Need Help DJing Reggae

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emceegritty1234

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I just purchase my 1st turntable the HDX and i want to learn how to DJ Reggae like blending and mixing riddim and stuff like that. My cousin friend is a manager at a dancehall club and she said that wen i can dj reggae music good she would give me a gig, and are there any good site where i can learn.
 
The site of "hard knocks"... which means... a lot of at home practice, building up your collection, knowing what to play and when to play it, mixing and blending seamlessly, and after all that is perfected... then you develope the real "tricks". I'm sorry... there isn't a program that'll give you practice and patience. I've been spinning for over 25yrs and most of that time is developement and being able to 'read' various crowds. Please don't make the mistake of trying to think this is an overnight achievement.

You're going to need at least 2 turntables or cd players... having only one is not going to get the job done.(I didn't even mention a mixer yet, because you haven't mentioned it.)
I'll try to assist you the best I can, but honestly... it helps to have someone with "experience" to physically and mentally motivate you, advise you, and is not threatened by new Dj's trying to break in the scene. Djing at a club... can be some shady business... even if you know them.

Honestly, you have to really get to know the basic equiptment, hook ups, the dangers of hooking up wrong, etc..
A lot of discipline...
 
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Thanx for you input i had a DJ friend who is big in my city that says they are going to help me but never did, and always avoid my calls.
 
I would invest in a basic keyboard or some sort of sound effect module i.e. a dub siren. The DJ also has to have some showmanship and personality. The DJs I used to move with all had a role in the set: one played the lovers rock type of songs and the other guy would play the more hype type of songs. They would stick to one particular style but could switch it up when needed. There would also be two of them that would mix at the same time, I don't know how to put it into words but it was something to see. Madmixa said it best practice and patience you'll develop a style your known for and a few signature techniques that people will come to recognize as your calling card. "Thats emceegritty he does that thing at the end of the night where he..." see my point? just keep at it man. Hows the HDX by the way?
 
the hdx is straight, it comes with a keyboard so you can search the song from the hard drive.

I git what your saying wit da sond effects like for example theres a song dat talk about guns, den u can sample a gun clap or u can use the keyboard clap to go along wit da song
 
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YOU NEED TO HAVE AN EAR FOR MUSIC...FIRST OF ALL WITH MIXING RIDDIMS, MAKE SURE THE TEMPO IS THE SAME SPEED WHEN DEALING WITH THE SAME RIDDIM!!!! simple

emceegritty1234 said:
I just purchase my 1st turntable the HDX and i want to learn how to DJ Reggae like blending and mixing riddim and stuff like that. My cousin friend is a manager at a dancehall club and she said that wen i can dj reggae music good she would give me a gig, and are there any good site where i can learn.
Click to expand...
 
blitz_204 said:
YOU NEED TO HAVE AN EAR FOR MUSIC...FIRST OF ALL WITH MIXING RIDDIMS, MAKE SURE THE TEMPO IS THE SAME SPEED WHEN DEALING WITH THE SAME RIDDIM!!!! simple
Click to expand...
Easily said than done. 1st you have to develope patience... without it, frustration develope's and your equiptment ends up in a pawn shop, then you'll have 50% of what you need to "develope your ear".
You can't always rely on the tempo to maintane a mix, certain songs have certain variable's that require you to constantly adjust. Examples: songs that feature real time musicians(or older recordings)... they tend to 'drift' because not all songs are digitally time coded to a metronome... some songs are made without quantizing. Then you have the song structure, the artist may not have a traditional delivery. What if it's more of a 'freestyle' rather than a 8, 16, 24, etc. bar count per verse? Capelton and Assassin are good examples of that. These artist's often have odd number verses, odd number chorus', and just thinking that you're going to just 'mix' them with other riddims... can have you looking real bad. Developing how to mix, without having to totally rely on a bpm counter... is something only time, practice, and patience can address.

Honestly, I wouldn't suggest even addressing the usage of sound effects, until you've developed your skills in mixing, voice projection, and crowd control. I haven't even touched on the equiptment knowledge and trouble shooting... you would be suprised of how many new dj's that don't know how to hook their equiptment up... other than their bedrooms.
 
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