One day last month, I decided to be a DJ.

It has always been a secret fantasy of mine since my JC days to be standing up there, right up there at the console, just me alone and moving the masses down at the dance floor with my DJing ingenuity.  And that daydream would also result in me doing 'air-DJing' right in the privacy of my bedroom as I listen to the ever-climatic mixes spun out on a good progressive CD. Sad, I admit.

I never got down to seriously wanting to be a DJ until recently, due to more free time as my NS days are coming to an end (cheers!!).

So, after much calculation of my meager finances and actually putting my butt down to clear space in my room for the decks, I set forth on my Journey to Jocking.

Many people would ask, 'Hey! I too, want to be a DJ, but how? What is my first step?' Actually, I feel that as a beginner, it is pretty important to have just one thing –, 'Initiative'.

You must have the initiative to ask. If you know people in the industry, then good for you!! Because having someone around to provide the appropriate expertise is actually the best way to start off and also the CHEAPEST. With an experienced friend around, you can get to know the answers to questions such as: What equipment to buy? What is suitable for you? What are your music genres? And where to get stuff at the cheapest price? e.g."Wah!! That Shop damn expensive you know!! I can get it for $xxx at XXXX shop in Sim Lim!! Don't kena conned!!

And a plus point of knowing a friend is, you can ask him to teach you. instead of plunging money into DJ courses provided by shops and institutions around.

But, if, unfortunately (or fortunately), you have practically no one to turn to, then hurray! Thank god for the internet. Because this information highway will be your best friend in time to come. I too, was isolated and lost in all  the DJ equipment available and DJ jargon. I shamefully admit that I thought you could use any old 50 dollar turntable from some flea market down at Sungei Rd,  as long as it could still play records, I mean what the heck? Worse still, I could not even tell the difference between a mixer and a turntable. So you can see, its good to have the internet to tell you what each piece of DJ equipment is for, what is suitable for you and all that. I personally surfed around.

If you want a recommendation of a DJ tutorial website, try www.reccess.co.uk. I was introduced to it by some friends and true enough, it was great. The site teaches you all the basics of mixing and later on if you want to perform, that site helps you with that too. They even have DJ diaries, which I encourage all beginners to read along the way, as they will help you to understand more of what you are about to go through in the near future. And the guy at reccess is nice too, at least he gives your online lessons a more personal touch.? I mean how many times have we fallen asleep in front of the monitor as we read those lengthy and monotonous tutorials? But this guy keeps you awake and hopping with his humour and light-hearted teaching methods. Kudos to reccess!!

You might find this surprising, but internet forums do help. I admit much of what I have picked up so far was all thanks to the 'ever-blissful' forum at www.danceandsoul.com. The forum was started by this girl called Kay Ling quite some time ago and up to now, it is still the most visited and crowded dance scene forum in Singapore. Ignoring the useless and incessant arguments on the forum, you can actually get to read very informative stuff and get to know some really helpful and experienced DJs down there. Let me just state one example :

Remember when I told you guys my knowledge about turntables and mixers was a big FAT zero? Well, I was walking past the conveniently situated 'AUDIOSPORTS Pro' shop at the Heeren one day. I walked in as some really dazed newbie, overwhelmed by all the equipment displayed, and asked if they had any deck packages for *ahem* beginners (this word may seem hard to say at the start, but you will get the hang of it!). The guy there (not Andre, I am so embarrassed that I do not actually remember who it was) then introduced me to this big threatening box that said ' STANTON skratch pak'. He then went on to kindly explain how well this package was selling and why I should snap up this offer a.s.a.p. He was rather patient in explaining the advantages of the package, so I admit, I was really tempted to go down to that ATM, withdraw every single cent to my name, and dump it all on that set. But then, it was a HUGE amount of money, so I cautiously (for once!) told myself to go home and re-consider. When I got home, I decided to place a topic in the Dance and Soul forum on whether or not I should get the skratch pak for progressive music mixing purposes. I expected nonchalant answers or to be ridiculed, But to my surprise, many kind souls replied and explained that the 'skratch pak' was more for scratch DJs (duh! why didn't I think of that) Then, they actually started recommending cheap but good equipment to buy for mixing and sites to visit for more information. I can tell you, I was so touched by that I actually wanted to call these guys out kiss them one by one!! I even had a small number of emails pouring in from some kind forum contributors offering their help. Wow.

But just to sum it up, forums are also a great place for beginners to pick up useful knowledge. But please do ask intelligent questions and not 'duh' ones, and remember your manners by thanking the individuals for the kind information provided.

I would encourage also, as a beginner, to have the initiative to walk into shops and ask for help. (I will touch on my own personal experience of doing so in my next entry.) Explain your stand on being a 'beginner' and ask for tips. Tips on what to buy and how to start. They understand and will be more than willing to help you out. DJ-ing as a hobby is not considered a 'rave' yet in Singapore (probably due to its massive cost and space-consumption), so there are not many DJ equipment or vinyl record shops around town. There are pros and cons to that. It's good, considering you do not have to go around numerous shops, comparing prices and all that hassle, and choices don't have to be so complicated. But bad, because this way, I feel that the prices for records and DJ equipment will always stay stagnant at a higher price, due to lack of demand (but who am I to judge?)

Some shops that I’ve tried are Wicked Records at Excelsior Hotel, AudioSports at Heeren, Valentine Music at Parklane and Performance Audio at Sim Lim.

Also equally important for a beginner, you must have the initiative to learn. Picking this hobby up is a huge investment, both in terms of money and time. You must not give up halfway even when you find that you are not getting anywhere. Try to be patient and take things step-by-step, ask and ask and ask, learn and learn and learn, practise and practise and more practise! I will be touching more on my experiences on 'learning' along the way.

In conclusion, I hope to be able to cast some light on taking up DJ-ing as a hobby. I, too am a beginner and I know what pain and hardship it takes to get things going *sigh*. Stick with me, as I share my experiences and lessons learnt and valued. And you can share yours too, by posting on our e-mergermuzik forum or simply by emailing me.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up your decks and start practising!  And remember to stay tuned...

*** The writer can be contacted at waynelee@purplemonkeymedia.com ***
 

• Underground Clubbing 06.08.01

• Our Local scene. Support? or Just easy Talk? 10.07.01

• Music Taste 18.06.01

• Equipment- the rest 13.06.01

• Equipment- Turntables, 26.05.2001

• Introduction to DJ-ing, 14.05.2001