Touch
This
Learn to DJ using Emulator
Written by
Alan Smithson
Copyright 2013
SmithsonMartin Inc.
Copyright 2013
Copyright 2013
SmithsonMartin Inc.
All rights reserved
ii
DJ LEVEL 1
(Essentials)
In this chapter, students will learn the history
of DJ’ing from turntables to touchscreens.
Students will also learn about a variety of
diﬀerent genres of music and popular artists
from each decade.
In addition to this
essential background, this chapter will also
show the basic features of Emulator, how to
count beats and some great hands-on training
with the world’s most advanced DJ system,
Emulator.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Music is a huge part of life! To keep any event exciting and upbeat, a DJ is called
in to perform and play sets of music in diﬀerent genres based on request. Music is
played with slow or fast beats with a variety of sounds for people to listen and
dance to.
Being the DJ is pretty important and of course a lot of fun since they
are the reason people are having a good time!!
By taking this course, you will learn how to play music for an audience to get them
dancing and enjoying the entertainment you are providing for them. Reading your
audience is a key factor in becoming a professional DJ.
Playing music for the
crowd is like becoming a mind reader. You have to understand what the crowd
wants to listen to and read their body language and environment settings.
Learning your music history is your first lesson. There are many music genres,
which you can pull your library from. They will be covered in your Music History
lesson, but keep on top of what songs are just released and are current.
Playing song after song is not as easy as it sounds. There are techniques needed
to combine the beats and tunes to make your set flow. This course will teach you
how to be the life of the party mixing songs to create a music flow people will
enjoy!
Through Emulator, playing music with multi touch is a new fascinating method of
music control. The team at SmithsonMartin is excited to present “Touch This” a
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revolutionary Live Entertainment Training Program for all music
enthusiasts based on SmithsonMartin Emulator Touch Screen
Technology.
Inspiring all future DJ’s, with their dedicated commitment, readers
of this manual will learn the basic components of DJ’ing and learn
how to DJ through touch technology and Emulator PRO software.
It is my sincere wish that everyone who reads this manual will be
inspired to take up the art and science of DJ’ing, music
production and hopefully give you the gift of music so that you
can make art and make as many people as happy as possible on
the dance floor.
Alan Smithson, Co-Founder & CEO
SmithsonMartin Inc.
5
DJ Level 1
The Essentials
HISTORY OF DJ’ING
Leon Scott was the first to invent the phonautograph, which was the first device to
record sound.
Shortly afterwards Thomas Edison created the phonographic
cylinder which added the capabilities of playback of recorded sounds.
It took until 1906 before the first radio broadcast began and 3 years later the first
disc jockey made an appearance.
His name was Ray Newby, he was from
California and only 16 years old. Ray used to play records from a small transmitter
from his college dorm and the following year radio broadcasting became a normal
part of life for the general public.
The first time the term Disc Jockey was formally used was in the 1930’s and it
wasn’t until 1943 when Jimmy Savile threw the worlds first DJ party. He played
jazz records for his guests on two turntables to keep the flow of music continuous
instead of chopping and changing the records after every song. The first
discotheque was named Whiskey A Go-Go and opened in Paris in 1947.
In 1973 a DJ by the name of Kool Herc from New York was named the “father of
hip hop.”
He was the first DJ to mixed two identical tracks together
simultaneously extending the best parts of the records and this technique was
named “break”.
This revolutionized the music world and during this period,
turntablism really grew into an art form. DJ’s became artists manipulating tracks
to create their own unique beats for the crowd.
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In 1975 the scratching technique was discovered by a hip hop DJ
entertainment as their ability to bring diﬀerent music styles to the
named Grand Wizard Theodore. Instead of lowering the volume,
crowd are favored as their choice of entertainment.
he stopped the record with his fingers and noticed an interesting
sound as the groove moved under the needle.
He began to
master this technique and in 1977, he scratched in public for the
first time at the Sparkle Club in the Bronx leaving the crowd in
awe of this new technique called Scratch.
The evolution of the DJ saw hardware changing from the vinyl
turntable, to CD's to DJ's playing their music in MP3 format from
their computers with the help of DJ software.
SmithsonMartin would like to introduce aspiring DJ's to the latest
In the 1970’s Electronic music and hip hop blended together
forming the disco era. In Nightclubs across the world bands were
becoming less frequent and
technology through Emulator, fully controlled by multi-touch.
Emulator replaces aging gear such as turntables, cd players and
mixers by controlling digital format music directly on the
computer and touchscreen.
In the 1980’s a new genre called House Music was born. This
came from a combination of Disco and Electronic music played
together.
It consisted of a solid bassline, samplers, drum
machines and usually a simple 4/4 beat.
The Warehouse in
Chicago with resident DJ Frankie Knuckles was reported as one
of the first to perform this kind of music.
By the early 90's a new sub-genre named Acid house gained
popularity and crowds would gather in warehouses to listen to
DJ's play. These underground parties called raves sky rocketed
DJ's into new age rock stars and made them into household
names.
Today, DJ's perform live at bars, weddings, corporate events,
nightclubs and festivals, becoming more popular than live
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DJ Level 1
The Essentials
Artists from the Decades
ARTISTS & GENRES OF POPULAR MUSIC
1950's: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole,
Paul Anka, Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.
1960's: The Mamas & the Papas, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Roy Orbison, The
Beach Boys, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
1970's: David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Ramones, John Lennon,
Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley and the Wailers and Bob Dylan.
1980's: Michael Jackson, Prince, U2, Madonna, The Police, Guns N' Roses,
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!
George Michael, Metallica, AC/DC, Duran Duran and Phil Collins.
1990's: Nirvana, Ice Cube, Radio Head, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Busta
Rhymes, Soundgarden, Green Day, Tom Petty, Snoop Dogg, Stone Temple Pilots,
Foo Fighters, Nas, Mariah Carrey and Smashing Pumpkins
2000's: Daft Punk, Eminem, Coldplay, Kanye West, System of a Down, Red Hot
Chili Peppers, Beyonce, Weezer, Linkin Park, Muse, Destiny's Child, Britney
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Spears and The Killers.
2010's: Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj,
Akon, Pitbull, 50 Cent, Deadmau5, Alicia Keys and Skrillex
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Genres of Music
A music genre is a category of music that shares a certain style.
Some samples are below and as a DJ, you should get to know as
many as you can!
• Classical Music - is rooted in the tradition of the 11th Century to
present times using instruments to create a blend of styles,
genres and forms which are the basis of music genres today.
• Jazz Music - originates from African elements combined musical
instruments evident of using its Blue Notes
• Adult Contemporary - is a variety of 1960 & 1970's easy
listening with varied degrees of easy listening from soul, rhythm &
blues to rock & roll.
• Hip Hop & Rap - Consists of spoken poetry, wordplay beats and
rhymes
• Pop (Top 40) - Music genre in the category bringing all genres
together based on popularity
• Rock & Roll - a combination of jazz, blues and contemporary
• Reggae (Reggaeton, Roots, Soca, Dub, Dancehall) Reggae is
traditionally found in African and Caribbean music; Rhythm and
Blues; and in Jamaican rocksteady and ska music.
• Electronic Dance Music (Garage, Deep, Electro, House, Hard,
Progressive, Tribal, Trance) - is electronic percussive music
genres made for large dance halls BPM range: 110-150
• Techno (Minimal, Detroit) - a version of EDM with 120 - 150
BPM
• Drum & Bass (Jungle) - a version of EDM with fast breakbeats
running at 145-180 BPM
• Breakbeat (UK Garage, 2 step, Nu school) - Hardcore beats in
EDM using hiphop, jungle or drum & bass
• Dubstep - featuring percussion and drum base patterns within
EDM (around 70 BPM)
• Trap - a more electronic version of Hip Hop featuring deep
baselines and thumping drums. Much harder than traditional hip
hop. (70-120 BPM)
music to accentuate backbeats with drums and electronic
instruments
• Country Music – Southeastern folk and western music
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!
DJ Level 1
The Essentials
THE ESSENTIALS
Introduction of the Emulator Software & Hardware
1. Introduction of Emulator Software &
Hardware
Emulator PRO is a revolutionary software-based multi-touch midi controller that
2. Hands-on to let students try Emulator
controllers which will eventually break down, due to wear and tear on the physical
sits overtop of other midi software.
It replaces the need for hardware-based
dials, faders or buttons. With a multi-touch screen you now have touch points
only and the control is within the software.
Comparison of traditional fader vs.
touchscreen fader
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Emulator PRO Software works like a skin.
The software works together with
another MIDI controlled program. With your training, you will be using a program
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called Traktor, made by Native Instruments.
This will be the software you will
control with Emulator to make the music play.
Every part of Emulator PRO is fully customizable. All objects in a template, such as
buttons, faders, knobs or encoders can be changed in size, color, shape and
physics functionality. This can be changed ahead of time or on the fly, just by rightclicking and bringing up the Emulator Editor.
Emulator PRO will control up to two MIDI programs at once, making it the most
powerful MIDI controller available. It gives you two surfaces and twelve pages to
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build the ultimate, customized MIDI controller.
Emulator PRO’s patented technology lets you cut windows or holes in the software to show you exactly the data that you need to see
from the underlying program. That means you don't need to take your eyes away from the screen to look at another display, you decide
what it is you need to see when you design your own template for the controller.
Bi-directional MIDI is also possible with Emulator PRO, so not only do you control your programs with Emulator but they will also be able
to send information back. This is especially useful with the Ableton Clip Buttons, which are designed to give you real-time feedback
according to what is going on in the master program.
The Emulator DVS (Dual View System) or Monster systems let the audience see exactly what the DJ/performer is doing. You can no
longer fake the performance since you can now see what the performer is doing. Another feature of Emulator is the Wall where images
and logos can be imported for display, as well it could be used as a writing pad. Images and messages can be written and then inverted
by the performer, for the crowd to read.
GO AHEAD TRY IT OUT!!
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12
DJ Level 1
The Essentials
DEMO OF EMULATOR
Beats & BPM's
1. Beats & BPMS - How to count and
understand beats.
Counting beats or bars is a very important part of mixing music so you can
2. Transition between two tracks
figure out the BPMs of both tracks: that way you know if you need to bring the
3. Emulator Software - Overview
tempo up or down to have them both playing at the same speed.
seamlessly blend two songs together. To blend two tracks together, you'll need to
Listen to the track and when you hear the first beat or bass kick (the part that goes
BOOM) begin counting "One." This is the first beat of the track and you will
continue counting for each beat of the song, so..."Two" on the second beat,
"Three" on the third beat, and "Four" on the fourth beat. So when you hear Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom you will want to count "One, Two, Three, Four" at exactly the
right time and at exactly the same speed. There you've just counted one bar, so
that means 4 beats equal one bar or Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom is equal to one
bar.
Now keep listening to the track and keep counting every beat. But don't continue
counting up from four to five, instead repeat the 4 beats from the bar. So while
you're listening to the track, you will be saying "One, Two, Three, Four, One, Two,
Three, Four, One, Two, Three, Four, One, Two, Three, Four." Over and over again
and always on the beats. By this you are keeping in beat with the lowest level of
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the musical structure, known as 4/4 (pronounced four-by-four) time signature, meaning there are 4 beats in a bar.
TIP: Calculating BPM
Look at the second hand on a watch or use a stopwatch and count the beats for 15 seconds. Take that number of beats you counted
and multiply it by 4 to get the number of beats in a whole minute (60 seconds).
Eg. If you counted 24 beats in 15 seconds, multiply 24 x 4 = 96. That means the songs tempo is 96 BPM. You multiply by 4 because 60
seconds divided by 15 seconds = 4.
Dropping on the One & Transition
When doing a transition, you need to make sure that the "1" bar of the incoming track will align exactly where the "1" bar of the outgoing
track is.
Imagine preparing for a transition from one song to another and counting the "1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x, x, x..." for the currently
playing track. Now start playing the second track in your headphones and counting the beats for it. Your goal is that when you mix the
two tracks together, both should be counting "1" at the same time and "2" at the same time and so on. If you manage to do that, the
transition will sound better.
HOW TO COUNT BEATS/BARS
Counting beats or bars is a very important part of mixing house music or electronic dance music in general and here is how to do it with
Emulator Pro. With technology on your side and the visual aspect of Emulator this will be very easy.
Listen to the track and when you hear the first beat or bass kick (the part that goes BOOM) begin counting "One." This is the first beat of
the track and you will continue counting for each beat of the song, so..."Two" on the second beat, "Three" on the third beat, and "Four"
on the fourth beat. So when you hear Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom you will want to count "One, Two, Three, Four" at exactly the
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right time and at exactly the same speed. There you've just counted one bar, so that means 4 beats equal one bar or Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom is equal to one bar.
!
Now keep listening to the track and keep counting every beat. But don't continue counting up from four to five, instead repeat the 4
beats from the bar. So while you're listening to the track, you will be saying "One, Two, Three, Four, One, Two, Three, Four, One, Two,
Three, Four, One, Two, Three, Four." Over and over again and always on the beats. By this you are keeping in beat with the lowest level
of the musical structure, known as 4/4 (pronounced four-by-four) time signature, meaning there are 4 beats in a bar.
Now that you know what a bar is, we can move up to the next level of house music structure.
Bars come in groups and in order to figure out where those groups are, we have to count the bars. In order to count the bars, the next
step will be not saying the "Two, Three, Four" at all. Keep counting as before but only saying "ONE" out loud and "two, three, four"
should only be counted silently in your head. Continue counting like this until you get a feel for where the "One" is. Also listen carefully to
the track, the "One" has a distinct sound and you should be able to recognize it even if you seek to a diﬀerent part of the track and
haven't been counting since the beginning, the "one" always sounds the same.
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So if you're doing it right, you will be saying out loud:
"ONE, …, …, …, ONE, …, …, …, ONE, …, …, …, ONE, …, …, …."
The "two, three, four" are still there, but only in your mind as you won't be saying them out loud anymore. Try to get to a point where
you're actually only paying attention to the "ones," completely ignoring the "twos, threes" and "fours," not counting them in your mind
either. So, in other words, you will say "ONE," then three beats will pass and you will say "ONE" again and so on.
The next step will be a big challenge; instead of just saying "ONE" all the time, you need to count the "ones" now. So instead of counting;
"ONE, …, …, …, ONE, …, …, …, ONE, …, …, …, ONE, …, …, …" as before, you should count "ONE, …, …, …, Two, …, …, …,
Three, …, …, …, Four, …, …, … and so on.
In other words, you will say "ONE" on the first beat, then three beats will pass and you will count "Two," then three more beats will pass
and you will count "three" and so on.
If you are having diﬃculty with this, try counting the beats like this; "ONE, one, two, three, TWO, one, two, three, THREE, one, two, three,
FOUR, one, two, three."
Once you've figured this out, start your track from the beginning and do the counting again. Now count the bars, not the beats and count
no further than eight. In other words, going by the beats, you should be counting like this; "1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x, x, x, 5, x, x,
x, 6, x, x, x, 7, x, x, x, 8, x, x, x" and then stop. Here "x's" represent a beat that passes by without you counting out loud.
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If you made it this far, you have successfully counted through a group of 8 bars. In EDM, a group of 4 bars is called a phrase. In trance
music you will (almost) always have groups of 2 phrases (with the second being a repeat or variation of the first), giving you groups of 8
bars. This is the most basic building block of a trance track and it takes approximately 15 seconds for 8 bars to pass by at 130 bpm.
Now back to the counting; play your track again and count as before, but don't stop after 8. Instead, at the point where you would move
on to count the "9," start over at "1." If you are doing it right, your counting will be like this:
1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x, x, x, 5, x, x, x, 6, x, x, x, 7, x, x, x, 8, x, x, x, 1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x, x, x, 5, x, x, x, 6, x, x,
"
x, 7, x, x, x, 8, x, x, x,
1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x, x, x, 5, x, x, x, 6, x, x, x, 7, x, x, x, 8, x, x, x, 1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x,
x, x, 5, x, x, x, 6, x, x, x, 7, x, x, x, 8, x, x, x."
By now you are probably wondering what good this is? Start the track over again and count again, paying close attention to the track
and which number you're on. If you are doing it right, you will hear something in the track changing exactly every time you say "one," that
is, at the beginning of each group of eight. Maybe a high-hat will come in, maybe some synths, maybe the track hits the break, some
change in the song will occur.
Also, at the end of each group of eight, that is in the 8th bar or at the end of the 8th bar, always
immediately before the next "one" hits, there is something like a small break, with the bass kick stopping for a few beats. Pay close
attention while listening, you'll hear it. This is what you need to get a feel for. From that you will hear when the next group of 8 bars is
starting just by listening to a track, without counting anything and without the visual aid of Emulator Pro.
How does this come into play with mixing? Read onto the "The Transition Between Two Tracks" section to find out.
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2)
THE TRANSITION BETWEEN TWO TRACKS
When doing a transition, you need to make sure that the "1" bar of the incoming track will alight exactly where the "1" bar of the outgoing
track is.
Imagine preparing for a transition and pretend there is someone next to you counting the "1, x, x, x, 2, x, x, x, 3, x, x, x, 4, x, x, x..." for the
currently playing track. Now you start playing the next track that you want to mix in, imagine there is another person doing the same,
counting for the new track. Your goal is that when you mix both tracks together, both people are counting the same numbers at the same
time, that is, both should be saying "1" at the same time and "2" at the same time and so on. If you manage to do that, the transition will
be much nicer sounding and you will also be able to do things like cut the bass (which you will always do at the moment one group of 8 is
ending and when the next "1" is starting) without it sounding weird.
In other words; the goal is that when listening to the finished set, or finished transition, you can do the bar counting throughout the
transitions, with the grouping being valid after the transition as well. Try listening to some sets and counting the bars while listening, you
will notice the diﬀerence...and yes, the group of 8 is valid also throughout breaks. It will be harder to actually count the bars during the
breaks, as there are no beats to hear, but any break's length will still always be a multiple of 8 bars.
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19
Emulator DJ Software - Overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
PLAY: Plays and stops music
CUE: Press to stop playback and set cue
point
CUP: Stops playback while held down.
R e l e a s e t o play
19.
SYNC: Activates Sync
38.
MOUSE: Turn on/off mouse pointer
displayed with touch
20.
MASTER: Makes deck master
21.
FX: Activates FX 1 to 4
39.
K E Y B O A R D : A c t i v a t e s o n s c re e n
keyboard
22.
MUSIC NOTE: Activates key lock/master
tempo 23. +/- : Pitch up and down
40.
RST: Turns reset on for LOW/MID/HIGH
Filters
23.
TRACK VOLUME SLIDERS: Deck A/B
volume sliders 25. SYNC: Synchronizes
beats to other deck
41.
ARROW LEFT: Loads highlighted track
into deck A
42.
LIST LEFT: Crate scroll up
43.
LIST MIDDLE: Turn on crate/track search
44.
LIST RIGHT: Crate scroll down
45.
ARROW RIGHT: Loads highlighted track
into deck B
CUE POINTS: Set and trigger cue point
memory
24.
PITCH BEND: Pitch Bend up and down
5.
A OR B: Activate Turntable Platter
25.
TAP: Tap to reset beatgrid
6.
SP (Sampler): Opens sampler triggers
26.
IN/OUT: Manual loop In & Out
7.
MO: Activates headphone monitor for
Deck A or B
8.
SAMPLE LOOP RECORD BUTTON
9.
SAMPLE LOOP PLAY BUTTON
27.
LOOPS: Automatic loop buttons
28.
BEAT JUMP: Track advance in beat
jumps (Press SHIFT 1 + button to go
reverse)
46.
MAIN: Activates main window
47.
SMP: Activates sampler window *
SHIFT 1: Activates other functions on
buttons
48.
FX: Activates effects bank window
29.
10.
X: Delete Sample Loop
11.
SE: Select Sample Loop source
12.
SAMPLE LOOP VOLUME SLIDER
30.
SHIFT 1 + Advance/Reverses the track
13.
SAMPLE LOOP LENGTH
31.
SHIFT 2: Activates other functions on
buttons
14.
AUDIO: Shows Audio Card Status
32.
15.
CPU: Reduces graphics to speed up
CPU *
SHIFT 2 turns Manual Loop into nudge
button
33.
LOW: Low frequency knob
34.
MID: Mid frequency knob
35.
HIGH: High frequency knob
36.
FILT: High and Low pass filter knob
37.
MAIN SCREEN EXIT: Exits Emulator
without closing
16.
TIME
17.
MAIN VOLUME LEVELS
18.
BATTERY LEVEL METER
a.
SHIFT 1 + CUE# deletes cue point
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DJ Level 1
The Essentials
DEMO OF EMULATOR
1. How to search for a track
2. How to load a track
3. How to cue a track
4. How to play a track
5. How to set multiple cue points
6. How to sync two tracks
7. How to adjust your tracks tempo/bpm
8. How to nudge or adjust the track when it is
slightly oﬀ beat
9. How to pre-listen or monitor a second track
in the headphones
10.
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1)
HOW TO SEARCH FOR A TRACK
To search for a track, click on the TRACK WINDOW button at the bottom center of
the page and a window will open to show you the tracks in your library.
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While you are in the TRACK WINDOW you can click on the list in the left column and browse the diﬀerent folders in your library.
!
You can use the LIST button to navigate up and down your track list or you can use the Scroll Wheel also known as the Endless Knob.
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!
2)
HOW TO LOAD A TRACK
Select the track from the track list in the TRACK WINDOW by tapping on it once with your finger and dragging it to the deck you want to
load the track. If you get a flashing error message "---DECK LOCKED---" that means you already have a track playing in that deck, you
will need to stop the current track playing to load a new track into the same deck.
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3)
HOW TO CUE THE TRACK
Emulator Pro will normally set the first cue point on the first beat of the track as it analyzes it, usually as you load the track into the deck.
!
You can set your own cue point by moving the waveform of the track to the playback position (red line) where you
want it and touching the CUE button. This will set a temporary cue marker in the track which will get deleted once
a new track is loaded into the deck.
By pressing the CUE button again you will be able to begin playback of the track from that point but the track will
stop playback when you release the CUE button. To continue playback press the PLAY button while the CUE
! button is pressed.
The CUP button function has the opposite function as the PLAY button. Put your finger on the CUP button and the
track will jump back to the nearest cue point while releasing the CUP button will set the deck in playback mode.
TIP: This is very useful when counting the beats of a track in your headphones.
!
To set a new permanent cue point use one of the six cue buttons
at the top of the deck. You can set cue points on the fly by
pressing buttons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, or you can use the method
described above to fine tune the placement of cue point
markers.
!
23
Once you store a cue point in one of the six slots Emulator Pro will memorize them for the next time you go to load the same track so that
you can recall the position of that cue marker simply by pressing the appropriate cue number.
To erase a cue point marker touch and hold the SHIFT button at the bottom of the deck where you are going to delete the cue point.
While holding the SHIFT button, press the cue number button you wish to delete.
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4)
!
HOW TO PLAY THE TRACK
To play the track, press the green PLAY button.
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5) HOW TO SET MULTIPLE CUE POINTS
Programing multiple cue points is done in the same manner as setting one cue point. You can set a new cue point marker by touching
any one of the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 cue buttons if they haven't already been set. Touching a set cue button will jump back to the point in the
track where you set the cue point marker.
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!
6)
HOW TO SYNC TWO TRACKS
To Sync two tracks you will need to find the speed or tempo or BPM at which they are playing.
!
If you look at the right side of the above image you will find the tracks BPM, below that you will find the amount or percentage at which it
has been adjusted (sped up or slowed down) and the original BPM of the track.
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So the track in Deck A is originally played at 127 BPM but it has been sped up by 1.5% bringing up the tempo to 128.90 BPM. If you
wanted to mix another track with the track playing in Deck A you would have to make sure you match the BPM of the track in Deck B to
128.90.
An easier way to do this would be to use the software's built-in sync feature by pressing the SYNC button, count your beats and play the
track on the 1st beat of the next phrase. The SYNC icon will light up if the track has been synced to the master track.
!
!
The MASTER icon will light up if the current track playing is the master, pressing the SYNC button on any other
deck will sync that track to the master.
Many DJ's will frown on this method so we will show you how to mix without the SYNC button in the next section.
Pro Tip: Never be afraid to use every technology at your disposal. While it is important to learn the basics, you are not cheating if you
use the tools that are available. It’s like using your phone to calculate long division (why would you do it the long way?)
7)
HOW TO ADJUST YOUR TRACKS TEMPO/BPM
Again, let's use the track "TechHouse 1" by Loopmasters as an example. If your track in Deck A is sped up from 127 BPM to 128.90
BPM then you will need to bring up or slow down the speed of the track in Deck B to the same tempo.
Use the - or + (minus or plus) buttons to adjust the BPM speed by 0.05%.
!
TIP: To fine adjust your tempo hold the SHIFT button at the same time as pressing the - or + buttons. This
will adjust the BPM by 0.01%.
26
8)
HOW TO NUDGE OR ADJUST THE TRACK WHEN SLIGHTLY OFF BEAT
By listening in your headphones, monitoring the two tracks you will be able to hear if the beats are matched or not. If they aren't matched
you will need to nudge the incoming track to the same position as the outgoing track.
Touch the green nudge buttons to nudge the track forward or backwards. Holding a green nudge button will keep the track moving in
that direction.
To nudge the track in bigger
increments, use the red nudge
buttons.
!
!
Pay attention to the phase meter, it will visually let you know if the tracks are in sync or not. The closer the meter is to the center the
closer the tracks are to being synced together.
!
9)
HOW TO PRE-LISTEN TO A SECOND TRACK
To preview or listen to a second track while you already have one playing you need to turn on the MO button. "MO" stand for monitor.
TIP: You should have your headphones plugged into the soundcard to be able to listen to the other track playing.
!
27
If you turn on the MO button and you don't hear anything in your headphones you must
adjust the volume of your headphone output. This can be done in the MAIN VOL.
container by adjusting the VOL knob.
MAIN is the master output knob and MIX is your PFL (Pre-Fader Line) mix knob.
Here you will also notice three additional buttons called SNAP, CRU and QUA.
SNAP: When you add a loop-in or cue marker on-the-go, the marker will "snap" itself to
the nearest grid. This means you will always have perfect loops, no matter how badly
you time your loops. Try doing this on a CDJ-1000...
CRU: The Cruise mode automatically plays tracks from a Playlist or your Track
Collection one after the other and blends them together. To use Cruise mode, do the
following:
Load the first track to Deck A and open its fader.
Start the playback in Deck A.
Activate the Cruise mode by pressing the CRU button.
QUA: Whenever you jump between beats or jump between cue points your track will
always stay on time. This means you can remix tracks on the go, live-dissecting the
parts of the tracks and jumping around them and knowing you will never skip a beat.
!
Pro Tip: Use iTunes with crossfade of 3 seconds instead of the CRUISE function in Traktor. iTunes does this better than any other
program for playback when you are not actually DJ’ing. The best thing to do is make pre-mixed long mixes so if you need to go have a
bathroom break you can leave without worrying whether the track will stop playing.
SILENCE IS VERY BAD! Always have some music playing even if you have a problem.
ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP (even if it is just your phone plugged into the system)
28
DJ LEVEL 2
(Song Structure)
In this chapter, students will learn the basics of
proper song structure, the diﬀerence between file
formats (MP3 vs. WAV). Students will learn how to
identify the parts of a song based on its
characteristics.
Students will also learn about equalizing the tracks
for smoother mixes.
DJ Level 2
Song Structure
FOLLOWING SONG STRUCTURE
1. POPULAR MUSIC SONG STRUCTURE
2. MUSIC FILE TYPES - (MP3, WAV, AIFF, m4a)
1. POPULAR MUSIC SONG STRUCTURE
Intro (usually between 8-16 bars)
Hook (8 - 16 bars into the song) something catchy happens (ie. first vocal,
recognizable part of the song)
Verse - first words in the song that tell the story (not the catchy part of the song)
Chorus - Catchy part of the song that repeats. The part of the song everyone
sings along to
Bridge - The contrasting part of the song (diﬀerent volume, tempo, feeling) usually
gets slower or quieter and then builds up the excitement to lead into the drop
Drop - The peak of the song when everyone's hands go up. Usually accompanied
by the chorus again so everyone sings along
Breakdown - takes out all elements of melody and leaves percussion and perhaps
a repeating vocal
Outro - The end of the song that is stripped of all melody and allows the DJ to mix
the next song in.
30
2. MUSIC FILE TYPES - (MP3, WAV, AIFF, m4a)
An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. This data can be stored uncompressed, or
compressed to reduce the file size. It can be a raw bitstream, but it is usually a container format or an audio data format with defined
storage layer.
It is important to distinguish between a file format and an audio codec. A codec performs the encoding and decoding of the raw audio
data while the data itself is stored in a file with a specific audio file format. Although most audio file formats support only one type of
audio data (created with an audio coder), a multimedia container format (as Matroska or AVI) may support multiple types of audio and
video data.
There are three major groups of audio file formats:
•
Uncompressed audio formats, such as WAV, AIFF, AU or raw header-less PCM;
•
Formats with lossless compression, such as FLAC, Monkey's Audio (filename extension APE), WavPack (filename extension
WV), TTA, ATRAC Advanced Lossless, Apple Lossless (filename extension m4a), MPEG-4 SLS, MPEG-4 ALS, MPEG-4 DST,
Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMA Lossless), and Shorten (SHN).
•
Formats with lossy compression, such as MP3, Vorbis, Musepack, AAC, ATRAC and Windows Media Audio Lossy (WMA
lossy).
Uncompressed audio format
There is one major uncompressed audio format, PCM, which is usually stored in a .wav file on Windows or in a .aiﬀ file on Mac OS. The
AIFF format is based on the Interchange File Format (IFF). The WAV format is based on the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF),
which is similar to IFF. WAV and AIFF are flexible file formats designed to store more or less any combination of sampling rates or bitrates.
This makes them suitable file formats for storing and archiving an original recording.
31
BWF (Broadcast Wave Format) is a standard audio format created by the European Broadcasting Union as a successor to WAV.
The .cda (Compact Disk Audio Track) is a small file that serves as a shortcut to the audio data for a track on a music CD. It does not
contain audio data and is therefore not considered to be a proper audio file format. Uncompressed audio can also be stored in raw audio
format.
Lossless compressed audio format
A lossless compressed format stores data in less space by eliminating unnecessary data.
Uncompressed audio formats encode both sound and silence with the same number of bits per unit of time. Encoding an
uncompressed minute of absolute silence produces a file of the same size as encoding an uncompressed minute of music. In a
lossless compressed format, however, the music would occupy a smaller portion of the file and the silence would take up almost
no space at all.
Lossless compression formats enable the original uncompressed data to be recreated exactly. They include the common FLAC,
WavPack, Monkey's Audio, ALAC (Apple Lossless). They provide a compression ratio of about 2:1 (i.e. their files take up half the space
of the originals). Development in lossless compression formats aims to reduce processing time while maintaining a good compression
ratio.
Lossy compressed audio format
Lossy compression enables even greater reductions in file size by removing some of the data. Lossy compression typically achieves far
greater compression than lossless compression by simplifying the complexities of the data. This of course results in a reduction in audio
quality, but a variety of techniques are used, mainly by exploiting psychoacoustics, to remove the data that has least eﬀect on perceived
quality. The loss in data (and thus quality) may not always be easily perceived through casual listening. The popular MP3 format is
probably the best-known example, but the AAC format found on the iTunes Music Store is also common. Most formats oﬀer a range of
degrees of compression, generally measured in bit rate. The lower the rate, the smaller the file and the more significant the quality loss.
32
DJ Level 2
Song Structure
ADVANCED MIXING TECHNIQUES
1. HOW TO TELL IF TWO TRACKS WILL GO
TOGETHER
2. MIXING TWO TRACKS TOGETHER
3. HOW TO EQUALIZE YOUR TRACKS
1)
HOW TO TELL IF TWO TRACKS WILL GO TOGETHER
Listening to your tracks in the headphones before mixing them is the first step to
being able to tell if the tracks will go together. You can also look at the BPM or
KEY of the tracks to see if they will make a perfect match. To analyze your tracks
4. EFFECTS
for key results you will need to use a third party software such as Mixed In Key.
5. FILTER
BPM shows you the speed or tempo of your track.
6. LOOPS
7. EFFECTS PAGE MAP
!
KEY number represents the harmonic key of a song.
This information is very helpful because it lets you
know if two tracks have the same tone or if they are
harmonically able to be mixed together.
!
33
2)
MIXING TWO TRACKS TOGETHER
To mix two tracks together once you have your tracks selected and loaded, beats and keys are matched
simply play them and use the volume faders to blend them together.
3)
HOW TO EQUALIZE YOUR TRACKS
The next, more advanced step to mixing music is to properly EQ the tracks. This takes a while to get the
hang of and you have to know your tracks to do this eﬀectively. Practice makes perfect!
!
The main rule-of-thumb is you do not want two bass lines overlapping, so
make sure the incoming tracks LOW frequency is set to 0%. You might
also have to bring down your MID's and HIGH's but use your ears to
make sure the mix sounds okay in your headphones before you bring up
the channel volume.
!
Emulator PRO also has an equalizer reset button called the RST or EQ
RESET button. When this is activated the EQ knobs will reset to their original position at 50% when the knobs are released. To set and
keep the position of an EQ knob, make sure to have the RST or EQ RESET buttons deactivated.
!
!
34
Another thing to keep in mind is that you do not want the vocals from two tracks to overlap. This is very bad and you will notice it when
you try to mix two vocal tracks together, they do not sound good.
4)
EFFECTS
If used wisely eﬀects can add an extra special touch to your mix but be careful not to overdo it.
To bring up Emulator's eﬀects board touch the EFFECTS button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
!
Notice how Emulator's eﬀects board is broken down into four sections, FX 1, FX 2, FX 3 and FX 4. Also notice that under each deck you
have FX 1, FX 2, FX 3 and FX 4 buttons. You will need to activate the correct FX button depending on the eﬀect you wish to send to the
deck.
Let's say you want to use the Gater eﬀect in Deck A:
Touch the FX 4 button under Deck A to activate the FX
!
4 deck.
Next touch the ON button next to the Gater knob to turn the eﬀect on.
!
Then notice each section or deck of eﬀects are connected to a DRY/WET knob.
The DRY/WET determines how much eﬀect you hear, dry means no eﬀect is heard and wet means full eﬀect is heard.
35
The actual eﬀect knob controls the intensity of the eﬀect itself.
!
5)
FILTER
The FILTER knob is used to adjust the high-pass/low-pass equalization as an eﬀect.
6)
LOOPS
Loops are a great way to "remix" on-the-fly and add that personal touch to your mix.
You can set pre-programmed loops by touching any one of the 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8,
loop buttons, manual loops are not possible.
! 16, 32
!
To get out of a loop simply touch the same loop button you entered to set the loop or touch the A or
B button located in the LOOP OUT section.
!
36
37
EFFECTS PAGE
FX1 - DELAY EFFECT
KNOBS
1. D/W: Controls the mix between the
o r i g i n a l d i r e c t signal (Dry) and the processed eﬀect
signal (Wet)
2. FILT: High pass and low pass filter
3. F E E D : F e e d b a c k c o n t r o l s t h e
stoutness of the delay
4. RATE: Controls the Delay time
direct signal (Dry) and the processed
eﬀect signal
FX4 - MULTI EFFECTS
K N O B S ( W e t ) 18. D/W: Controls the mix between the
9. BEATM: Beat Masher 2, FX amount
original direct signal (Dry) and the
10. LOFI: Digital Low Fi, FX amount
11. RINGM: Ring Modulator, FX amount
B U T T O N S p r o c e s s e d e ﬀ e c t s i g n a l ( W e t ) 19. REVGR: Reverse Grain, FX amount
2 0 . R E V E R : R e v e r b , F X a m o u n t 21. GATER: Gater, FX amount
12. ON: This buttons turns the eﬀects on
B U T T O N S and oﬀ
22. ON: This buttons turns the eﬀects on
FX3 - MULTI EFFECTS
and oﬀ
Eﬀects Panel Buttons
B U T T O N S K N O B S 5. ON: This button turns the eﬀect on and
13. D/W: Controls the mix between the
NOTE: For detailed information about the
oﬀ
original direct signal (Dry) and the
eﬀects, please read the Native
processed eﬀect signal (Wet)
Instruments Traktor manual.
6. FRZ: Freezes the Delay
7. SPR: Stereo Spread
FX2 - MULTI EFFECTS
K N O B S 8. D/W: Controls the mix between the
original
14. T3DELA: T3 Delay, FX amount
15. FLANG: Flanger, FX amount 16.
PHASR: Phaser, FX amount
B U T T O N S 17. ON: This buttons turns the eﬀects on
and oﬀ
38
DJ LEVEL 3
Diﬀerent DJ’s
Diﬀerent Music
In this chapter students will learn about the
diﬀerence between crowd pleasing DJ’s and
producers. Where to find new and exciting music,
where to buy it and where to download it. Getting
on promo lists and how to start music flow.
Harmonic mixing becomes important here.
DJ Level 3
Different DJ’s
Different Music
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR MUSIC
1)
ANALYZING AND ORGANIZING YOUR MUSIC LIBRARY
1. ANALYZING AND ORGANIZING YOUR
MUSIC LIBRARY
Having your tracks properly analyzed will go a long way to help you mix better.
2. HARMONIC MIXING & MIXED-IN-KEY
much easier when you are put on-the-spot to take requests or play certain kinds of
3. SCRATCHING
music genres.
4. GETTING YOUR OWN DJ SETUP AT HOME
To analyze your music library minimize Emulator PRO and go into the underlying
5. WHERE TO BUY MUSIC
TRAKTOR program. Click the Preferences icon
6. WHERE TO LEARN ABOUT NEW MUSIC
7. HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR MUSIC
8. FREE MUSIC BLOGS
Keeping your library organized is your own responsibility and will make your life
!
File Management tab .
and from there go to the
!
Then in the right top section you will find File Management and you need to put a
checkmark in the Analyze new imported tracks checkbox. Restart TRAKTOR and
your music library will begin to analyze, this might take a while depending on the
size of your library so you might want to leave it for a while or overnight.
!
40
When the analyzing is finished, your tracks will have a proper grid setup and BPM's will also be correctly displayed.
2)
HARMONIC MIXING & MIXED-IN-KEY
Harmonic mixing is almost always overlooked by new DJ's because their main focus is beat-matching or beat-mixing. In this day in age
with the aid of software and track syncing capabilities this is a breeze, but being able to mix songs that go together harmonically or
melodically will definitely set you apart from the so called "bedroom" DJ and will also take your game to the next level.
Don't panic if you can't detect the keys or tones of music, there is a very helpful program that will simplify things for you and teach you
how it's done.
PRO TIP: You can download
Mixed In Key at
www.mixedinkey.com
!
41
!
3)
SCRATCHING
Yes it is possible to scratch with the Emulator Pro but you should learn this trick if you're going to do it well.
First of all load a track into a deck that is not in playback mode and make sure your Volume fader is turned down. Then set a 1/2 beat
loop in that deck and press PLAY, next go to the EFFECTS board and activate the Gater's ON button and turn the Gater knob to almost
100%.
!
!
Then touch either the SCRATCH A or SCRATCH B container to
reveal the scratch platter.
!
With the SCRATCH container open you can begin by touching the platter and manipulate it so
that you are scratching with it. Then bring up your line Volume and adjust it as needed.
Since there is no crossfader you will have to use the volume fader of the line you are scratching
for your scratch eﬀect.
!
42
4. GETTING YOUR OWN DJ SETUP AT HOME
To have the same setup as Norwegian Cruise Lines, you will need the following:
Operating System: Windows 8
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/meet
Software: Native Instruments Traktor
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/
Software: SmithsonMartin Emulator
http://www.smithsonmartin.com/software/
To hear sound, you will need your headphones to hook up to:
Native Instruments Audio 2 Sound Card
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-audio-interfaces/traktor-audio-2/
Hardware: Lenovo 27” Horizon
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/desktop/ideacentre/horizon/
Other Hardware Options: Any touch hardware computer product or our Emulator Elite hardware for OSX.
43
5. WHERE TO BUY MUSIC
Some legitimate sites to find and buy new music are:
- Beatport - Electronic Music
- Traxsource - Electronic Music
- Promo Only Online (Pool) - Subscription service for DJ’s only
- Multi-Music Service - Subscription service for DJ’s only
- CrooklynClan.net - Mashups
- iTunes - Pop Music
- Amazon - Pop Music
- CD Stores like HMV...Do these actually still exist?
- eMusic.com
- Juno Download
- Bleep
- Boomkat
- Napster
- Trackitdown
SOURCE: http://audio.tutsplus.com/articles/general/top-10-places-to-buy-music/
44
6. WHERE TO LEARN ABOUT NEW MUSIC
- Awdio
- StumbleAudio
- Shazam
- Musebin
- iLike
- Blippr
- Facebook
- imeem
- The Filter
- Songza
- TasteKid
- Deezer
- Dancing Astronaut
- The Music Ninja
- The Hype Machine
- Allan Cross
- Pitchfork
- DopeMusicBlog
- Stereogum
- AudioMuﬃn
- MOG
- ThisBonusTrack
- EarMilk
- Soundcloud
- ThisSongIsSick
- Less than 3
- Harder Blogger Faster
45
7. HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR MUSIC
How you organize your music is completely a personal thing. Here are some tips on how best to start the arduous task of organizing your
music. Being a DJ requires that you have access to your music at a seconds notice. You really need to be able to know where that latest
Swedish House Mafia track is or that old Justin Timberlake song that would fit perfectly to destroy the dance floor right now.
Start by putting ALL of your music on one hard drive. Label this OLD and label another hard drive NEW. Start with all your music on one
with the intention of properly putting every track onto the other in the right folder for you. Do not organize your music by artist, it will drive
you insane.
Here is a basic example of how you can organize your collection.
MAIN MUSIC FOLDER
ROCK
Classic Rock
Alternative Rock
Psychedelic Rock
Rock Ballads
Crowd Pleasers
HIP HOP
R&B
Crunk
46
80’s Hip Hop
LOUNGE
90’s Hip Hop
Chillout
Urban Hype
Ambient
TOP 40
Yoga
Jan 2013
Spa Ultra Lounge
Feb 2013
Mar 2013
Apr 2013
ELECTRONIC MUSIC
House
Electro
Trance
Dubstep
Deep House
Techno
Playable
Tech House
47
8. FREE MUSIC BLOGS
While we in NO way endorse stealing music (artists work way to hard to not get paid for their art), there is no denying that there are ways
to acquire music for free on the internet. Here are some of the more common ones for DJ’s.
- LivingElectro.com
- TopHouseMusicBlog.com
- JustDoHits.com
- BangerzOnly.com
- ThisSongIsSick
- Dancing Astronaut
- Less Than 3
- Harder Blogger Faster
48
DJ LEVEL 4
Getting a real gig
By this point, students should be comfortable with
DJ’ing on Emulator, organizing music, know the
basics of harmonic and beat mixing and feel
comfortable playing in public. Now its time to learn
the business of DJ’ing and how to get booked in
the real world. This chapter is vital to those who
really want to become a paid DJ and live the dream
of playing all over the world.
Tiesto & Deadmau5 move over...
DJ LEVEL 4
Getting a real gig
GETTING PAID
1. GETTING STARTED IN THE DJ WORLD
1. GETTING STARTED IN THE DJ WORLD
2. WHAT TYPE OF DJ ARE YOU?
3. FINDING A GIG
Cory
4. KNOW YOUR CROWD
Live.
American Idol &
5. TOP 20 DJ’S IN THE WORLD
Dancing with the
Stars oﬃcial DJ
!
Once you have learned the basics of becoming a DJ you need to practice.
Practice, practice, practice. Make and record a mixed set of a variety of music and
ask your friends and family what they think! Put 10 – 20 songs together for a start
to see how they flow.
Play sets in your bedroom, and when you gain the
confidence, play sets on your own You Tube Channel so you can get ready for
your own stage. The more you perform and practice, the more confident you will
become and of course you will build in music knowledge at the same time.
50
Once you are comfortable mixing you can curve your interest into a preferred music genre where you can enhance your talents further!
While you DJ, you need to build the audience up and give them some excitement. You want the audience to be captivated by you and
enjoy your music but more importantly YOU need to enjoy your music. If you are having a good time dancing while you mix, chances are
the listeners will feel the same vibe and enjoy the experience much more!
2. WHAT TYPE OF DJ ARE YOU?
You have two options for the type of DJ you might like to become.
1. The Crowd Pleaser:
•
This style of DJ would play Private events such as Weddings, Birthday parties and Corporate events.
•
When playing music for these types of events the DJ would be expected to play popular music that most people would know.
Usually consisting of Top 40 and classic hits.
•
Requests would be taken and applied into the mix.
2. Specialist DJ/Producer:
•
This type of DJ is also a producer and would always play his or her own style of music regardless of how the crowd is feeling.
•
You would stick to your playlist and not change the original planned set.
•
This comes only once you have a following or become an established DJ/Producer. Although it shows great character to stick to
your playlist, sometimes if the crowd isn’t feeling the vibe it is hard to create a packed dance floor.
•
Keep in mind - It’s impossible to keep everyone happy no matter what event you are playing but the main goal is to keep as many
people dancing as possible and uplift the crowd giving them an experience to remember.
51
Take a look at your heroes and competition.
Taking time to watch other professional DJ’s will help you immensely. This is a great way to learn new techniques, what diﬀerent crowds
like to listen to and how the DJ fills the dance floor. Take note of how he or she compiles their music selections and the journey they take
you on with their style. All good DJ’s know all the elements to their music throughout. They know the right time to mix a song in and out,
what song to play and when to play it.
3. FINDING A GIG
It’s never easy getting your foot in the door as a new DJ but I would first suggest asking local bars or smaller venues if you could play for
them on an oﬀ night through the week.
4. KNOW YOUR CROWD
Every event will be diﬀerent and you will need to know what types of music the people who are attending listen to. Before you start
playing you should know the age demographic, cultures, style of event.
Find out what the staﬀ like to listen to. If the staﬀ are enjoying the music, it will show and the crowd will pick up on this and in turn they
will enjoy the music as well.
Keep the owners and their friends happy as these are the people that are paying you. A happy owner is a sure way to get you rebooked
again in the future.
Use the Music to Manage the Event.
If you are playing a wedding, you need to play important songs that the bride and groom have chosen or the music genres they prefer.
Popular music will be requested that everybody knows the words to and keep in mind slow songs are a must at all weddings. Don’t be
afraid to mix it up with fast and slow music throughout the evening.
52
Start the evening with slower songs for the reception and dinner and build the atmosphere throughout the evening. Read the crowd and
see what’s working and change the music accordingly.
Professional & Charismatic
It’s not just the music you play that people notice when you are DJ’ing but also the way you look onstage and also the way you act.
ALWAYS look professional and smart, never swear on the microphone or act inappropriately when the guests can see you. No matter how
your night is going or what type of day you have had, look interested and that you are enjoying yourself. The last thing people want to see
onstage is a DJ hunched over their computer looking miserable. This makes the audience think you are checking your email inbox and is
a no brainer to try and avoid.
Always show up to your gigs in plenty of time and looking good. Treat every event like it’s your first and have fun while you are playing.
You might think nobody is paying attention to you but there is always somebody watching and you never know when that somebody
could be important to you in the future.
Learn your Music
As a good DJ you must know your music. Set your cue points. Listen to your tracks ahead of time and try diﬀerent songs to mix them
with until you find the perfect fit. You need to know the exact time to mix the songs and how long to keep the mix going. Don’t leave the
mix going for too long, the idea is to smoothly transition the music together while enhancing the sound during the flow. Too many sounds
make it chaotic and take away from your artistry.
At the beginning practice as often as you possibly can. Experiment with songs, try diﬀerent techniques and eventually you will know what
works best for your particular style.
53
Nightclubs and Music Venues
DJ culture wouldn’t be where it is today without Nightclubs. Studio 54, The Warehouse, the Hacienda all played major roles in promoting
DJ’s as headline acts. The popularity of DJ’s today is incredible, superstars like Tiesto, Avicii and Deadmau5 are selling out Venues and
Festivals worldwide.
Your First Gig
You need to speak with the Manager of the venue, find out what they are expecting from your night. You want to keep them happy so you
will be booked again in the future.
Find out what type of crowd you are expecting. You want to know the music genre and what they like to listen to. You need to ask what
time the venue starts to fill up. You also want to introduce yourself to the staﬀ, always be friendly as these guys are working hard and you
want them to like you and your music.
If you do get asked back to DJ at the same venue again, make sure you change up your music to keep it fresh and new for the regulars
and staﬀ.
Opening Sets:
Opening for other DJ’s is sometimes as tricky as being the headlining act. It is often overlooked by club owners but can easily be as
important for the club as to guaranteeing a victorious evening. It is very rare that the headliner will play for the whole night and so the
importance of the opening DJ’s can determine how the rest of the evening is going to pan out.
At the beginning of the set you are usually going to be playing for an empty club and once people do trickle into the venue they are
usually fairly sober and not in the mood for banging tracks from the get go. You have to slowly build the crowds interest and this is a great
time to feel out the guests and what music they are digging. Then the idea is to slowly build up the energy of your music until it’s
time for the headliner to begin his or her set. The last thing you want to do is play all the hits prior to the headliners set as
54
you are supposed to be the lead into the main show and upsetting the club owners and DJ’s will never get you booked in the future.
Never play music that the headliner produced or remixed as this will most likely be stuﬀ that they will play in their set and messing with
their playlists never ends well either. Do some research into what the headliner usually plays and then you can gradually build the crowd
seamlessly into their set.
The idea of the DJ’ing before the headliner’s set is to get the crowd in the mood and then when they come on the clubbers are already on
the dance floor and excited to party.
Headlining
Once you are comfortable enough to open for a headlining act and gained enough experience you’ll be ready to headline yourself. If you
have earned the right to be playing during the peak hours you will have much more leeway in your set to play all the freshest tracks. You
will know what songs to play and exactly when to play them. When you have made it this far you will of learned the importance of stage
presence and how it can enhance the club goer’s experience. If you look like you are having the time of your life, the crowd will feed oﬀ
that and I can guarantee that their experience will be hugely improved. Be energetic, dance, smile, sing, do what you have to do to
expand the overall experience.
55
Top 100 DJ’s - 2014
1. Hardwell
2. Armin Van Buuren
3. Avicii
4. Tiesto
5. David Guetta
5. Deadmau5
6. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
7. Nicky Romero
8. Steve Aoki
9. Afrojack
10. Dash Berlin
11. Skrillex
12. Deadmau5
30. Dyro
13. Alesso
31. Laidback Luke
14. W & W
32. Paul Van Dyk
15. Calvin Harris
33. ATB
16. Nervo
34. Angerfist
17. Above & Beyond
35. Dada Life
18. Sebastian Ingrosso
36. Kaskade
19. Axwell
37. Frontliner
20. Aly & Fila
38. Steve Angello
21. Markus Schulz
39. Sander Van Doorn
22. Daft Punk
40. Martin Garrix
23. Headhunterz
41. Porter Robinson
24. Zedd
42. Ferry Corsten
25. Knife Party
43. Chuckie
26. Swedish House Mafia
44. Krewella
27. Andrew Rayel
45. Coone
28. Showtek
46. Carl Cox
29. Fedde Le Grand
47. Bobina
56
48. Omnia
65. Tenishia
83. Waster Penguinz
49. Orjan Nilsen
66. Noisecontrollers
84. Tiddey
50. Zatox
67. Mike Candys
85. Skazi
51. Gareth Emery
68. Antoine
86. Da Tweekaz
52. Bingo Players
69. Quentin Mosimann
87. Tenashar
53. Infected Mushroom
70. Project 46
88. Bob Sinclar
54. Eric Prydz
71. Blasterjaxx
89. Beny Benassi
55. Tommy Trash
72. D-Block & S-te-Fan
90. Staﬀord Brothers
56. Wildstylez
73. Dillon Francis
91. Bl3nd
57. Arty
74. Dannic
92. Paul Oakenfold
58. R3hab
75. Adaro
93. Mat Zo
59. Madeon
76. Richie Hawtin
94. Diego Miranda
60. Vicetone
77. Martin Solveig
95. DJs From Mars
61. Brennan Heart
78. Felguk
96. Matt Darey
62. DJ Feel
79. Myon and Shane 54
97. Umek
63. Gunz For Hire
80. Cosmic Gate
98. Solarstone
64. Diplo
81. Heatbeat
99. Ummet Ozcan
82. John O’Callaghan
100.Ran-D
57
TOUCH THIS
Learn to DJ using
Emulator
I hope you enjoyed this course on how to DJ using
Emulator. Our team at SmithsonMartin wish you all
the best success in the future. When you make it big,
just remember us little people.
GOOD LUCK!!
A very special Thank you to Julie, Rich, and Andrej for
contributing to this awesome course manual.
Copyright 2013 - SmithsonMartin Inc.
All Rights Reserved.