My DJ journey started long before I had decks and performed my first transition.
I made mixtapes, for myself and for my friends.
I would give one to my barber every time I got my haircut – because I found out we liked a lot of the same music and I wanted to share some of my favourite finds with him.
If my friend was going to pick me up in their car. I made a CD for them.
Chances are you’ve made a playlist before, now-a-days it’s done on streaming platforms.
Do you use spotify? Open it up, and start a new playlist but limit yourself to 60-80 minutes total.
I like 80 minutes because it is the max duration of a CD. It’s just enough time to have a little journey but also limited enough to force you to make hard selection choices.
This is the core skill of DJing – curating the music. When you get your first gig. This is the first thing you will do. Preparation.
In original DJing terms this is the equivalent of selecting the records that will be in your crate, that you will select from when you arrive at the venue. So just to be clear – I’m not advocating that you prepare the sequence of your DJ sets in advance.
Here’s an example of one I made the other day for a friend. They were forming a new share house and so I titled it: Building a Home.
It’s an eclectic mix of genres, from ambient and electronic to soul, jazz and modern club focused sounds.
- Importantly, it has a clear beginning, middle, and a clear ending.
- The energy ranges from chill to euphoric.
- It even includes some tracks considered to be classics (e.g., Street Life by The Crusaders).
I’ve road tested this mix at home and I’ve found that you can play it over and over without really getting bored of it. That’s usually a good sign. It features interludes and has many different tempos.
By making playlists you are honing the non technical aspects of the craft of DJing.
It is 100% worth your time.