Beat Box: Ten Attributes That Separate Great DJ's From Good DJ's

Mary Anne Hobbs = Great DJ

We all know DJ-ing has undergone radical transformations over the past several years. Technology and the proliferation of digital media has enabled everyone to have the tools to rock a block party. Competition for gigs has become extremely fierce because of these changes. However, don’t think you still can’t remain competitive in a cutthroat industry. Just understand that it involves an enormous amount of work and dedication; and being “good” isn’t going to cut it anymore. Here are ten attributes that distinguish “great” DJ’s from merely the “good” ones…how many of them are you doing right now?

Great DJ’s know their history.

The music you are playing right now didn’t just appear out of thin air. To understand and appreciate your current selection means to take a step back in time. Veteran DJ’s already know the score, but if you’re just starting out, the Internet is full of information on how the music you currently play evolved over the years. Many producers constantly re-visit old, long-forgotten styles of music to combine with current sounds that are brewing, creating something entirely unique and different. The same can be said for the songs you play in a DJ set as well.

 You can tell just from the artwork this compilation has a wealth of early, yet important, music on it.

Great DJ’s don’t just focus on what been released in the past 2 weeks.

Many styles of dance, such as house, have three decades of material waiting to be discovered by you. Why restrict yourself just to what’s been released over the past few days? Playing older music, whether it be from 2005, 1995, or 1985, helps bring people across multiple generations in the club together. And if a music-savvy promoter hears you playing stuff from years past (alongside those fresh promos or unreleased bits), it proves to them you know a thing or two about your genres’ history, as discussed in number 1. But you don’t always want to get caught playing just older stuff either, find a balance.

Great DJ’s read and interact with the crowd.

Practicing in your bedroom is only going to make you good at the technical intracies of DJ-ing (such as mixing). Real skill behind the decks comes from constantly performing publicly and gauging how crowds respond to what you play. Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all formula here; peoples’ tastes can be fickle and change more rapidly than April weather in Boston. 

What this means is that you need to be doubly sure you are constantly keeping an eye on the crowd and ready to change the direction of your set on a dime. Knowing what you play inside and out helps quite a bit. I would rather listen to a DJ who has only 100 great songs with him but knows each one as well as his social security number, than a DJ with 10,000 songs that he is completely unfamiliar with. 

Personality behind the decks goes a long way here as well. Although most can do without the showboating and fist pumping, if a DJ is dancing and bobbing their heads behind the tables, the enthusiasm and energy almost becomes contagious. 

Tittsworth always seems to have a blast when he’s on the decks.

Great DJ’s take calculated risks.

A local dance music scene can never have enough great DJ’s. However, the last thing needed is another Beatport Top 100 DJ. Although a good DJ can get the crowd revved up by playing anthems, a great DJ often takes risks by seeing how clubgoers respond to lesser known (but equally energetic) songs. 

In the old days, DJ’s were responsible for pushing and promoting the music of unknown producers. Nowadays, a lot of DJ’s just seem to play only whatever is hot at the moment, not taking the time to venture into unchartered territory. This is an absoute shame, as it is easier than ever before to find amazing, yet unknown, music online. ESPECIALLY with Soundcloud. 

The best formula is to find a balance between the familiar route and the road less traveled. You may find yourself surprised to find what you can get away with, even for a mainstream crowd. But always pay attention to the patrons, as discussed in number 2, and be ready to veer back to the familiar road on a dime if necessary.

Great DJ’s understand how to mix out just as much as mixing in.

One of the first skills most DJ’s learn is to beatmatch. You will find it becomes pretty rudimentary after some practice; knowing when to mix in the next song is the cornerstone to becoming a dance music DJ. However, one thing many don’t pay attention to is how to mix OUT of the first song that is playing.

It’s easy to let two tracks ride for too long, so when the bassline of the second enters the picture, while first continues to play in the background. In genres such as drum and bass and dubstep where these “drops” are very pronounced, this can drain the impact of the song coming in. It’s also a good idea to fully mix out by the time a breakdown happens in either the first or the second song. With nary a beat to use as a guide, you would hate for the beat to come back in the suspect song only to find it is completely out of sync with the other. This is DJ Amtrak reporting for duty!

Great DJ’s mix in key.

Songs that are in key with one another really make a difference in the quality of a set, as well as the quality of a DJ. Some of the best progressive house DJ’s, such as Sasha and Danny Howells, were major stickers of harmonic mixing back in the 90s. This discipline has caught on to many other styles of dance, and you will get the full impact of how well it works once you try it for yourself.

Tools like Mixed In Key allow you to analyze your entire music collection, then organize it specifically based upon the key. Online shops such as Chemical Records, and soon Beatport, also tag their content with the key it is in as well. When mixing harmonically, not only help ensure a cohesive flow from one track to the next, but stepping from a lower to a higher key enhances the energy of the set as well. A not-so-secret “secret” to helping command your crowd!

Mixing in key is a snap these days. Never clash two songs together again.

Great DJ’s are always digging.

Remember that famous quote by real-estate tycoon Blake (Alec Baldwin) in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross? A-B-C: Always Be Closing. In the DJ world, it is A-B-D: Always Be Digging. Going through just the Top 100 on Beatport is lazy. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great tracks that are in the top 100 (I mean, why else would they be there?) 

But if you want to really distinguish yourself in an insanely competitlve crowd, take things a step further. Spend even 15-20 minutes each day listening to the “new releases” section for your favorite genre on Beatport instead. I guarantee you will not only find some gems this way, but they will be gems that a) many other DJ’s don’t have, and b) are often produced by less established producers who could really use an extra dollar or two from your support. 

And to tie back into studying the history of what you play, never be afraid to check out the vinyl shops for used goods, especially if you live in a large city. I’ve discovered plenty of obscure bits from the 90s that way, all for very cheap!

I wonder what I’m gonna find in this lump of dusty old records today? 

Great DJ’s prepare for the worst case scenario when performing.

You aren’t Deadmau5; if you aren’t a touring DJ with a contract, don’t expect to have the latest gear and gadgets there. You may even have to deal with poorly-functioning turntables or an old mixer with missing knobs (or, no EQ’s, the horror!) 

You should take proactive measures to be ready for the worst case scenario. Burn extra copies of music to CD-R’s in case your laptop or Serato box isn’t working. Bring needles and slipmats as the house turntables may not have them. Soundchecking your setup early in the night before people get there to make sure everything is in working order isn’t a bad idea. Some DJ’s even mix entirely on their own MIDI controllers, completely taking the situation into their own hands. 

You never know when a couple back-up CDs of the songs you want to play might save your ass. A safeguard that costs all of ten cents, and ten minutes, to perform.

Great DJ’s play music, not mediums.

To this day, I continue to buy vinyl, alongside MP3’s digitally on both Beatport and iTunes. I care little about what medium it is on, I just want to make sure I have a clean copy of the song in one format or the other. Getting caught up in mediums (and debating why yours is better than others) is a tiring task that drains the focus  from what is truly important: the music. 

Play on what you are comfortable with. When you perform in a club, it might be a good idea to get accustomed to working with both turntables, CDJ’s, as well as the Serato or Traktor interfaces. That way you can anticipate whatever cards you are dealt, which can often be completely different in each place. But at the end of the day, don’t let anyone’s opinion pressure you into playing a certain medium; test the waters yourself and see what works best for you. Just be able to adapt if you had to play on something else. 

Great DJ’s back up, back up, back up.

It’s a no-brainer, yet it boggles my mind how many people neglect to back up their MP3 collections. WHEN (not IF) your hard drive crashes, (and trust me, this is a WHEN), some MP3 storefronts (such as Beatport) will not allow you to re-download them. Just do yourself a favor and buy an external hard drive to back your library up to. I even burn DVD-R’s, which I keep in a location outside of my house, of the music I have paid for online. Don’t let that hard earned money you spent go to waste!

Get your stuff backed up, you’ll thank me later. 

Side note: I hardly consider myself a masterful DJ, yet I assure you these ten tips will help you become better versed in the craft. Hope these help; I’m also working on an article that discusses what unknown DJ’s need to be doing in order to get local bookings as well. This will be posted within the next two weeks.

Comments

[JO]

awesome article here. i am a seasoned DJ having rocked many a crowd and having released my fair share of mixtapes in many genres of dance music and while I thought your article was very informative and directional, i would have to add my own opinion on one topic in particular: harmonic mixing. while harmonic mixing is a great way to mix (and actually used to take a bit of skill ), it can be prone to the same pitfall of religious bpm or genre radicalness, that being the lack of dynamics. note I said 'can be prone' denoting that every dj and environment, crowd, time, etc. are different. to illustrate the point, my mixtapes/cd's are always highly appreciated and loved regardless of harmonic conformity and even always commented that they are a step above a lot of the others running concurrent alongside them that are harmonically mixed. why ? here's why.... beat juggling, break mixing, and overall emotional dynamics will always be king of the DJ dancefloor no matter the harmonic range. now combine all of these with harmonic range and you do indeed have a dope set, but just as life is, it takes dynamics and change to represent the whole journey. sometime it is that radical shift in bpm or harmonic key, that really carry the crowd from one banger into the next highlight of the musical experience.... people do tend to get bored with the same thing after an hour of it, including if every single track is in 'c' major. just a different angle to look at. great job though by the way and thanks....