#becomeadj

HOW TO BECOME A DJ

It was the first time I went to a nightclub. The name was Inferno Teen Club, a popular teen club in Walled Lake, Michigan. I was maybe 15 or 16 years old and did not know what to expect. Walking in, it looked like a big warehouse sanctioned into different parts while maintaining the center focus on the main dance floor. However, what really caught my eye was the DJ booth, a cage-like structure hovering over the dance floor. The DJ that night sounded real smooth and that made me more focused on what he was doing than anything else. To me, at that moment, it looked so hard and impossible.

Two years later, when I was freshman in college, I decided to do research and figure out if DJing was actually that impossible thing to do. And that is why I am going to inform you of the simple steps you, the aspiring DJ, need to take to make it happen. Of course, there are different methods and what not but I am speaking based on my experience. To become a DJ, you need 3 mains things: money, time, and commitment.

Now let me break it down. You need to save up money before you decide to become a DJ because DJ equipment is not cheap. Before I started DJing as a job, I worked at subway and that made me enough money to buy the equipment. How much? I say roughly $1,700. Now let me break it down even more.

What kind of equipment do you need just to start DJing in front of people?

DJ Controller (not a full-out turntable): $600-800

2 15inch Speakers: $500

Wires/Stands: $150

Protective Equipment Case: $200

DJCITY.COM Subscription: $90/3 months

Like I mentioned before, you also need time to start DJing. As a beginner, it is crucial that you get really used to your DJ controller. You need to practice on your own as much as you can. You must know how to use every feature and must learn how to perfect them. Also, downloading music takes a lot of time and making sure you are up to date.

Not only time, as a beginner DJ, you must be committed. Starting to DJ is a big investment, financially as you can tell, but also a big time commitment. You must commit to keep going with it. In the beginning, I was doing free gigs left and right and gigs that were really low-key. There were times where I felt really discouraged and wanted to drop the ball but I didn't. That is what matters. The more you do it, the more people you'll meet, the more people will know about you, the better you get, and the more gigs you will perform at! It is a very satisfying path to becoming a DJ. Forgot to mention, maintaining and upgrading your equipment is also costly but that also will come as you get more gigs and start making a little bit more cash. I went from the Xponent Torque DJ Controller to the Numark NS7 Turntable and has been enjoying it since. Please tweet at me if you have any questions. I would love to go into more detail about anything I've said above.

Best of luck!

By Rayan El-Zein