Tips, Tricks and Warnings for Learning to DJ

To learn to DJ can be one of the most interesting and rewarding careers in the world today.

You can turn your hobby into a full-time career, in demand work if you know what steps to take and more importantly what to avoid when you are just starting out.

If you are ready to begin your training, keep reading...

THE TIPS AND TRICKS

· Start out small and practice mixing with vinyl records and compact discs before you jump out in front of a crowd.

· Listen to your sessions to see what areas you need improvements. Be your own best critic.

· Take requests for music; it is definitely a crowd pleaser.

· Focus your attention on the songs that are danceable because these are the tunes that the majority of your crowd will be familiar with.

· Consider jumping on the YouTube.com bandwagon and downloading music videos to the most popular songs you plan to play.

· Most venues will have a projector that you can use and attach to your laptop to really get the crowd into it.

· You must be charismatic and full of energy when you do your parties. Your #1 goal is to lead the crowd and get them excited. The bottom line here is this: If you lack charisma, you'll lose the crowd.

· You have to be able to feed off the energy the audience is putting out. For example, if the energy seems to be fading out, it will be up to you to step in and make it up a notch and keep the crowd roaring.

· To make things easier, separate different styles but putting them in different sections. You could play slow jams during the opening of the event, soft music during the time when everyone is eating, slow songs again at the end.

· Up-beat songs should be played at the middle of the party or event to keep the energy flowing.

· Be creative and come up with a memorable name for yourself. Something people can easily latch on to.

WARNINGS!

· Remember where you are when you are learning how to become a DJ...never play lots of up tempo, hard rock songs at a wedding or slow love songs for a child's birthday party.

· Remember that people will come to the DJ booth to request songs, so in order to protect your gear, keep it above shoulder height. This way you won't have to worry about spills and food ruining your equipment.

· Stay clear of running other DJ's into the ground. This could be the most valuable lesson you receive as you learn how to be a dj. You may leave a bad taste in the mouth of party goers and prevent you from booking future parties.

· Come up with you own style, and never steal another DJ's way of doing things. Even though they say, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" you do not want to take this route as a DJ.

· Avoid trying to pump up the crowd when they are eating. This is a time for conversation and relaxing.

These tips, tricks and warnings are most likely the easiest to adapt to as you learn to DJ. Do not take them lightly. Instead, use them to your advantage.