Being a DJ isn't all that it is hyped up to be. But it's not for everybody. If you want to be a DJ, the first thing you need is an ear for music. Music must be your passion, the food for your soul. You must understand that music has life and gravity only if you immerse yourself in it. You must be able to reach into your heart and pull out whatever is most intimate to you. Only then can you understand the true potential of the power of music.
Genre can be roughly described as the "type" or "classification" of music. For example, Rock, Pop, Metal, Trance are all Genres of music. You must first decide the genre in which you want to continue your journey into the world of DJing. You can have more than one genre as your specialty, but of course, it is better to be perfect in one than being a "jack of all trades and master of none". You should take the genre which you like most, since you can't play it if you can't bear to hear it. You must also learn to classify music into their respective genres. However, there is no ground rule for this. You must learn this through experience. When you have decided your genre, the next thing to do is to get a background research on the artists of that genre. You must know what you play.
As a rule of thumb, a DJ is supposed to have a very large collection of songs. This, contrary to popular belief, is not true. Of course, you must have a good collection to play, but it definitely doesn't have to be large. You must pay more attention to quality than quantity. And, of course, refrain from piracy. Piracy is virtually killing today's music industry. So please buy original CD's only. It is always a good idea to maintain an index of your collection, so that you don't have to spend much time hunting for a particular CD. If you want, you can make copies of your original CD's (called Back-ups), or convert them into MP3's or WMA's for easy storage and use (discussed later). In any case, handle your CD's with care. After all, you did spend money to buy them. You should sort your collection by artists, or the order in which you plan to play them for a particular gathering.
This may sound too basic, but it is important enough to be mentioned here. A good pair of headphones is a must have. They should be able to block out external sound to the maximum extent and must also provide good quality sound. Headphones are used for cross fading songs and mixing them as well. The proper use of headphones is described ahead.
Warning! Prolonged use of headphones or earphones at a high volume can permanently damage hearing capabilities.
This may sound too amateur to some people, but it is aimed for beginners and people like me with limited amount of bank balance.
CD Players
At least 2 CD players are needed for a successful event. It is recommended to use simple audio CD players, but MP3 or WMA players will also do. No cassette players allowed. A PC might also be used instead of disc players.
Mixer
A mixer is meant for mixing and cross fading between two tracks. You can use 3 line, 5 line or 9 line mixers available easily in the market for reasonable prices. No mixer is required if a PC is used (duh!).
Amplifier
A powerful amplifier is needed to take your voice to the masses. You should buy one according to the gatherings of the events which you are planning to take. If you can afford, it is advisable to buy a branded amplifier. If you can't, it is recommended to have one custom made to your needs rather than buying one from the grey market.
Speakers
Speakers should be bought in accordance with the power ratings of the amplifier. A minimum of 100 W PMPO 8 Ohms is recommended.
Vinyl Records (Turntables)
Vinyl Records, or turntables, as they are popularly called, are extremely expensive to purchase and maintain. They are still out of reach for most of the Indian DJ industry. You can surely be one heck of a DJ if you can get your hands on one of these.
These are some of the basics about which you need to know before you become a fully competent DJ.
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