open letter to djs

[Gandy]

i feel everyone should read this

An Open Letter To Vinyl And Digital DJs

by Matthew On The Rocks

It seems like everyone is talking about the advent of modern technology in DJing. Some are in favour of it and some are in extreme opposition to it – and as time goes by, the debate is – if anything – getting more brutal and less sensible.

Now, whether you love where technology is taking DJing or whether you hate it, I’m writing today to ask both sides to try and see the bigger picture. After all, all that a turntable, CDJ, or Midi controller really is to a DJ is their medium. Since when has a medium ever dictated the worth of an artist?

The dancefloor doesn’t think in terms of beat matching, BPMs, or “what kind of equipment you’re running”; only DJs think about these things. Yet some DJs, it seems, are so fixated on the medium that they forget the two most important things about it all: the music and the experience.

I’ve never once heard of an average clubber go up to a DJ and say, “You aren’t a good DJ because you aren’t using turntables.” Give me a break! A good DJ is a good DJ no matter what they use. In fact, isn’t the mark of a good DJ someone who can rock the party using any available gear? I honestly struggle to understand it.

Before we had cars, we used horses. Before we had horses, we used our own two feet. So how come people aren’t ridiculed for using a car and not a horse, or for not walking everywhere? And how come car drivers don’t routinely point and laugh at pedestrians for choosing to walk?

So as a plea for unity…

Dear Vinyl DJs,

Please, it’s time to embrace technology and nurture the DJs of the future. Think how cool it is that anyone who genuinely (believe me, you can tell who the genuine ones are) wants to know about DJing can now learn about it a lot more easily (and a lot more cheaply) than they could 10 or 20 years ago. You spent hours practising, matching those beats and hauling around crates, and now today’s lucky DJs don’t have to!

Midi controllers and tempo syncing aren’t your enemies; they’re your friends. They actually mean that now, DJs can enjoy their sets and the crowd even more, without having to worry about the small stuff. (Let’s be honest, beatmatching is really not that big of a deal. A child can start a turntable. An intelligent child can match beats.)

The essential experience with rocking the crowd still remains. And let’s face it: The technology is not going away. Isn’t it time to accept it?

With best wishes, etc.

Dear Digital DJs,

Please understand that just because you have a program that automatically beatmatches, it doesn’t make you a DJ. A DJ is an ambassador of good music. DJs read their crowd and pick the tunes that seem to be meant for just that particular moment. A real DJ gets the crowd ecstatic. If you can’t accomplish this, then you’re not yet a DJ – whatever you’re using to play the tunes on.

You could do a lot worse than getting a set of turntables or at least messing around with someone else’s. Give respect to those who came before you, and know your roots. Mix on anything you can get your hands on – it will make you a strong, well-rounded DJ.

And don’t undercut other DJs’ prices just because your set up isn’t as elaborate as theirs; it only hurts the profession. If you give respect to your tools, you’ll probably get more respect for using them.

With kind regards, etc.

PS…

If you are a vinyl DJ and feel digital DJing is inferior and stupid, then sorry but for me, you don’t really love DJing. Likewise: If you’re a digital DJ who thinks vinyl is overrated and lame, then you don’t really love DJing either. The point is, if you’re a DJ who really loves your art, you’ll love everything it has to offer.

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” So said German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer.

I think digital DJing is going through the first two of these stages at the moment: Being ridiculed and violently opposed. After all, CDJs were hated when they came out, but are now an industry standard. New tools, new rules – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for everyone.

source: http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2011/10/an ... vinyl-djs/

[Jaz]

good read, the bloke has some good points

im fine with controller DJing as long as you are actually DJing, cueing up the track, beatmatching it, looping it, cutting it, sampling it etc etc

if your pickign a song and pressing auto sync

GTFO!!!!!!!

[Gandy]

its a little biased towards the digital generation but i agree, the bickering needs to stop.

i used to be of the opinion that anyone who used controllers/sync was a fraud and a disgrace to the world of djing (especially since i learnt the traditional way). Then as time went on i started to understand exactly what the article mentions, the avg punter doesnt care abotu beatmatching or what gear you are using, they want to have a good time rocking out to some phat tunes. Crowd reading and building an atmosphere is so much more important to EVERYONES night being a success. You are there for the people and the people are there for the music

If you are truly passionate you will make the effort to learn and appreciate all three mediums anyway (vinyl/cdj/controller)

[JonnyB]

its a little biased towards the digital generation but i agree, the bickering needs to stop.

i used to be of the opinion that anyone who used controllers/sync was a fraud and a disgrace to the world of djing (especially since i learnt the traditional way). Then as time went on i started to understand exactly what the article mentions, the avg punter doesnt care abotu beatmatching or what gear you are using, they want to have a good time rocking out to some phat tunes. Crowd reading and building an atmosphere is so much more important to EVERYONES night being a success. You are there for the people and the people are there for the music

If you are truly passionate you will make the effort to learn and appreciate all three mediums anyway (vinyl/cdj/controller)

This +1

[SolDios]

I think every dj should have to read this, really good article!

[styga]

when i first started djing a few months ago and i had just started hitting the clubs i could notice when dj's were beat matching all too well but everyone around me had no idea and they were just listening and dancing away. aslong as the dj can read the crowd well and keep them dancing then it should matter what medium they have chosen

[Gandy]

i forgot to add that if you are using sync to beatmatch, then i would expect some creative flair to show through with sampleing/cutting/accapella drops/loops etc

[crundyy]

imo aslong as you can make the girlies get on the df and getting ground by me/people like me then your doing a good job and i dont care what you use.

[Robsta]

I started out DJing thinking "what's wrong with sync?" but now after seeing the amount of practice real DJs do to get good at their art form I understand why everyone thinks sync is cheating.

I've got nothing wrong with midi controllers (I use one myself) but describing the sync button as a different tool for art is bullshit. It's like a robot painting the picture and you're getting the credit for it.

[Cupe]

pretty fucking epic

moving this to DJ HQ as it's relevant

[mattus123]

Solid read and completely agree that each medium is a perfectly acceptable way to DJ

having said that, i still think you should be able to cue and beat/phrase match your songs and not rely on auto sync

not being able to beatmatch is like a guitarist who cant restring/tune his own guitar imo

[MelodyIlliterate]

awesome read,

i'd love to have the opportunity to try cdjs and vinyl,

cause he's right,

you'd be a pretty skilled kid if you can walk into any venue and play whatever they have straight from the get go...

[MintyCondition]

Nice post, thanks!

[SourceRaver]

A good Dj is someone who can make people dance regardless of what technology they use, be it turntables, CDJs, laptop or bashing two bin lids togeather.

But I worry about Dj's who dont embrace new technology. I dont see a happy future for them...

Digital technology makes Dj'ing a lot more accessable to the general public and so competition for gigs will increase as more Djs come online.

Promotors and venue owners will be looking for a point of difference to distinguish one Dj from another purely for marketting reasons.

Dj's who not only mix music but also create their own (before a gig or even on the fly) will become the norm. The general public may start to think that a Dj just playing someone elses music is lame. Their expectations will be higher.

Its evolution in that you need to adapt to survive...or go they way of the dinosaur.

[Jaz]

in a way i agree and disagree source....at our biggest pub in town the DJ has virtual DJ set up with the automix setting on (30 seconds of auto fade and auto sync over the previous song) with top 40 music in the playlist...he literally leans against the wall with his arms crossed next to the computer to make sure no 1 touches it

the dance floor is always packed...but is he a good DJ? i dont even think he is a DJ at all

[mattus123]

i agree with jaz

while it is fine to say that all DJs should embrace all different technologies, and i agree with that

but i also think that we shouldn't go too far the other way and become to lenient with what we define as a DJ

Using Jaz's example, i struggle to call that DJing. Entertaining a crowd, yes. playing to a crowd, yes. even reading a crowd, yes

but the actual skill involved in Djing, im not so sure

i tihnk its important to respect the artform of DJing, and not be too lenient with what we label a DJ

just my opinion

[Jaz]

well said mattus, i was trying to look for a word for it...but you pretty much gave it to me, he is a "mobile entertainer" Not a "DJ" in my eye's, i meen if i turned auto cue off on my CDJ and just let it run threw a playlist at my residency there would still be people dancing...

its probly cause drunk people just want to dance lol

[fackedd]

lol, Ive always said that the average punter dosen't care if you can beatmatch or not. You could do a quick crossfader cut slam from each track and majority wouldn't care. This applies to clubs and mobile.

[awesome88]

it all comes down to what you need it for, and how seriously you want to take it.

I don't do anything more than play at home and some parties etc, so a controller is perfect.

on the other hand, if I wanted to start scratching, I'd get TT's.

like every hobby, so can take it as serious or as casual as you like. The good thing with this hobby is that there are options that suit every situation.

[OxyKon]

i agree with jaz

while it is fine to say that all DJs should embrace all different technologies, and i agree with that

but i also think that we shouldn't go too far the other way and become to lenient with what we define as a DJ

Using Jaz's example, i struggle to call that DJing. Entertaining a crowd, yes. playing to a crowd, yes. even reading a crowd, yes

but the actual skill involved in Djing, im not so sure

i tihnk its important to respect the artform of DJing, and not be too lenient with what we label a DJ

just my opinion

Very well said, that article is amazing, I've come across alotta people who think if you use a cdj or timecode etc then your not a DJ, that vinyl is the only way to go, then I've also come across people who say why would you go and waste your money on vinyl, it's so expensive and ways a tone (as it also says in the article) I 1st learnt to dj on vinyl simply because that's what my friends used and I thought that was cool, keep the old school rocking, plus that's all I had access to, and my old man collected vinyl for a very long time and ive come to follow along those lines too, personally I love vinyl and will probably never stop collecting it, but right next to my technics is a pair of cdj's,

as 1 of the London electricity members said in an interview last week on RTR FM about hospital records and will they stop making vinyl "vinyl has become such a colletors item these days and we will probably never stop making it, but it is also important to move with the times and release music on other medians such as beatport",

like the article also says, technology is advancing and a dj needs to move with the times

[mattus123]

technology is advancing and a dj needs to move with the times

^thats the key point right there!

[Tomy]

hold the floor. your a good dj in my eyes

I've really got no opinion on digital vs vinyl anymore. i dj'd on vinyl for a few years and it was good learn that way but the end result is the same.

i think everyone just needs to step back from the hate and just listen to the tunes and remember why we are djs in the first place.

[OxyKon]

hold the floor. your a good dj in my eyes

I've really got no opinion on digital vs vinyl anymore. i dj'd on vinyl for a few years and it was good learn that way but the end result is the same.

i think everyone just needs to step back from the hate and just listen to the tunes and remember why we are djs in the first place.

Very true Tomy, if ur always hating then how can u love what u do

[Gandy]

hold the floor. your a good dj in my eyes

I've really got no opinion on digital vs vinyl anymore. i dj'd on vinyl for a few years and it was good learn that way but the end result is the same.

i think everyone just needs to step back from the hate and just listen to the tunes and remember why we are djs in the first place.

i was just reposting the article cause i found it interesting, i didnt write it lol