Friday, December 14, 2012

A Few DJ Terms To Be Aware Of

By Celia Hall


Knowing the lingo is important when you're trying to break out as a DJ in the music industry. Becoming an expert in the craft, involves understanding the DJ terms that come with it. You'll have to become familiar with a variety of terms and concepts. The following are are few concepts and aspects you should know about DJing.

When it comes to keeping the music going, the beat is very important. The beat is the pulse of the song. It usually is measured at about 4 beats per bar. Keeping the beat to your set as you go along is what gets people excited and able to dance along, and groove to the music.

DJs are in control of the rhythm and flow of the music. Because of this responsibility, you need to know how to beat match, and blend songs together. It doesn't always sound great when there's an abrupt change in the beat or sound. The songs you play should typically be continuous, and without any spaces in between. Try learning how to blend your songs together to create a more natural flow.

Beat matching is how each song relates to one another as you play. In a typical set, the songs you play will likely not have the same tempo or speed with one another. As the DJ, it is your job to synchronize the beat of each song, and make them sound as if there is one song playing. You can do this by slowing down one song, or speeding a song up.

Cueing is an important term to learn. When you cue a song, you are setting up the song to start a particular point in its duration. You can starts songs from their beginning or at the middle of the song. You'll be playing lots of songs during a set, and you don't always have to play an entire song. Playing your favorite parts of a song can really get your set going.

The sound system, or P. A. System you use, is just as important as the music itself. You need to learn how to find a quality system that will provide the best sound for your music. A sound system can be a set of speakers, for example, used to feed your music to the crowd. The perfect set of speakers will give you the control to have your music heard just as it was intended.

To be a proper DJ, you'll need to learn how to scratch. Scratching is a very old technique to learn. Its been around for decades, and many artists in the genre have become famous for it. You simply take the disc or vinyl on the turntable, and by using your hands, move piece back and forth. Scratching changes up the sound of your music, and adds more creativity.

DJing seems easy on the surface, but if you want to expand on your craft, you've got to know your DJ terms. Try looking online for more information. A quick search should bring up a couple of websites with terms you can study and use.




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