We’ve been teaching people how to DJ for over 10 years now, and in that time we’ve given out countless bits of advice, whether that’s on mixing skills or career advice. So we figured it was time to turn the tables and ask our very own Crossfader community for their best bits of wisdom that they’d give to up-and-coming DJs.
Here are our picks for the best bits of advice every DJ needs to know.
Use your ears, not your eyes
It’s common when DJs are starting out to rely on these visual guides and, before they know it, they’re fully reliant on them. That’s why we teach our students to mix using their ears right away so they don’t fall into these hard-to-break bad habits.
The biggest problem is that if you’re staring at the decks, you’re not engaging with the crowd. As a DJ, your role isn’t just to play music; you’re helping set the vibe and lead the party and dancing.
Actively listening forces you to think more about what you are doing behind the decks. When you just watch waveforms go by, mixing can turn into a tick-box exercise where you don’t really think about how it actually sounds or how the crowd might react.
Also, when you’re reliant on technology, you’re completely screwed if that tech goes wrong. If your songs aren’t analysed right and you just try to match up the incorrect beat grids, you’ll never get it right unless you use your ears to beatmatch the old-school way.
We often encourage our students to actually cover up the screens on their laptops or controllers so it’s physically impossible to even see the waveforms. That way, you’re simulating the real-life situation of mixing without being distracted by the visual guides.
Build your own sound
This is something we see a lot with people first starting out and wanting to sound just like their favourite DJs. And we get it, if you look up to someone and see yourself in their place, why not try and copy their route to success?
Ultimately, though, this often ends in frustration for a couple of reasons.
- You end up disappointed that you’re not at the super-high level you’re aiming for, and that can quickly sap your motivation if you’re not careful.
- You fall into a rabbit hole of chasing trends, rather than what you actually love doing and what got you excited about DJing in the first place.
Most of all, though, is that people really value individuality in artists. DJ culture was always built on selectors picking out tracks people hadn’t heard as a way of showing off their musical identity.
Crowds like to see something a bit new and unique, and bookers especially will much prefer a distinctive sound rather than a tribute act. Your mixes should be a reflection of who you are, what you’re all about and what makes you special.
Another great way of standing out from the crowd is making your own music. Having your own unique sound instantly sets you apart from most DJs out there, but if you’ve been wondering where to start, we’ve got you covered. Our DJ to Producer course is specifically designed for DJs and builds on the musical skills you’ve already got to help you create edits, remixes and original tracks.
Practise, practise, practise
DJing is just like any other skill; you can’t expect to get better without putting in the hours grafting. All the DJs you know and love started out pretty clueless about it all and had to get to where they are through constant hard work.
But not all practice is made equal, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of just getting your decks out and messing around mixing for a bit. This noodling style of practice will level up your skills a bit, but you’re mostly just covering what you already know and are good at, without really challenging yourself or learning anything new.
Especially when your time is limited, you want to get the most out of your sessions and level up your skills fast. That’s why we recommend a more structured approach to your practice time and setting clear goals for what you want to work on.
Here are some of our top practice tips:
- Set a specific focus for every session, like drilling one type of transition
- Make practising as easy as possible by keeping your decks set up and ready to go
- Turn off visual displays to build confidence beatmatching by ear
- Record your mix and listen back critically at a later time
Manage your ego
This is something we see quite a lot with DJs taking that all-important first step out of their bedroom into doing gigs. When you’re just practising at home, you’re playing for an audience of just yourself, and you’re free to do whatever takes your fancy.
At the end of the day, the DJ’s number one job is just to entertain the crowd and give them what they want.
Another part of this problem is that newer DJs often try to focus on flashy mixing skills, and this can come at the expense of the actual music. While these cool tricks may impress fellow DJs and get good views on social media, in the real world, the crowd is typically much less fussed.
Now we’re not saying to completely forgo cool mixing techniques and just play boring blends all night. It just comes down to how and why you’re mixing. If it’s to genuinely serve the music and make things sound better, that’s great. If it’s to show off or massage your ego, maybe stick to something simpler.
Never stop learning
Even though we’ve all been in the DJ game for many years, here at Crossfader, we’re always excited to learn new things. We see new things every day from our students and our community, which always continue to surprise and impress us.
No matter how long you’ve been going, and how much you already know, we think there’s always so much more out there to explore. That’s why our Crossfader platform is full of lessons, tutorials, inspiration and community, so that whatever level you’re at, there’s something for you.
You can sign up for free to Crossfader today and get a personalised learning journey to help you meet your DJ goals.