DJing isn’t as easy as it may seem. Controlling and driving a crowd with the power of music requires skill and expertise learned from years of hands-on experience. And throughout their career, every DJ makes mistakes. While making mistakes is the best way to learn, we want to reduce the learning curve for newer DJs and help them avoid embarrassing moments.
Here’s a short list of some common mistakes we’ve made over the years. Hopefully, it will help you in your journey to be a better DJ.
1. Clashing vocals with vocals
There are only a few times where you want to have vocals mixing on top of each other. Stick to blending with instrumental segments, and your mixes will sound better.
2. Playing too loud
Playing too loudly leads to permanent hearing damage and distorted sound. You have EQs on your gear for a reason; keep the levels out of the red for cleaner sound and healthier ears.
3. Mixing out of key
Good DJs naturally sense what songs mix well together, but they also have the benefit of key analysis. Take keys into consideration when mixing tracks, and you’ll sound smoother.
4. Keeping too much music
Most DJs become hoarders, holding onto music that they’ll never play. This takes up unnecessary drive space and can limit creativity. Keep your library lean and clean.
5. Playing for yourself
Unless playing alone, your role as a DJ is to make people happy. Stay true to yourself, but consider your audience and what will keep them engaged. A good rule is “two for you, one for me.”