My DJ Experience
Back in July, I took the plunge and finally enrolled in a Dj course- something that had been on my new year's resolution list for many years. Why? Well, I've always been pretty obsessed with music. It didn't matter what genre, I loved it all. And still do. In the last 20 (!) years, I've been crazy about house music. I had idolised superstar djs, and it was my secret dream to become one.
I was super excited when it came time for my first lesson. It was one-on-one, and my teacher was a former dj. I was also very nervous, as I'm uncoordinated at the best of times, and feared that although I loved music very much, I wouldn't get the 'techie' aspects of it. The lesson went on for 1.5 hours, and involved some theory and practical drills, and then it was time to practice. When I was left alone with the decks, I totally freaked out! I didn't want to touch any of the knobs and buttons for fear of the awful sound that might come out.
The following lessons were much more enjoyable. I decided that I had been too hard on myself, and that I was just going to relax and experiment. During practice time, I had such a good time that I decided that I was going to have a red-hot go at making a career out of it. When I received my tax return, I went out and bought a Pioneer DJM-450, 700s, some speakers, and a proper stand.
In spite of having all the right gear, and some lessons on the fundamentals, I felt a bit lost when practising unsupervised. In order to graduate from the course, I had to submit a mix that demonstrated different styles of mixing. I kept changing my mind about the tracklist, wondering whether what I had recorded was good enough to submit. I decided to submit whatever I had.
Unfortunately, it wasn't up to scratch. I felt grateful to finally receive some constructive criticism, but also bummed that I wasn't going to play my live show after all. I realised that I actually hadn't grasped the fundamental concepts of djing, including beat-matching. Oh dear.
Despite this set-back, I am determined to have my podcast radio show in the new year, and maybe one day, play live. You can hear some of my mixes (including the one I submitted!) at http://www.djleilahassan.com .
I was super excited when it came time for my first lesson. It was one-on-one, and my teacher was a former dj. I was also very nervous, as I'm uncoordinated at the best of times, and feared that although I loved music very much, I wouldn't get the 'techie' aspects of it. The lesson went on for 1.5 hours, and involved some theory and practical drills, and then it was time to practice. When I was left alone with the decks, I totally freaked out! I didn't want to touch any of the knobs and buttons for fear of the awful sound that might come out.
The following lessons were much more enjoyable. I decided that I had been too hard on myself, and that I was just going to relax and experiment. During practice time, I had such a good time that I decided that I was going to have a red-hot go at making a career out of it. When I received my tax return, I went out and bought a Pioneer DJM-450, 700s, some speakers, and a proper stand.
In spite of having all the right gear, and some lessons on the fundamentals, I felt a bit lost when practising unsupervised. In order to graduate from the course, I had to submit a mix that demonstrated different styles of mixing. I kept changing my mind about the tracklist, wondering whether what I had recorded was good enough to submit. I decided to submit whatever I had.
Unfortunately, it wasn't up to scratch. I felt grateful to finally receive some constructive criticism, but also bummed that I wasn't going to play my live show after all. I realised that I actually hadn't grasped the fundamental concepts of djing, including beat-matching. Oh dear.
Despite this set-back, I am determined to have my podcast radio show in the new year, and maybe one day, play live. You can hear some of my mixes (including the one I submitted!) at http://www.djleilahassan.com .
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