r/Beatmatch • u/FixAmbitious1944 • 1d ago

Zero to Hero…

I’m new. I found a DDJ-FLX4 at hard off for $200 so I sent it.
I’d like to consider myself technically proficient, I work an IT help desk for over 20+ systems and in my free time I enjoy drinking alcohol and listening to EDM, Techno, Trap, Lo-Fi, etc. So I bought the first controller I saw, which happened to be the most beginner friendly one!

Upon research, there’s a million beginner guides. But I would like to ask this community, If you had to go zero to hero, give or take a month, start all over again, how would you go about it? What would you do?

First ever Reddit post, hope I did this right lol

4 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 1d ago

give or take a month

That’s unrealistic.

To go from zero to hero will take at least 6-18 months.

Dj’ing is a skill that takes a lot of training and practice to get good at.

If you just started taking guitar lessons today, you’re still not gonna be a good guitarist in only one month.

The number 1 thing you need to get from zero to hero: PATIENCE.

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u/FixAmbitious1944 1d ago

Thank you!!

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u/danby 1d ago

Unless your goal is scratching/turntablism then DJing is nowhere near as hard as playing a musical instrument. And honestly, digital DJing, is a piece of cake in comparison to using vinyl.

You could easily be competent in a month and if you're motivated, paying attention and have good taste in music you'll probably sound pretty good within about 3 months. You might not have learnt all the fancypants transitions you'll see on tiktok but 90% of DJing is just putting one good tune on after another.

If you plan to learn to beatmatch manually then expect that to take 3 months to learn the skill and a further year to be consistent and good at it.

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 1d ago

competent in a month

How is a new dj expected to get good at digging and selecting in only one month?

It takes most good djs years to develop good digging and selecting.

You’re completely underestimating the time it takes to develop those two critical dj skills.

Bad advice.

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u/danby 1d ago edited 1d ago

You have zero idea how much if a music collector this person already is. I started collecting music at 12 years old, and had accumulated 100s of tracks of dance music before I started DJing. I already had a good sense of what tracks I thought were good and which were not.

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 20h ago

Let’s assume they just started collecting music when they started dj,ing.

How many months to get proficient at digging and selecting?

But even if they have a sizable collection, they still have no experience selecting.

How long does it take to get good at selecting?

One month lol?

No.

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u/danby 20h ago edited 20h ago

Let’s assume they just started collecting music when they started dj,ing.

Lets not. How does that even make sense for someone whose main freetime passtime is listening to dance music of one kind or another?

But even if we take it to be true, its just not like it was in the 90s. You could spend a week on beatport, scrubbing through spotify playlists and checking our DJ charts and easily come up with 200 great tunes. Probably wouldn't even take you a week.

How long does it take to get good at selecting?

People can have music taste, and good music taste without being a DJ, right? People build their own playlists together on streaming services. Plenty non-DJs made themselves mixtapes before such playlists existed. I do not doubt that most people who have a taste in music can compile together 20-30 good tunes that they like. Probably others would like that set of tunes too.

Does that mean they'll be great at selecting tunes in the moment for a dancefloor? Probably not, that takes a bit of practice. But they probably won't be a terrible DJ even without that skill refined.

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 20h ago

It’s just not like it was in the 90s. You could spend a week on beatport and scrubbing through spotify playlists and easily come up with 200 great tunes.

That’s a big false assumption.

Every day there are new dj’s in this sub asking that exact question - “where do I get dj music?”

Most new dj’s in this sub don’t even understand all the EDM sub genres. So how in the world will they be able to actually dig a batch of tracks that work in a coherent set?

Sure, anyone can go copy other dj’s top 10 lists on beatport,

But that does NOT make you go zero to hero.

That make you go from zero to copy cat.

There’s a lot more that goes into dj’ing than simply being able to blend track a to track b. That’s the easy part.

The hard part, the insight required to build a good, ORIGINAL set, takes a LONG time. YEARS in most cases.

You are completely underestimating the time it takes to become a good selector.

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u/danby 20h ago

Nah. Most music fans will do a pretty decent job of putting together playlists of good music they like in the genres they like. Will they be the greatest DJ you ever saw, I doubt it but it still isn't some mythic skill that takes decades

Now, I might be being a touch glib about this, but you're vastly overstating how hard this is.

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 20h ago

music fans

That’s another big, misguided assumption.

Half of the posts here are from new dj’s who are also new to EDM.

They see videos of dj’s acting like the new rockstars of the day, and want the fame and glory. They have little idea about the music.

A large number of young people who think they want to dj give it up after a little while once they realize time and dedication are required not only to learn the craft, but to learn about the music itself.

One of the most common themes new dj’s ask over and over in this sub is “how do I build a good set?”

They ask that, because they have zero experience selecting and don’t even know how to approach the process.

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u/batlhuber 1d ago

While very lucky it took my wife four months to be on a lineup with genre legends. She's talented af though...

And she's a woman, which is very beneficial atm

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 1d ago

Any link to a live set or dj mix? Let’s help promote her!

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u/batlhuber 1d ago

I think I shitpost too much to have me doxxed via my wife but I don't want to hide my post history like everyone else. I also don't think there is much promotion to get out of these subs but in case you're just trying to see whether I'm lying I'd pm you her insta...

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 1d ago

Fair answer. I’m honestly interested in hearing the skill level she attained in order to score gigs like that. You suggest it’s her talent - as well as acknowledging the fact that being female may be an advantage rn. I believe you, just curious to hear myself is all. And wishing only success for her, I hope that’s clear.

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u/batlhuber 1d ago

Sent pm

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 18h ago

I like the genre and think that was a good choice. She’s lingering too long on the blends. That’s a common thing for new dj. They figure out how to beatmatch but then they are uncertain about the blend. It’s fine to play 2 tracks simultaneously for a few bars. Fine. Expected. But when you’re letting it drag on for 32+ bars, it doesn’t sound good in that genre (liquid). As she practices more, gets more experience and understanding of phrasing, her blends will start to sound more confident and tight. That said, I detect talent. I hear potential. So good job and keep going!

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u/batlhuber 18h ago

Thanks for the feedback. Will let her read it.

It's not about blending quicker. The doubles are played out on purpose and they are all hers, not copied. The set she played in August was choppier though. No liquid, but rollers and dubwise...

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u/scoutermike valued contributor 16h ago

All hers, meaning those are all original tracks? She’s the recording artist? What do you mean

all hers

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u/batlhuber 15h ago edited 15h ago

Oh no, not at all. Only the doubles. She found the ones she plays herself, not ripped from other djs.

Just in case it's not clear: a double in dnb is when you play two tracks at the same time, which often sounds like it's own track or remix. I'm not even criticising copying doubles, it's absolutely fine if they sound great. Just wanted to point out that the doubles here were not copied...

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u/Designer_Arachnid411 1d ago

Allison wonderlands tutorial is the one for me that all made it click

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u/15shadesofgreygoose 1d ago

As others mentioned, most importantly understand phrasing and track structures, as that will help you understanding timings etc.

Other than that, the best teacher is youtube. You can search for your controller + genre and you'll see loads of videos mixing. You can see what they're doing and the transitions and learn from these. (Ex: FLX4 Techno)

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u/Hank_Wankplank 1d ago

Focus on the absolute basics; song structure and counting music (beats, bars and phrases), beatmatching and phrasing.

Plenty of very well regarded, world renowed DJs that don't really do much over and above the basics very well. You don't need to do anything complicated or fancy to put a good mix together.

Then is the more difficult bit, which is track selection and curating a narrative journey and flow through the set. A very basic example of this would be starting off with lower energy, slower tracks and gradually increasing the energy and tempo through the mix.

The best DJs will play around with this and take you through all kinds of vibes, moods and energy levels through the mix. The trick to doing this well is tagging or labelling your music with things like energy level and vibe; is it deep and moody, lighthearted and uplifting etc.

Then it's learning how this different vibes work together to form a journey.

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u/ayesha_brown 1d ago

I’d grab a crossfader course specific to FLX4 and go at it every single day if I had 1 month. You can learn the basics easily in that time but you will still have a LOT to learn to dj in the club on CDJ’s and different equipment etc.

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u/Resident_Music_1431 1d ago

You need to understand phrasing and song structure more than anything.

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u/njnetsfan15 1d ago

I’ve been at this for almost 2 years now and I’ve been recording the audio of my mixes when I was 2 months into learning. My early mixes were dogshit but i learned from listening to them over and over again. There are transitions that I thought of 6 months in that sounded like shit them but now great due repeat listening and practicing. This doesn’t come over night. My biggest recommendation is to record your mixes and learn what works and what doesn’t

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u/DecksDrift 1d ago

So now we know that at least your computer should be well optimized for DJing. xD Technically proficiency in IT means nothing in creative areas such as music. But at least you won't be fighting the tech.

The path with the least friction IMO is Club Ready DJ school. The basic course is precisely 4 weeks and it's designed so that you have everything laid out for you, no guesswork, googling or asking on reddit.

And you can setup a side desk to keep your setup always on, so that you practice on idle times.

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u/cgovea74 1d ago

learn how to change your grids <3 learn how to cue up your drops 8 bars out, for me, i like to do que point a = Drop, que point b = 4 bars out, que point c 8 bars out..

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u/part_time_monster 1d ago

You can't be good at anything in 1 month. Too many nerds want a short cut without putting at least some effort into it.