How did you start DJing? Did you have lessons?

andy_hoffman · Post by **andy_hoffman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:00 pm

Hey i'm just wondering how many of the dj's on here were self taught or had lessons professionally or got help from a mate or something. Cos there's alot of cool tricks in djing and i wonder how people found them out and got good at it.

Feigan · Post by **Feigan** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:01 pm

I'm self taught but I don't know any tricks

maybe I should get a lesson

Post by **breaksRbest** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:02 pm

I just ran up to the set up behing Lynt while he was playing and Hey Presto, I'm a air DJ

What ya need to know Feigan? Come over mate, no records necessary

cj the taniwha · Post by **cj the taniwha** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:03 pm

i got a lot of help and advice from mates, and the lovely freddy mcfly gave me some useful help and then left me on the decks one night at scubar at the start of the night to fend for myself, that was wicked.

andy_hoffman · Post by **andy_hoffman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:03 pm

hey i put a 3rd option on the poll for if u got taught by a friend but it didnt come up on the poll :S how do i change it?

Grey Son · Post by **Grey Son** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:03 pm

Did it myself.
Had 2 belt drives and a 1 sec sampler with a mixer about 10 years ago!!
I played tek and house back then so when i got into beats i had to change my style a bit but i seem to get by pretty well!!

factory worker · Post by **factory worker** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:05 pm

Nothing formal afterf having 5 giutar lessons that took me 5 years to find creativity outside the blues pentatonic scale. farkedn ripped about that. never again.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:05 pm

Taught myself, a few tips from Obliveus who got me into it all.

I've still got heaps of room for improvement though. Would love to be able to scratch, but can't really be assed.

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:06 pm

just edit the original post.

SoulWhiteMan · Post by **SoulWhiteMan** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:06 pm

did it myself but i acquired other knowledge....

that is to say: my brother got me "How to DJ properly" by Bill Brewster and Frank Brougham

a few years later I acquired the Scratch Perverts scratch tutorial video....

and took it from there....

I figure, you might as well get some information to make sure you're going in the right direction, otherwise you could be practicing the wrong things... like i was with scratching before i saw the scratch perverts vid

andy_hoffman · Post by **andy_hoffman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:07 pm

deviant wrote:just edit the original post.

doesnt give me the option to change the poll.. oh well doesn't really matter i guess

SoulWhiteMan · Post by **SoulWhiteMan** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:08 pm

Direktor wrote:Taught myself, a few tips from Obliveus who got me into it all.

I've still got heaps of room for improvement though. Would love to be able to scratch, but can't really be assed.

do it!

Grey Son · Post by **Grey Son** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:10 pm

Direktor wrote:Taught myself, a few tips from Obliveus who got me into it all.

I've still got heaps of room for improvement though. Would love to be able to scratch, but can't really be assed.

Scratch like this......

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:13 pm

SoulWhiteMan wrote:
Direktor wrote:Taught myself, a few tips from Obliveus who got me into it all.

I've still got heaps of room for improvement though. Would love to be able to scratch, but can't really be assed.
do it!

Yeah.... dunno. Jack of all trades, master of none with my drumming, producing, DJing, MCing - not sure if I should take on more activities or perhaps focus on a select few.

It's so demeaning to start learning something from scratch again (pun intended).

Grey Son · Post by **Grey Son** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:14 pm

I would love to scratch good, but then again id love to buy some decks too!!

SoulWhiteMan · Post by **SoulWhiteMan** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:24 pm

Grey Son wrote:I would love to scratch good, but then again id love to buy some decks too!!

get a microphone, a pen and a record you don't really like.....

turn the microphone on
put the record near it
scribble over the grooves with the pen....
doesn't sound as good, but saves buying decks

DBoy · Post by **DBoy** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:27 pm

12 years ago i was very determined, i was sure i would create music and be a DJ. I bought myself a 303 and a 202 as well as a sampler and a copy of Sound Forge (version 3 back then i think).

I was told by my peers it would be great to know how the music was created before i DJ'd. I started buying a few records, but more CD's than anything cause i was so in love with the music. When i finished school i had a shit load of CD's already and no money at all. I spent it all on partying so i never got decks.

2 years later the CDJ's came out, so i bought those thinking it was the next big thing.

Lesson- never buy the first generation of ANY technology.

I still use CDJ's, some carnt stole my 303, i still got the sampler though, and one record player now too, and more CD's than you can through a house at.

But the real point is, i never got taught to DJ and I was never any good.

oh. shit. that sucks.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:31 pm

DBoy wrote:12 years ago i was very determined, i was sure i would create music and be a DJ. I bought myself a 303 and a 202 as well as a sampler and a copy of Sound Forge (version 3 back then i think).

I was told by my peers it would be great to know how the music was created before i DJ'd. I started buying a few records, but more CD's than anything cause i was so in love with the music. When i finished school i had a shit load of CD's already and no money at all. I spent it all on partying so i never got decks.

2 years later the CDJ's came out, so i bought those thinking it was the next big thing.

Lesson- never buy the first generation of ANY technology.

I still use CDJ's, some carnt stole my 303, i still got the sampler though, and one record player now too, and more CD's than you can through a house at.

But the real point is, i never got taught to DJ and I was never any good.

oh. shit. that sucks.

DR.202? I wanted one of them too!

DBoy · Post by **DBoy** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:31 pm

more cowbell.

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:32 pm

Indeed. Never enough.

"Y'all be wearin' gold plated diapers!"

cj the taniwha · Post by **cj the taniwha** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:37 pm

DBoy wrote:12 years ago i was very determined, i was sure i would create music and be a DJ. I bought myself a 303 and a 202 as well as a sampler and a copy of Sound Forge (version 3 back then i think).

I was told by my peers it would be great to know how the music was created before i DJ'd. I started buying a few records, but more CD's than anything cause i was so in love with the music. When i finished school i had a shit load of CD's already and no money at all. I spent it all on partying so i never got decks.

2 years later the CDJ's came out, so i bought those thinking it was the next big thing.

Lesson- never buy the first generation of ANY technology.

I still use CDJ's, some carnt stole my 303, i still got the sampler though, and one record player now too, and more CD's than you can through a house at.

But the real point is, i never got taught to DJ and I was never any good.

oh. shit. that sucks.

your blog mixes were good.

on tour · Post by **on tour** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:38 pm

I attained my decks on a 6 month interestd free deal and when i quit my job when they arrived a week after signing the papers. Odd jobs kept me going for the next few months. Didn't need to buy so many tunes for i had about 6 crates already.

And living in Ringwood at the time meant that 'dudes' weren't going to just drop in because they passing by. Gold, until i realised their was a world outside my front door that needed integrating with...

Liam_B · Post by **Liam_B** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:10 pm

Im self taught. Just from watching other friends and DJ's in clubs. Learnt how to mix house and breaks on some old 1200's and an old numark battle mixer with lots of history that were on loan at a friends place.

That place was party central for the whole summer, some time ago now! It was good, because most of the time we were completely wasted trying to play the decks and gave me training for playing records all night while being hardly able see what I was doing and being completely drunk (helps to this day really!)

Started the obsessive habbit of buying records around that time and bought some second hand 1200 mk2's about 6 months later (still got them, they have been to london and everything!) Just bought a CDJ800 recently, I was anti-CD for a long time but now see that its the way forwards

Scholtzy · Post by **Scholtzy** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:28 pm

You learn heaps by watching other people dj, thats how I learnt anyway.

Melbourne Funk Collective · Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:32 pm

I keep meaning to learn how to DJ, but never have the time it seems. I'm with Air Chicken.

Andrez · Post by **Andrez** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:21 pm

Self-taught - I had a show on PBS for a few years, and they didn't have pitch-control turntables or crossfader at that time, so we had to learn how to cut-up and scratch our way out... still not sure if I'm even vaguely good 10 years later, but who cares so long as you play good tunes and mix just a little...?

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:54 pm

Im gunna stand up here, against a large amount of my pride and probably some standard recent shit giving comments, and say this:

I went to a Dj skool. And I loved it.

And before anyone thinks that Duckboy comments returning would be funny, think again. They wont be.

I used to listen to this music when I first heard it, being breaks, and used to think, fuck, imagine how much better this would sound if you put that bit there, and that bit over there, etc etc.

But I didnt know ANYONE that was into it. Plus, sorry, but Im a girl. Activities (for want of a such a better word!

) that mainly were all dudes, were really scary to try and get involved in. When you grow up loving 'boy' stuff, like bikes, and loud engines, and getting dirty, and stuff, you get a bit over the unrequired attention of what a chick is doing there and actually wanting to be! Not much now which is great.

So I did a cource. I wanted to learn, that was all. I wanted to hear what this rad music would sound like if it was presented in the way I heard it on my head. And I didnt have any other way of exposing myself to this thing I had found myself so intrigued with.

So I learnt the basics, and then had a magnicifent next 12 months trying working out the next stage of lessons, and the next etc etc. so then when I went out as I did, I was able to be a little more aware of what the DJ was doing to make that mix sound like that or whatever.

Then I made friends who played etc, and Mr Little Evil kicked me off with a fucking sensational, however long

critque of my first attempted mix. Which then gave me enough info to move on myself.

And here I now am with the evercontinuing learning......

Grey Son · Post by **Grey Son** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:24 pm

Lil MiSbreaks wrote:.And before anyone thinks that Duckboy comments returning would be funny, think again. They wont be.

Maybe to you they wont..................

Duckgirl...........

That was more of joke based on the fact that you wrote THAT comment!!!

Scotrod · Post by **Scotrod** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:10 pm

I kind of did a bit of both......and in the wrong order to most people.

I bought decks and an old mixer when I was a teenager and tried to copy all the Dj records I'd heard. This was when most Hip Hop albums had a track at the end with no vocals, just the DJ of the group laying scratches and cuts. There wasn't really any video's to watch and I was too young to go out and watch Dj's, so I just practised blindly until it sounded like what I heard on the records.
I then saw an ad for the DMC mixing course and pestered my parents to pay for me to go. Come to think off it, all the main instructors of the course are all big names now, Ivan Gough (TV Rock) Phil K, Anthony Pappa and John Course, so it was definately beneficial. They taught me simple things like what BPM's were and when records are in key. I knew nothing about this sort of stuff even though I could scratch and beat juggle.
It also opened my mind to foms of music other than hardcore Hip Hop, so I started working for a disco company and that's when I REALLY learnt how to DJ.
My point is, courses are fine if you want to learn the basic "techniques" at an accelerated rate to get you started, and teaching yourself at home is also a great way to develop your own style and build confidence, but you never learn how to Dj until you actually DJ!!!
I strongly believe that no body is "just a DJ at home" - they play records at home, hoping one day to actually DJ....
I'm by no means a household name or the next coming of DJ Christ, but I can honestly say I'm confident in my ability behind the one's and two's. Yet every time I play I learn something new, because that's what makes DJing fun!!!
Once you stop learning, you stop progressing and if your not progressing, then it's time to give it away and keep a box of flyers in the closet to show your future grand kids how cool you once were.

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:14 am

I was already doing mixes with Ableton/Traktor for fun and then got a taste of DJing on 10.15's decks one night... the seed was planted, and when I moved to the UK I bought 2 x CDJ1000s and a DJM600 and started practicing. I don't really know any "tricks" per se, like hiphop scratching trickery etc, I just figured out by trial and error what worked and what didn't. After I got the hang of beatmatching I read a few tutorials on the net to see if there was anything obvious I wasn't doing properly. Then I got really nerdy and wrote a program to generate sorted song lists with BPM + key information for all my tracks for quick reference while I was playing.

Feigan · Post by **Feigan** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:12 am

breaksRbest wrote:I just ran up to the set up behing Lynt while he was playing and Hey Presto, I'm a air DJ

What ya need to know Feigan? Come over mate, no records necessary

Sweet action BrB - I'll bring nothing and hopefully pick up a few chicken tricks

noice

Melbourne Funk Collective · Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:14 am

Scotrod wrote:Once you stop learning, you stop progressing and if your not progressing, then it's time to give it away and keep a box of flyers in the closet to show your future grand kids how cool you once were.

Well said, my man.

I bought my gear after seeing a friend do it at a party and taught myself...with a little help from my friend. He told me that nobody can really teach you, they can just show you the way, but you gotta learn it yourself.

Feigan · Post by **Feigan** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:24 am

Melbourne Funk Collective wrote:
Scotrod wrote:Once you stop learning, you stop progressing and if your not progressing, then it's time to give it away and keep a box of flyers in the closet to show your future grand kids how cool you once were.
Well said, my man.

I bought my gear after seeing a friend do it at a party and taught myself...with a little help from my friend. He told me that nobody can really teach you, they can just show you the way, but you gotta learn it yourself.

I have that box of flyers in my cupboard - all ready to go, now I just gotta get me some grand kids, well, I should start with kids first.

what if I adopt a 30 year old, that could fast track things couldn't it?

Back on track though - I found it to be a collective of people who helped me out when I started, I jumped straight into gigs after I got my decks and plunged myself into the deep end I guess. So there was always someone around to give some advice and show you a thing or two, that and a heap of practice for a couple of years was the rd that I travelled.

Fents · Post by **Fents** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:55 am

After getting absolutley sideways every weekend at Every Pic tells a story partys and the like a group of us hooked up with Bobby Raver and used to mash on back at his pad, he would sit there and play us all this crazy Aphrodite and Mickey Finn jump up DnB and we loved it, he showed us the basics of mixing and let us mix for hours on end Trainwrecking everything in site.

After that time i went and brought an American DJ two channel mixed and the worst decks i could find, didnt last long couldnt mix, got pissed of and went and brought Technics 1200's outta the trading post for $600 each. Spent the next 2 years playing to myself and watching ppl like Roln and Rux mix.

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:54 am

Friend got a gemini turntable and we borrowed a belt drive technics thing with a dial for pitch control.

Hooked those bad boys up to a trust Behringer crap mixer (Dr B, PHD) and rinsed it out.

Train wrecked everything in site.

Snowie · Post by **Snowie** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:58 am

I had brief had ago of turntables back in 94, but i first began, back in 97/98 when a mate i was working with doing laser display shows with left his turntables at my place for a month with a crate of some the most rare classics techno tracks(damm i wish i owned half of them now). He basically showed the generally idea. Drop the incoming record at the first beat of a 32 bar loop. Why ? Cause most music is written with that structure, so breakdowns will happen at the same time, new sounds are introduced at the same time. I watched and more importantly i listened, i would always watch a few of my closest friends Special K, Luke McD and another mate Jazz. Jazz is exceptionally gifted on the turntables, can beat juggle and scratch better than most, he showed me the extra 1% things that you do to make the mixing clean and as smooth as possible, and most importantly i practiced, practiced practiced. When i first got my own decks from DMC, i who would play them 4-5 hours every night for about a year. One of the more important things that got instilled in me was that it was all music and it could work with each other, it just the way you think about. I bought not only the music in the genre i liked, but i starting buying over alot of genres, today i feel as tho i'm lucky as my collection is well rounded and i am able to pull tunes from different place and put them all together in a concious flow of music.

Caleidoscope · Post by **Caleidoscope** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:02 am

Feigan wrote:I'm self taught but I don't know any tricks

maybe I should get a lesson

Feigan · Post by **Feigan** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:25 am

Caleidoscope wrote:
Feigan wrote:I'm self taught but I don't know any tricks

maybe I should get a lesson

I was being a wee bit sarcastic I think - I know a couple of tricks....

Air Chicken taught them too me

Snowie · Post by **Snowie** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:31 am

The most important trick is to be able to roll a spliff whilst in the mix and finish rolling before you need to change records. Oh that and being able to trick your bar manager into doubling your drinks rider. Ver important.!

Feigan · Post by **Feigan** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:35 am

Snowie wrote:The most important trick is to be able to roll a spliff whilst in the mix and finish rolling before you need to change records. Oh that and being able to trick your bar manager into doubling your drinks rider. Ver important.!

Very good point there Snowman

you keen on golf on Sunday?

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:38 am

Grey Son wrote:
Lil MiSbreaks wrote:.And before anyone thinks that Duckboy comments returning would be funny, think again. They wont be.
Maybe to you they wont..................

Duckgirl...........

That was more of joke based on the fact that you wrote THAT comment!!!

Jokes said 50 times over and over to me arnt funny, as they clearly are to you. Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.

And neither are you.

Caleidoscope · Post by **Caleidoscope** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:41 am

Feigan wrote:
Caleidoscope wrote:
Feigan wrote:I'm self taught but I don't know any tricks

maybe I should get a lesson
I was being a wee bit sarcastic I think - I know a couple of tricks....

Air Chicken taught them too me

Ha, contradiction anyway :p someone else taught you them.

So the first statement was correct, maybe only for the first few weeks with anyone just starting up, and you pick up tricks yourself, from others, tv, internet, youtube, the crack dealer on the corner.. Ah, I'm too busy to coherently type.

Learn. <3

Snowie · Post by **Snowie** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:45 am

Feigan wrote:
Snowie wrote:The most important trick is to be able to roll a spliff whilst in the mix and finish rolling before you need to change records. Oh that and being able to trick your bar manager into doubling your drinks rider. Ver important.!
Very good point there Snowman

you keen on golf on Sunday?

Mate i wish i could, but i flat out this weekend.

Tonight, finish off and master my new demo cd, Brainstorm in the studio tomorrow from early on so they can record their MB.com cd, then Shifty Sly in studio, so me and him can finish our hip hop 4 decks and effects demo, gig saturday night a Dirty Secrets, pop down to Laundry to see you guys, then over to my mates place to start work on a live act, then depending on what time it is, then maybe pickup Dan and continue working on a track that me and him are working on. Hopefully i'll get some sleep between here and monday morning.

Wednesday golf for sure, unless it's raining, then i got a free night in the studio, you should come over for a jam.

Grey Son · Post by **Grey Son** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:02 pm

Lil MiSbreaks wrote:
Grey Son wrote:
Lil MiSbreaks wrote:.And before anyone thinks that Duckboy comments returning would be funny, think again. They wont be.
Maybe to you they wont..................

Duckgirl...........

That was more of joke based on the fact that you wrote THAT comment!!!
Jokes said 50 times over and over to me arnt funny, as they clearly are to you. Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.

And neither are you.

What palnet are you on,seriously!!
The comment is based on the fact that everyone was bagging him, i havnt said shit about him, nor have i used a picture of him as my avatar. I dont understand what you are saying, and i was bagging you for bringing it up not him, seriously you need to chill and make sure you know what your talking about..........
But you always winge about what i say, so its only right you make something from a little joke about you, should have used teeth maybe.
Remember where all this duckboy shit came from man, i didnt even say shit, some even went to the effort of posting 1000 times on ITM, dont see ya baggin them.

kronz · Post by **kronz** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:02 pm

How can the answers to a question be questions?

Fents · Post by **Fents** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:11 pm

Lil MiSbreaks wrote:Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.

Hahaha hope u told ur boyfriend that

Seriously tho a DJ school is nothing to be ashamed about, who cares how or where u learnt to mix, as long as u can mix and trust, YOU CAN!

factory worker · Post by **factory worker** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:22 pm

Grey Son wrote:
Lil MiSbreaks wrote:
Grey Son wrote: Maybe to you they wont..................
Duckgirl...........

That was more of joke based on the fact that you wrote THAT comment!!!
Jokes said 50 times over and over to me arnt funny, as they clearly are to you. Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.

And neither are you.
What palnet are you on,seriously!!
The comment is based on the fact that everyone was bagging him, i havnt said shit about him, nor have i used a picture of him as my avatar. I dont understand what you are saying, and i was bagging you for bringing it up not him, seriously you need to chill and make sure you know what your talking about..........
But you always winge about what i say, so its only right you make something from a little joke about you, should have used teeth maybe.
Remember where all this duckboy shit came from man, i didnt even say shit, some even went to the effort of posting 1000 times on ITM, dont see ya baggin them.

Hahaha Grey Son you better duck for cover.

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:26 pm

Fents wrote:
Lil MiSbreaks wrote:Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.
Hahaha hope u told ur boyfriend that Seriously tho a DJ school is nothing to be ashamed about, who cares how or where u learnt to mix, as long as u can mix and trust, YOU CAN!

I was bringing it up to hopefully avoid starting that whole Dj skool thing again. Prolly shouldnt have said anything and it would have stayed dead eh!!!

Snowie · Post by **Snowie** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:34 pm

Fents wrote:
Lil MiSbreaks wrote:Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.
Hahaha hope u told ur boyfriend that Seriously tho a DJ school is nothing to be ashamed about, who cares how or where u learnt to mix, as long as u can mix and trust, YOU CAN!

Well said !

A DJ School gives you a fast track to learning the skills properly, no trial and error, which is definately not a bad thing. Many Dj's who don't get training can get stuck on some of the basics. So why not, it can put you ahead of alot of other dj's.

Grey Son · Post by **Grey Son** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:34 pm

Lil MiSbreaks wrote:
Fents wrote:
Lil MiSbreaks wrote:Bagging the shit out of a young enthusiastic dude who put his heart out there by making that post also isnt funny.
Hahaha hope u told ur boyfriend that Seriously tho a DJ school is nothing to be ashamed about, who cares how or where u learnt to mix, as long as u can mix and trust, YOU CAN!

I was bringing it up to hopefully avoid starting that whole Dj skool thing again. Prolly shouldnt have said anything and it would have stayed dead eh!!!

Hey thats cool LmB, i just wasnt sure why ya havin a crack at me..
I was just poking fun at ya, but i guess it backfired, ill get there...

Melbourne Beats

How did you start DJing? Did you have lessons?

How did you learn to dj?

How did you start DJing? Did you have lessons?