Pack your music carefully
Less is definitely more when it comes to
preparing your tunes. Listen to ever single record
you put in your crate for the night, so they’re all
fresh in your mind. I like to pack roughly double
the music I end up playing, giving me two choices
for every eventual tune played – so I can vary the
set but within preset confines. Listening to the
tunes like this helps you to spot the “odd ones
out” too that maybe don’t belong in tonight’s set
after all.
Ready the set-up instructions carefully and
do everything they say – Even the easiest-
to-use DJ controllers need a modicum of
setting up, and if you miss out stages, your
controller won’t work properly. Pay
particular attention to the “audio routing” or
“audio set-up” sections – one of the biggest
beginner errors is failing to take this step,
which is essential if your headphones are
going to work properly (ie carry a different
track to the one playing on your speakers,
when needed)
Learn how to record everything you do –
Listening to recordings of your practising,
however messy or unorganised/unplanned it
is, is the single best way to get better. It
puts you in the shoes of an “audience”. So
learn how to record your sets, and play
those recordings in your car, on the bus, at
work, at the gym… you get the idea
