupt.
- The importance of programming. Programming is 80% of your job. If you don't play songs that people like, it doesn't matter how technically skilled you are!
- For those of you playing venues where there will be more than one DJ, learn to be good at being an opening or closing DJ. Understand what the roles are for these two positions within a lineup. If you're the only DJ, you still need to think in terms of “warm-up” and “busy dance floor.”
- Dealing with an empty dance floor. Do you play your great tracks early, or save them?
- Never play a track twice in a night.
- Dealing with Requests.
- Using a microphone effectively.
- What if you need to go to the washroom?
Do you need to Beat Mix?
- Radio mixing, and "chop" mixing or "drop" mixing.
- What is beat mixing/matching?
- Understand counting, bars/beats, and phrasing.
- Maintaining a flow is the most important.
- Planning out a set in advance. Pros and cons. Mostly cons.
- Beat-mixing on CD players. I have a sample mix online.
- Beat-mixing on vinyl. I have a sample mix online.
- Using the cross fader, or not.
- If you're getting frustrated when learning to beat-mix, just walk away for a bit. It's not easy. Practice is the only way to get better, but don't practice when you're frustrated.
- Mixing in Key.
Let's Examine some popular DJ Software:
- DJ'ing software changes very frequently, every couple of years. Rather than reviewing various programs in this video, and making it stale within a year or two, I'll be producing a separate set of review videos. Not available yet.
- General notes about using laptops, CPU, hard drive size, windows versus PC, etc.
- Summary of some of the programs that are currently available, including Virtual DJ, Serato, Traktor, Deckadance, AtomixMP3, DSS DJ, and PCDJ DEX.
What About Ableton Live?
- What is it used for? Can be used for production, for DJ'ing, for remixing, for live PA (performance art) in front of audiences, etc.
- DJ'ing capabilities: it is set up differently than all of the other DJ-specific programs. It seems more like a production suite, but in some ways, it is the most powerful software for DJ'ing.
- Incorporating production work into your set.
- Making a studio DJ mix, my first popular videos.
- Learning to DJ live with Ableton. Mention video series.
Here are all the other videos that were mentioned in Part 3 of the "DJ'ing For Beginners" series:
DJ'ing for Beginners: Beat-Mixing on CD Players:
Sample DJ Set on CD's (SHG 150) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
Sample DJ Set on CD's (SHG 156) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
DJ'ing for Beginners: Beat-Mixing on Vinyl:
Sample DJ Set on Vinyl (SHG 160) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
Sample DJ Set on Ableton (SHG 155) using the Audience's audio perspective:
Sample DJ Set on Ableton (SHG 155) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
Warping Tracks in Ableton:
Making a Studio DJ Mix using Ableton:
Mastering & Marketing your DJ Mix:
First Video in the "Live DJ Performances with Ableton" series:
Finally, if you'd like to download or listen to an audio transcript of this video, as an mp3 from Soundcloud, here's the link:
If you like the sound of any of the tracks played during the breaks between sections, I've got all of them available as free downloads. Go to SoundCloud and do a search for: "dj bolivia global underground"
DJ'ing for Beginners, Part 3 of 4:
In this video I talk about music programming, set flow, mixing styles, beat-mixing (bars and beats and phrasing), mixing in key, DJ software, Ableton Live, and much more.
Here's the outline that I used when putting together this third part of the series:
Programming and Set Flow:
- Think about “contingencies,” ie. problems that might happen, and plan how you'd react to solve them.
- Theory about BPM's and energy levels. Gradually rising, sudden drops.
- Different mixing styles, drawn out versus abrupt.
- The importance of programming. Programming is 80% of your job. If you don't play songs that people like, it doesn't matter how technically skilled you are!
- For those of you playing venues where there will be more than one DJ, learn to be good at being an opening or closing DJ. Understand what the roles are for these two positions within a lineup. If you're the only DJ, you still need to think in terms of “warm-up” and “busy dance floor.”
- Dealing with an empty dance floor. Do you play your great tracks early, or save them?
- Never play a track twice in a night.
- Dealing with Requests.
- Using a microphone effectively.
- What if you need to go to the washroom?
Do you need to Beat Mix?
- Radio mixing, and "chop" mixing or "drop" mixing.
- What is beat mixing/matching?
- Understand counting, bars/beats, and phrasing.
- Maintaining a flow is the most important.
- Planning out a set in advance. Pros and cons. Mostly cons.
- Beat-mixing on CD players. I have a sample mix online.
- Beat-mixing on vinyl. I have a sample mix online.
- Using the cross fader, or not.
- If you're getting frustrated when learning to beat-mix, just walk away for a bit. It's not easy. Practice is the only way to get better, but don't practice when you're frustrated.
- Mixing in Key.
Let's Examine some popular DJ Software:
- DJ'ing software changes very frequently, every couple of years. Rather than reviewing various programs in this video, and making it stale within a year or two, I'll be producing a separate set of review videos. Not available yet.
- General notes about using laptops, CPU, hard drive size, windows versus PC, etc.
- Summary of some of the programs that are currently available, including Virtual DJ, Serato, Traktor, Deckadance, AtomixMP3, DSS DJ, and PCDJ DEX.
What About Ableton Live?
- What is it used for? Can be used for production, for DJ'ing, for remixing, for live PA (performance art) in front of audiences, etc.
- DJ'ing capabilities: it is set up differently than all of the other DJ-specific programs. It seems more like a production suite, but in some ways, it is the most powerful software for DJ'ing.
- Incorporating production work into your set.
- Making a studio DJ mix, my first popular videos.
- Learning to DJ live with Ableton. Mention video series.
DJ'ing for Beginners: Beat-Mixing on CD Players:
Sample DJ Set on CD's (SHG 150) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
Sample DJ Set on CD's (SHG 156) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
DJ'ing for Beginners: Beat-Mixing on Vinyl:
Sample DJ Set on Vinyl (SHG 160) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
Sample DJ Set on Ableton (SHG 155) using the Audience's audio perspective:
Sample DJ Set on Ableton (SHG 155) using the DJ's CUE perspective:
Warping Tracks in Ableton:
Making a Studio DJ Mix using Ableton:
Mastering & Marketing your DJ Mix:
First Video in the "Live DJ Performances with Ableton" series:
Finally, if you'd like to download or listen to an audio transcript of this video, as an mp3 from Soundcloud, here's the link:
If you like the sound of any of the tracks played during the breaks between sections, I've got all of them available as free downloads. Go to SoundCloud and do a search for: "dj bolivia global underground"
I'm Jonathan Clark, known online as DJ Bolivia. Do you want to learn more about DJ'ing and music production? If so, visit:
If you happen to enjoy techno tracks, most of my tracks are available as free downloads from this link:
Thanks so much for visit, and for your support! I really appreciate the fan base that I've been able to build up over the years.
Also, if you want to visit any of my other sites, here are a few links:
YouTube: youtube.com/djbolivia
SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djbolivia
Blogger: djbolivia.blogspot.com
Main Site: www.djbolivia.ca
