This month, Shortee addresses the basics of becoming a better DJ with her article : "Cracking the Code to Becoming a Better DJ".

Read on....

Most DJs acquire a large amount of records/songs during their career, especially DJs who are serviced regularly by record labels & the DJs who purchase countless mp3s off the internet to play on Serato, Final Scratch or CDJs. In this age of endless music, it’s virtually impossible to remember how each song is arranged. Unless you plan every set, you are going to have to improvise at your shows and the more you know your records the better.

I’ve been a DJ for 10 years, mixing multiple genres such as House, Drum & Bass, Hip Hop, Funk Soul, Electro, Breaks etc. My weekend could start on Thursday playing Funk/ Soul/ Breaks at a b-boy battle, then Friday at Power 106 playing mainstream Hip Hop, moving on to a Drum & Bass massive on Saturday, and finish off the weekend at a House party on Sunday. When you mix more than one style, you have to learn each genre’s nuances, which can be a pain in the ass. Most electronic music is genre specific with house, breaks and Drum & Bass all having their own tempos & styles of production, which are DJ friendly. In Hip Hop, there is no set BPM range or song structure that’s universal to Hip Hop.

The best way I’ve found to keep track of all my records and improvise seamlessly on the fly is to code my songs. This way, I don’t have to worry so much about remembering every single detail of every song and still rock it like I prepared my set ahead of time. With this code I can pull out a record from 10 years ago and know all the key parts of the record that are relevant to the mix.

I teach all my mixing students at the Scratch DJ Academy this technique from day one, however it’s never too late to implement a coding system. Once I started coding my records, I noticed the positive effects immediately. I could find my records easily and my improvisational mixing was much faster and tighter that before.

Here is the handout that I give all my students to help them learn the system. You may take it as is or personalize it for what works best for you.

See handout here : http://www.shejay.net/images/crate.jpg

CATEGORIES:

The code is divided into two categories:

1- Hip Hop/R&B/Dancehall/Reggae (funk, soul & rock also falls into this one)
2-House/Techno/Breaks/Drum & Bass (any other electronic music falls into this one)

Each category varies slightly but the point is the same—to identify the BPM & key mixing points.

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IDENTIFY & LABEL BPM:

First, identify the BPM (beats per minute). To do this you can either use a BPM counter or do it the old school way with a clock (clock method below). Then write it on a sticker, stick it on the upper right hand corner of your record sleeve and arrange your records in order by BPM. This way when you are shuffling through your crate, all the BPMs are in the same place and you can scroll through them easily without pulling the sleeve out and find what you want quickly. (see graphic example above):

Clock BPM Method:

1-put pitch on 0 (zero)
2-cue record to first beat of song
3-When the clock hits 12, drop the record & start counting beats beginning from the first beat
4-count for full minute
5-the number you end up with is the BPM.
(Example: if you counted 100 beats, the song’s bpm is 100)

IDENTIFY & LABEL MIX POINTS:

Next identify the mix points for each category, write these numbers on a sticker & stick the sticker on the label of the record (see graphic example above):

Hip Hop etc:
How many beats or bars make up the INTRO(I), CHORUS(C) & OUTRO(O)
(Example: I = 8 / C = 8 / O = 16)

Electronic Music:
How many bars make up the INTRO(I), BREAKDOWNS (B1,B2) & OUTRO(O)
(Example: I = 32 / B1 = 16 / B2 = 32 / O = 64)

CODING IN SERATO or FINAL SCRATCH:

Put the BPM in the ID tag of the mp3 so that you have the option of arranging your songs by BPM or you can search for a specific BPM easily.
Then put the rest of the coding (intro, chorus or breakdowns, outro) in the notes section of each mp3.

Final thought…
Applying this coding method helped me become a better, more versatile & flexible DJ. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me!

Got technical or general advice questions for Shortee?
She’ll be ready to answer anything you need to know about DJing, production, turntablism, mixers…anything. Shortee has the scoop on most products out there, and wants to share her knowledge. Send your questions to : askshortee@shejay.net

DJ SHORTEE
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