On fall 1991, in Miami, Florida Fitz, a club disk jockey who was studying broadcasting, worked at the campus' radio station for a semester; this was the seed...to read more

You become a DJ the moment you decide to turn on the radio or when you put your favorite CD. As a matter of fact, anyone who manipulates a song in whatever method...to read more

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Radio Jungla

So you want to be a DJ

According to the American Heritage^® Dictionary, “a DJ or Disc / Disk Jockey is an announcer who presents and comments on popular recorded music, especially on the radio.” The type of DJ defined there is the broadcasting DJ, so if that is what you are seeking to learn you are in the wrong site; to learn how to be “that”, you would have to go to college and study broadcasting. This site is for those of you who just want to learn how to spin, beat match, and mix “music”. Radio Jungla’s Definition of a DJ or Disc / Disk Jockey is:

Anyone who manipulates a song in whatever method, using whatever instrument, can be considered a DJ.

Formats

There are many formats of music out there which are friendly and affordable enough for anyone to be able to become a DJ.

These formats are:

Record or Vinyl
CD
MP3
Cassette
Mini Disc
DAT
Reel to Reel

The level of difficulty and maneuverability of these formats may vary due to the availability of products which will support them and the flexibility of manipulation. By manipulation we refer to the most important feature the product must have, Pitch Control.

Pitch Control

The pitch control is the part of the instrument where the DJ speeds up or slows down the music. It can also be called “Tempo Control”. It is usually a lever that looks like a fader in a mixer. You could still be able to DJ without it but a true beat matching DJ would not go for anything less.

Instruments

Turntable - Records, Vinyl, Acetate
CD Player - CD, CDR, CDRW recorded in music format
MP3 Player – MP3, WMA, CDR MP3(if MP3 CD player may also play regular CD with music format)
Computer – MP3, CD, CDR, CDRW, DVD, DVDR, DVDRW(depends on computer)
Tape Deck – Cassette
Mini Disc Player – Mini Disc
DAT Player – DAT
Reel to Reel – Reel to Reel Tape
Mixer - The Center of every DJ console must have the Mixer. That is the instrument used to blend one song with another song using the faders.

DJ Cockpit

The mixer is situated in between the turntables. It is setup that way so that while you manipulate the mixer you can comfortably access the turntables. You would also like to put any other devise used in the mix close to the mixer like a dual CD player. Any other instrument like the recorders, amps, EQs are set up more distant because they are not used as often. The Records or CDs Must be set in boxes as close as possible to the turntables and CD player. All Records and CDs must be appropriately labeled with the necessary information for you to be able to quickly find and organize them.

The information this label should contain is:

Title
Artist
RPM (on a vinyl record or acetate)
Versions or mixes it includes
Location where the versions or mixes are (on a vinyl record or acetate side a or B)
Duration of each version or mix
BPM for each version or mix
- There are different ways of finding out the BPM for each song
  1. The traditional way – counting the beats for a whole minute
  2. BPM chronograph – Like a chronograph but in shorter time calculates
  3. A taper – either a hardware by itself or a software program that activates and calculates by taping a button
  4. BPM counter rack mount – connected to the turntables or the instruments that go to the mixer automatically calculates the BPM in real time (Many sophisticated mixers, turntables and cd players may come with this feature installed.)

The Versions or mixes of the songs

There may be different versions or mixes of the same song in a 12” Single CD Single and even on Regular CDs. This are the most common ones found these days.

Radio Version or 7” Version
Club Mix
Re-Mix
Dub
Bonus Beats or rhythm track
Acapella
House
Techno
Drum n Bass
Jungle
Trance
Hip Hop
Trip Hop
Ambient
Garage
Gaber

Now that you have labeled your records you can start choosing and organizing them for the mix.

The Mix

This is the most important part of the whole process of being a DJ. Without mixing skills you are still a DJ but not the type of DJ you’ll find at a club.

Mixing may be done in many different ways but for any of them it is necessary to have clear the concept of compass, which in disco music is 4/4. Each compass is united by groups of compasses that could be formed of 8-16-32 times. Usually the entry point of the instruments, effects, or even voice will occur at the first (1) count.

Types of Mixes

Synchronized Mix

The cleanest way to make a mix, apart from synchronizing the rhythm at BPM, is achieving that both records coincide from beginning to end , logically, in the break of both songs, the central break on the one mixing out and the beginning break of the one to mix in.

· Procedure:

a. Turntable no.1(T1) is already spinning the first song

b. Put the record that has the second song on the turntable and put the needle at the beginning of the track

c. Set the cue channel on the mixer to listen to turntable no. 2(T2) (the second song)

d. Put on your headphones so that you listen to the record you are going to mix in and in the right the one that is already playing.

e. Get the song on T2 ready in the first beat and wait for a first beat on T1. Try to anticipate when its coming so it doesn’t catch u off guard. (If possible try to use the breaks on both T1 and T2.)

f. Try to synchronize the rhythm shifting lightly the speed on T2 by moving the pitch leveler depending on the speed of the song already playing you may have to slow down or speed up the song.

The Skills

For a DJ to be a Great DJ, he/she must be dominant, capable, and outstanding in all the aspects of the mix. This means he/she must practice intensively on these skills: