Commit to practising little and often – Like
playing the guitar, or getting good at a
sport, or cooking, new DJs make progress
quickest when they practise regularly for
short periods, rather than every now and
then for a long time. So commit to as many
practice sessions a week as feels right to
you, and stick to it – you’ll see results
quickest that way
Start with an empty folder or playlist for
your DJ music, and add to it with care –
Don’t just use all your music as your “DJ
collection”. Choose the songs you want to
DJ with carefully, and however you organise
your tunes (folders, iTunes, directly in your
DJ software…), keep those tunes separate.
This allows you to get to know the music
you want to DJ with properly (an essential
for mixing), and also to ensure the quality
of it (stick to 256 or 320 AAC/MP3 files as
a minimum, and avoid illegal rips and
downloads if you care at all about sound
quality, or indeed the wider DJ culture
you’re now a part of)
Optimise your laptop for digital DJing –
Most laptops will work just fine with most
DJ software and hardware, if you follow a
few simple rules. Make sure you’ve got 20%
hard disk space free, turn off WiFi, Bluetooth
and all unnecessary programs and apps,
use outlet electricity, and turn off
screensavers and notifications
