7 Myths About DJing (That Hold People Back)

As a DJ tutor, I hear students saying some of these things, but I also hear experienced DJs telling newer DJs some of these things too, and I disagree with them all, especially for DJs who are just learning.

A lot of the wrong advice is not meant to mislead, but nonetheless, there’s a big difference between being a pro DJ and being a DJ who’s starting out. And I don’t want some of the things that pro DJs might worry about to stop people who are earlier on in their journey from having a go at this amazing hobby. So here are seven things that DJs are often told they should worry about (or do) that, I think, are usually just plain wrong..

⚡ TIMESTAMPS ⚡
0:00 Intro
0:19 You need years of practise before playing in public
1:10 DJing is all about the mixing
2:33 You need pro gear
3:59 You need a huge record collection
5:46 DJing only happens in clubs
6:51 You need to be young to be a DJ
7:55 DJing is hard

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[digitaldjtips]

⚡ TIMESTAMPS ⚡
0:00 Intro
0:19 You need years of practise before playing in public
1:10 DJing is all about the mixing
2:33 You need pro gear
3:59 You need a huge record collection
5:46 DJing only happens in clubs
6:51 You need to be young to be a DJ
7:55 DJing is hard

[tonykbl]

I'm 60 and started DJing in 1989 with vinyl, after going onto CDs and now digital I'm still going strong. Back then you needed lots of records, mic skills, some mixing skills and gear. Bank then a DJ did the whole night, not several DJs doing 1hr sets. The entry into DJing these days is so much easier than it was back then. After all these years I'm still learning as DJing evolves.

[brendanhughes]

I bought a set of DDJ 400s. Practiced at home for a bit. I then dj'd a mates party. Within 3 weeks I dj'd at a local bistro on a Friday after work with a mate while they had a BBQ outside. We played for free beer and food all night. Absolutely loved it.

[nareshangelia-sookrajjr.]

I needed to hear #2, I admit I hyper focus on beat-matching and transitions and my biggest issue is I don’t play the right song at the right time. But, just like you said about having a huge library I’m taking the time to listen to every song and see if it’s something danceable and good

[AntonioLoConte]

Great video. I started djing on October 2023 after a life producing. I really enjoy djing in the parks around my city and recording myself doing it. I found gigs and collaborations just doing it: last Saturday I jammed with a saxophonist and a guitarist on jazzy house tracks and it was awesome!

[marcr-m]

You're incredibly inspiring! Thanks for being so generous in sharing your knowledge and passion.

[therealdjsteve]

A younger version of me might not have gotten this video. Since I'm comfortably retired after 22 years in the life, this is serious knowledge. I can personally vouch for every one of these bullet points - you are spot on.

[frystar]

This is what i needed so much right now.
You are such a great inspiration and motivation to keep up the love for playing music in my 40‘s

[papillon]

Spot on...I started playing at friends parties because I loved music and it started from there...

[tgvideos]

Absolutely spot on Phil. I did countless 80s gigs with one transition only - fade out then bosh on first downbeat, two turntables. 12" to give me time to dash out to the loo! People dancing their wotsits off. It's not difficult: right songs right now:)

[ItsEazzyBabby]

Thanks for this video Phil!!! It has me fired up and motivated. I started to learning to Dj last March, I’ve done a wedding reception, 3 holiday parties this past winter, 3 company events and a Bar grand opening.

Thank you for the content that you put out…please continue to do what you do🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[AtyStudios]

You are so right Phil. I hear all of these excuses all the time. The hardest part of completing any task is STARTING it. So because of all these excuses you listed, some people never finish! Because they never started :) See it?. great video. Thank you

[uniqueflowsnake]

4:00 pushing 40 over here. Played records fro around half of that nowadays. The collection grows and grows and I really need a system to find the stuff I need in the moment. Don't have to lug about bags of vinyl, but need to stay organized. Know your music, put it in folders, playlists, whatever. Make sure you know where that track you need is. Even if you don't remember the name of the track. I used to go by "the record looks like this and I put it at the end of the bag". Know your collection. You can't have all the tunes, but you gotta know the tunes you have. :)

[SteveJenkinsonPhotography]

Great to speak with you the other day Phil and excellent advice as always. This has to be the best NO BS YouTube video out there when it comes to all the myths out there.

[TheAftermath]

I’ve only been DJing since the start of the year, FLX-4, £350 laptop, Beatport and some downloaded songs.

Feel I’ve mastered the basics already, yeah I’m not a pro, but not many are with less than 6 months experience! I do not use sync and stick to mostly beat matching, matching in key, or phrase matching as much as possible.

I found that sticking to similar genres is fine getting started, but recent feedback based on playing old 80s stuff and more rock stuff was really positive and the stuff I was mixing was completely different in BPM / key at times, but they all loved it.

It’s good to learn as much as possible so you can utilise multiple skills across a number of different environments!

Great video as always, you’ve gained yourself a sub!

[Raymondstu]

Haha you’re bang on about the reason and these myths. I started crafting my first set about 2 months ago and have my first gig in a few days for May long. I now have two sets ready for events coming up! If things go good I may lock down a residency, I’m stoked to show what I got and to top it off I even get to split all ticket sales with the other DJ 🙏

[jaygreenakajackstax]

CONGRATS Phil, this is one of the best videos I've ever seen related to DJing. I actually had some of these concepts in my head 😂 and I've been DJing for 30 years now 😂

Thank you very much for this great lesson in destroying some of my biggest concepts.

All the best ❤

[alphafiveone]

Spot on! I’m 58 and sell my set lists and mixes from local restaurants and bars as my hobby and make a tidy sum every month.

[AdamGershon]

#2 is spot on. When I first started I would pick the next tracks based on whether I could beatmatch into. I started to realize the only person who cared that I was beatmatching was ME. People listening, for the most part, don't even notice. Play the RIGHT song next. Every time.

[RC]

There is a whole world in dj’ing. (If that makes sense) When you are playing at a wedding or at a bar, you need to read the crowd. But when you have a name in a specific genre you can just play your tunes you have in mind. The only thing you have to care about is how you build up your set. 30 years ago I played everywhere they asked me, and I had to adjust myself to the crowd. Now I only play hypnotic or peak-time techno and that makes it more easy and way more fun for me. The crowd knows what they are going to hear and they love it.