When we think about DJing and those who are involved in the industry, we tend to assume that it is the younger audience who is doing all of the work and making all of the moves.  That may have been true during the infancy of DJing, but it cannot be true today.  In fact, many of the men and women who pioneered the industry are still around and aren’t hampered by their older age (this isn’t a contact sport anyways).  They may very well be the most experience and most versed DJs in the industry – but you have to consider their personal lives as well. [embed width="656"]http://youtu.be/lHha-ahLJas[/embed] Although they spend time behind the decks, many of these DJs have families and mouths to feed like the rest of us.  Their kids might be growing up with parents as DJs, and as a result, these kids have a better shot at understanding what it takes to DJ as a career, or at least a lifelong hobby.  Much like families that have groomed their sons to become professional racecar drivers or basketball players, you should expect to see scores of younger DJs picking up where their parents left off.  Perhaps it will stay in the family. http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2013/04/musikmesse-2013-mum-baby-on-the-decks/

DJs are a dime a dozen these days.  It really doesn’t take much to get up and running any more, and it used to take a hefty investment plus a large amount of time to even create a small mix set.  Think about it.  Think about how much a record costs at the record store – about 5 or 6 dollars for a single if you’re lucky.  If you only had twenty record that would have already cost you a hundred dollars.  Even with those twenty songs, you’ll be lucky if they blend well together.  So, basically it would take a lot of money to even have the resources to learn how to mix.  It is much simpler today in almost every aspect. Older DJs have the advantage of working with disadvantages earlier in their career.  It was harder to build a good setup and therefore DJs spent time just listening to music, rather than buying music.  Once those training weights were taken off with the rise of downloadable music – it really expanded their knowledge and ability to mix.  This is why the thirty and forty year old DJs seem to have a better understanding of what it means to be a good DJ. http://www.djbooth.net/index/dj-equipment/entry/pioneer-dj-dj-vice-interview

While I like DJing and like the fact that I can manipulate and shape music to whatever I please, I am just as displeased by the state of the DJing industry.  Head to any small joint in your local town and you are likely to hear a DJ playing and sound the same as the next guy.  There is no real difference between DJ A and DJ B, except what they are earning (which I guarantee you isn’t much).  It isn’t the fault of the DJs either, since it is really the industry and the market which determines how they should sound, and if they stray too far from this concept the punishment is harsh. [embed width="656"]http://youtu.be/_MKExrSmiWM[/embed] An older DJ, I’m talking about a DJ who already has kids who are grown adults, can give you the real scoop on what it is like to be a DJ.  They grew up in sort of the golden years of DJing, when records had to be bought and skills had to be earned.  Parties could not survive with a playlist of mp3’s and there were no computers at the time that could DJ for you.  To be a commodity in this era meant that you actually had skills to match.  http://www.musicradar.com/news/dj/bill-brewster-on-the-modern-dj-scene-578205

For any new subject that is ever studied at school, there is going to be a wealth of boring rudimentary and fundamental things that have to be gone over first.  This is the bane of most subjects, since half of the class already knows the subject material covered in class, the other half has no idea what is going on.  Regardless of what your personal opinions are teaching methods, most of us do understand why it is important to always cover the basics first.  For DJing, there really is no standard manual on how to get into the field or what to study first. Like any art of science, it can be broken down into different fields of study – each of them having their own set of issues to work on.  If you want to get into Turntablism or beat juggling, it is harder to have a solid foundation of where to start or where to go.  In modern times, the best way to get into it is to actually watch videos from when Turntablism first became a thing.  The older cats who were doing it may have not been as technical – yet they give great insight into the mindset and thinking habits of how a DJ works. http://www.djtechtools.com/2014/09/20/routine-grand-master-flash-tutorial-1983/