Things I’ve learned as a DJ so far…
I’ve only been DJing since the start of the year and my thoughts so far:
Master the basics (beat matching / mixing in key / phrasing etc).
Be open to trying different genres/formats.
Track preparation, boring after a while, but so useful down the line.
Know your audience (I got loads of praise/good feedback just from playing more rock / older bangers from 80s rather than usual dance/club/dnb at a bar recently).
You can’t please everyone.
Mistakes will be made (I find that some sessions at home, I’ll completely fluff a transition over and over, but other times there’ll be several decent transitions without even thinking about it).
Use YouTube tutorials as much as possible (I’ve paid for a few Crossfader courses, but truth be told I’ve learned half of it for free, just from watching YouTube and practicing 🤦♂️).
Get friendly with local DJs (also learned a few different techniques from watching other DJs, which has helped me with different transitions).
Don’t go too crazy with FX.
Don’t pick up bad habits, I’ve noticed so much with other DJs that I’ve just turned around and said to some of them, you might as well just setup a Spotify playlist and hit play…
Most important of all, have fun!