Beeing a DJ, becoming one

What does music do for you? Why do we listen to music? Music to me goes beyond the instruments, vocals, and notes that it=s created from. There are several forms of music, ranging from pop, jazz, techno, hip-hop; even music written from other cultural backgrounds. Imagine yourself in a club environment; music is so loud that you can feel it pulsating through the floors. People surround you, all who react different to the music that echoes throughout the small confined sspace you=re in. Some are dancing endlessly, while others seem to be intrigued by the way the music filters through their body. Lots of people in the younger generation are interested in becoming a Deejay, becoming that artist. They want to know what=s involved in being a deejay and that=s what I will attempt to expose to my reader.

The formal definition of deejay or dj, is disc jockey. A Deejay is not your typical nine to five worker who wwakes up goes to work and waits for the promotion. The Deejay is an artist, a music artist. His art is music. He creates sound, and has the ability to transform the atmosphere on the dance floor. The music he pprojects makes people want to dance, and forces them to love music and everything connected to it. A good day of work for a deejay would be if he felt the audience was satisfied. Did they truly feel the music that was pieced together? Did it make them dance, and did they feel the emotions that he was trying to contact? A deejay can work with a variety of music, but my focus is mainly from a trance/techno point of view. The different beats and noise variations are unlimited. Most importantly how these variations are put together is where the Aart@ in deejaying comes into play. The same approach that a painter would take to paint portrait is taken with tthe development of different music. You start from scratch, with a base that is completely empty. Just like a picture, you must add all elements to make it all blend together. The music you choose and additional effects used to configure this desired sound is necessary to being a success. Ultimately you are seeking to mold the perfect mix to make your audience experience something magical. Many factors apply to making or breaking this atmosphere. The order of sequence you cchoose, the way you mix your music, volume, beat variety, all determine that final output, and natural high you are searching for.

Also in order to be productive within this industry the deejay himself must meet a few requirements. Since we=re dealing with music, he has to have an extended knowledge what=s out there, and being played. Although there is a wide variety of music, I still want to focus on the techno aspect of it. You can=t create sound if you aren=t familiar with the music that=s available, and the way you can transform it into something remarkable. Aside from basic music knowledge, you must also have an understanding of what you=re audience wants to hear. You need to know what makes them react, what would drive them to dance and enjoy what they=re hearing. You could gain that knowledge simply by sampling different clubs and the type of music they are putting out. Sit and observe what makes the audience respond. Of course each one you observe should develop a different atmosphere, and you can then place together which parts you will use to create yours. Another vital link to become a deejay is, you have to have ppassion for it. You have to have the desire to produce the music, to want to impress your audience. Just like anything if you=re not passionate about what you do, you=re wasting your time. In order to be a success you must have that drive to succeed, to create, and therefore, master what you do. The passion you have comes from deep inside you, and you want to be able to reach inside and display that urge. When the audience realizes that you are passionate, and actually enjoy what you do they will be receptive of what you have to offer. Finally, you must have patience. It=s not going to be easy to make everyone happy. It=s impossible for everyone to like what you put out. You have to prepare yourself for failure. We learn from failure, and find ways to improve. You will deal with people who have different taste in music, as well as different reactions. Some show their appreciation by dancing, while others will just sit there and absorb the music. Both are positive, just different in reception, and you will learn how to cope with all of them.

The technicalities of being a deejay consist of proper eequipment. The right equipment is required to make this all come together—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Once you have all the equipment necessary to begin making your music you must then use your own creativity. Your music will reflect what you put into it. More than one person, like a boss or supervisor, will judge your efforts. Your work will be distributed among an audience of people. So you must make sure that you are as original as possible. You want to make music that people have never heard before. You want your sounds to stand out from all the rest. This is the key to being successful in this field. Variety is what people want to hear, they don=t want to hear the same thing over and over. You have the ability to create an atmosphere of your choice, and it=s all in your control. Not many careers/jobs give you that option, that=s what makes being a deejay so unique. Again, you are an artist; you are the primary person in charge. You can do whatever you want, which makes the idea so appealing. You want to make sure all the emotions, feelings, and thoughts you feel as your making the music

is somehow passed on to your audience. If you want them to feel motivated you have the power to transmit that through your music, as well as sadness, anger, pain, whatever emotion it may be.

To many people music is an emotional outlet. It sometimes lets people escape reality, and enter a different world that music portrays. Generally when people are upset or angry they listen to music at high volume and scream the lyrics. I=m sure we=ve all seen tthat from the person driving next to us in their car. If your down and want to think about things we often choose a more mellow form of music that carries us away into deep thought. Often people who are trying for the romantic setting will choose something classical or perhaps jazz. Point being, Music can alter your mood, we=ve all experienced it. It aids in making that perfect atmosphere we are striving for. Being a deejay is as simple aas that. It=s not really a complex process, besides the patience, long hours of sampling every beat to make the perfect mix and making your audience to understand , to love you. You basically put what you feel into it, aand hope that your audience feels it as well.