by Steven Galloni
Sometimes when you have a dream of making it as a DJ or producer it can seem daunting, it seems huge and often feels unachievable. Picture the scene: you go for a night out, you go and see your favourite DJ and have an amazing night. Your focus starts to drift towards your own feelings of becoming a DJ. You are totally enthused by the DJ’s performance and you’re motivated more than ever to become a DJ, play gigs and tour the world! I like to call this ‘Peak Enthusiasm’, and it usually happens when you’re sweating on the dance floor, loving life and have consumed a fair amount of alcohol…
Monday morning comes along, your hangover is still lingering & your enthusiasm is very low & you’ve already forgotten about how good you felt watching your favourite DJ. Has this ever happened to you? DON’T WORRY!
First things first: stop beating yourself up!
This will not help and will push you further away from taking action!
Action is everything.
Getting started is the most important thing you can do. You don’t need to be a pro the first time you step in front of a pair of decks. DJing should be fun and something you’re passionate about. How many times have you heard a track and thought to yourself “I think this track would mix in really well with this track”, or you start singing a vocal from one track over another and know it would sound the business if you heard it? YOU, my friend, ARE a DJ!
Now you want to know how to throw these ideas together and let everyone hear the magic you’ve been brewing up in your head.
Where do you start?
Who do you know?
How much does it cost?
Will my neighbours hate me for making too much noise?
Already you can see, there are too many questions, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.
I have left links at the bottom to our partners’ pages and recommended equipment we think are more than enough to get you started and won’t break the bank!
Just make a start and don’t overthink it. Get yourself some equipment, or book into our studio for a place to learn and practice. (Once it’s safe for us to do so, of course).
Here’s my list to help you push past procrastination, self-doubt & “lack of knowledge”
Focus on one step at a time, and not the whole picture
Learn the craft well and practice
Be patient. Mistakes are going to happen!
Find others interested in what you’re interested in
Find people who can help you. Studios, fellow artists, studying others, or look for courses
What can you control? You can choose what you focus on
Always look for music and collect music wherever you can.
I hope this helped get you more focused on your goals of becoming a DJ!
Our friends at Rubadub have an excellent Digital DJ Starter Bundle which includes a Pioneer DDJ-200 controller, JBL104 reference monitors and Roland RH-5 headphones. If you're completely new to the world of DJing this is an excellent deal containing everything you need to get started.
The Pioneer DDJ-400 is another excellent entry-level controller that emulates some of the design features of the Pioneer DJ pro-level equipment. This would be great for someone who already has speakers and headphones, and wants to get into the world of DJing.
Rubadub also have a DDJ-400 bundle which includes a set of Pioneer speakers, a nice upgrade from the JBL monitors included with the DDJ-200 Bundle.