Stephen Sluyter — Tips for Beginner Digital DJs
You have found an interesting new hobby and it is an easy lesson in learning the basics. DJing is not all about mixing but it is about beat mixing. Stephen Sluyter started from the basics of beat mixing and now he has become a professional DJ for all occasions. You want to improve your beat mixing techniques but have no idea how? Read these tips that are laid out for you.
Tips for beginner digital DJs by Stephen Sluyter:
1. Make sure that the tracks are suitable for mixing
You may want tunes for a steady beat and a long enough section at the start and finish for you to have enough time for a beatmix. A smooth beatmix typically has both tunes running together for at least a short while. You can go for club or extended mixes and choose the types of tunes you hear.
2.They have the same tunes at the same speed
Tunes should definitely need to be at the same speed or otherwise, the beats could never line up for more than a second or two. The traditional DJs learn the manual way of doing this and this is one of the functions of the sync button. It alters the tempo of the tunes so they are playing at the exact same speed for you.
3. They have their kick drums lined up
This is the other purpose of the sync button, as in most software this function can be set not only to get the tunes at the same speed but also to line up the nearest kick drums to each other. Remember that the tunes at the same speed aren’t going to help you if the kick drums are not lined up. Learn from Stephen Sluyter on mixcloud for more great music mix.
4. Make sure that they have the similar volume
Most DJ software has an autogain that does the volume check for you, and for starting out, make sure that it is switched on. Always make sure that the equalizer controls are set to 12 o’clock as a rule and only tweaked when necessary. Steven Sluyter also said that understand how your crossfader works. It will simply let you move from one tune to another, but rest of the volume controls determine the volume and EQ of each.
5. Switch the kick drums
The kick drum contains the most volume and a good trick is to have one kick drum playing loud at once. Ensure this by turning the bass or low EQ down on the incoming tune and leave it at 12 o’clock on the other. You can also switch at a good point to swap bass drums, which have also the effect of moving the ears of the audience from the outgoing tune to the incoming one.
6. Use headphones to line up the next tune
Use your headphones as they are there to let you hear the next tune before anyone else does. This is the reason why you can see DJs with one ear on, one ear off on their headphones. It let them hear one song through the first ear, and the main speakers through the second to get a sense what does it sounds like when they throw that fader open and let the crowd hear two tunes together.
7. Count to four, then to eight
A dance music is constructed on a set of four beats and four beats are called a bar. A whole section of a song is eight bars long and your ultimate aim is to start your new tune playing at the start of an eight-bar section. You can have a cue point at a certain place in your track that will allow you to easily jump back to it.
Trying the digital DJ industry is not bad as it helps you in improving your skills and develop you into a professional DJ. Every great DJ such as Stephen Sluyter started from being an amateur and now they have reached the top. Always remember to understand the basic functions of your gear to help you understand the instructions given above.
Always do it a little often and have fun executing your skills. Celebrate every little win and enjoy what sounds great and don’t be too hard on yourself when it all goes wrong. Just practice every day and you will get at the top of your goal.
