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School DJ

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Kingofcarrotflowers:
Sup Fools
I want to become a DJ for my school next year. The basic duties are DJing all the dances, which my school is pretty srs about.
Like the majority of you here I am an indie-rock fan first and foremost, but I am in no way adverse to or ignorant about current pop/hip-hop/thumping techno beatz.
So how should i go about learning to DJ? Im not about to go shell at $1000 for vinyl turntables and a shitload of vinyl. If its possible I'd like to DJ from a computer using mp3s. What program should I use? How can I practice, and what constitues improvement?
Thanksssss

imapiratearg:
I've seen DJ-ing done with a mixing console and a laptop computer before.  The guy was using WinMX, which is like Limewire, Ares, Morpheus, etc.  That's one way to go about it.  Set out a sheet for requests and let the kids dance 'till they drop.

squawk:
Oh sweet I've done this! An excellent DJ software to use is MixMeister. If you get that then you're pretty much set. Just bring yr laptop and the proper line-out cords.

David_Dovey:
If you still want to use vinyl but would like the convenience of being able to use music from your computer, there are plenty of "control vinyl" programs, the most prominent of which is probably Serato Scratch Live. The videos on Serato's web site give you a fair idea of what the program is all about. I believe NuMark, M-Audio and Stanton also make similar products, but Serato is definitely the one with the biggest reputation. It's used by DJ's like A-Trak, Jazzy Jay, Peanut Butter Wolf, Junior Sanchez, P Money and Z-Trip.

Essentially you have two pieces of "control vinyl" which you play on your turntables. These play a constant tone which allows the computer- which is connected via USB to a special "Scratch Amp" audio interface, which then connects to your mixer's Line Output- to know where the needle is on the vinyl, and how it is being manipulated. You can also easily switch to real vinyl mid-set if you wish.

ViolentDove:
As for the technical aspects of DJing, you could spend a bit of time learning how to beat-match and mix properly, but for a school dance I wouldn't bother. Just drop the fader down on one line at the same time as bringing it up on the other. Do this slowly and smoothly, and you'll be fine.

If you're not going to play songs completely through, then you'll need to basically familiarise yourself with the songs you want to play on the night and make note of breaks, drops,  intros, outros and all that kind of stuff, so you know where the good sections to mix from one song to another are, and how much time you have to do it.

Set selection and progression is one of the biggest aspects of being a good DJ, IMO. Basically if you play the songs that people want to hear and/or are good to dance to, you will be fine. This is what DJing is mostly about.

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