There are many things that you can do to become a better DJ, from selecting the best equipment to improving your mixing or scratching skills. What happened to.dj paul? But one of the most important skills of all is learning how to practice regularly. Successful DJs set their own schedules for practicing and committing their lives to perfecting their craft. They know that if they have time, then they will have success; but if time is limited for them, then it will be even harder for them to find success in DJing.
1. Set a Schedule
The most important thing you need to be successful as a DJ is to have a definite time, place and schedule. A schedule helps you in determining when and where you will be practicing your skills. Becoming successful means that you are not just taking advantage of the hours when you feel like practicing; but rather, it’s about finding those hours when common sense dictates that no one else would get any work done.
The best time to practice is on weekdays or the weekends. What is not recommended though are the times in between your classes and all-nighters during final exams or major projects. These are the times when everyone needs to rest and have time off from work, studies, etc. To become successful in DJing, you need to focus on practicing at the times when everyone is free from work and classes. Plan your practice accordingly.
2. Find a Place
If your practice space is not convenient, then you may as well give up on your DJ career right now and just be satisfied with being a great fan of music. You need to find a place that can give you flexibility if you want to switch places or have friends who can help you out when you are practicing. Also, it would be best for you to find multiple practice spaces because there will always be something that may come up that makes it hard for you to practice there.
3. Produce
Don’t just practice. Practice producing as well or even better than practicing. One of the things that can set you apart from other DJs is not only your style of mixing and scratching but also your own unique tracks and remixes that you create. As a DJ, it’s important for you to create your own music so that you’ll be able to play with them using different equipment, then putting yourself in different situations to be challenged every time to produce better music. This also allows you to have more satisfaction as a DJ because aside from performing onstage, this is the surest way for you to prove your skills.
4. Set Goals
Have goals for your practice time that you’ll be able to achieve. This will also give you something to work towards as you practice your skills. It also allows you to have a check-up and feel satisfied when you achieve an objective rather than being satisfied when you finish practicing for the day. Being consistent with these goals would help in making sure that you are on the right track.
5. Learn Your Equipment
Learn about your equipment thoroughly, especially about the turntables and mixer, so that you can use them properly at every time of practicing. This is especially important if you’re working on a big project and want to make sure that everything will turn out perfect. It can also help a lot in giving your DJ career a new dimension.
6. Have Confidence
One of the things that aspiring DJs need to have is confidence. You can’t practice if you don’t have enough self-confidence because your efforts will not be shared with other people, making it impossible for you to share any feedback or criticism on yourself or others’ mixes. If you lack confidence, then it would be hard for others to trust you and give you advice after seeing your mixing skills which are not as good as they think they are. It takes time and practice, but you should be confident in your skills so that you don’t have to fake being confident, then being miserable as if it is all a joke with yourself.
7. Have a Plan B
A plan B is necessary especially during your early years as a DJ. If things happen many times, most of the time it would be due to your own choices that you make though not intentionally; it’s the result of not having a plan B in the first place. It would also be one’s own decisions about what to do next when plans change for various reasons. This also helps in giving you some leeway and options if something does not work out for one reason or another.
Summary:
Have a schedule.
Find a place that can give you flexibility.
Learn about your equipment thoroughly.
Have confidence in yourself and your skills. Have a plan B if things do not go as planned. Click here to get this article in PDF format … Coming soon!
