Over the years, when DJs spend hundreds to thousands of hours behind the decks, their techniques are improving and also their sets. However, it is often difficult to leave the bad habits that they bring since they were beginning to mix. These are the 5 habits that experienced DJs should stop doing:
- Excessive use of effects
This may be the most common problem that DJs learn after they pass their beginner phase. Effects can be a good way to add variety and energy to your set, but new DJs usually use them non-stop and often. This is a mistake. It can be fun at the moment, but when you listen to the set again you will realize that it does not sound good.
It is also a mistake to use the same type of effects over and over again during the same set, this can be annoying for the people who listen to it if it is a very noticeable effect like beatmasher / roll or some filter.
- Play the best songs at the beginning
Keeping your audience entertained throughout the set is very important for any type of presentation. For a DJ it can be difficult because the public in a club is not captive (that is, they are not sitting watching the presentation, as for example in a Ballet play). People come and go, so it is very tentative to use all the best songs at the beginning to keep them attracted, but this is a mistake.
You must create a flow in your set and program it as if you were telling a story, with its ups and downs. Leave the best remixes or original tracks for 20 minutes and the audience will want more.
- Plan each song and mix
When you are starting, you may not have a very large music collection. Perhaps you will also find two songs that can be mixed perfectly.
This can lead beginner DJs to plan every minute, song and mix of their sets. It is good to plan, but you should always leave a space for improvisation, creativity and adaptation to the public.
- Upload the EQ to more than half
The EQ knobs can be fascinating for new DJs, but the truth is that they have to be used more as precision tools to mix sounds in an incredible way.
A common mistake with the EQ is to raise its parameters to more than half. Normally the tracks are already mastered and balanced, so this is not necessary, uploading these parameters will only cause the sound to be distorted, especially the bass.
- Drinking alcohol in excess
By consuming substances such as alcohol and drugs, your levels of concentration, coordination and perception change and this can lead to bad presentation.
Some things that can be affected by substance abuse are: The ability to differentiate between a good and bad mix, the ability to read to the public, self-control (how to overuse the effects), health. When you are already an experienced DJ you probably have 3 to 5 weekly presentations, and consuming alcohol in each of them could have serious repercussions on your health.
