4. WHAT IS A DJ?
• A disc jockey (abbreviated D.J. or DJ) is a person who
plays recorded music for an audience. Originally,
"disc" (sometimes spelled "disk", although this is now
uncommon) referred to phonograph records, not the
later compact discs.
• Today, the term includes all forms of music playback,
no matter the medium.
• Most DJ play using MP3 or WAV digital audio files.
(Don’t worry, we’ll get more into these file types
later!)
5. WHY USE A DJ AT ALL?
Apps such as Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark , and iTunes allow
most users to unlimited music files.
Advantages of using a DJ:
DJs allow music to be played seamlessly (no pause or break
between songs) to keep the dance floor flow
DJs must have sense of what songs are appropriate for
audience, and which songs are working well.
A DJ is trained on how to get the crowd pumped up, and what
ef fects and transitions work best between each song.
7. WHAT IS A WAVEFORM?
• A waveform is the shape and form of a signal such as a
wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract
representation.
LOUD
QUIETER
A waveform allows you to see what parts are loud, and which are silent (or quiet)
9. DIFFERENT T YPES OF GEAR
VINYL (Records)
Requires: Records, 2 turntables (record players), mixer
How it works: A needle (like a sewing needle) vibrates from the
grooves in the record surface, causing the transistor and speaker to
play the sound.
10. DIFFERENT T YPES OF GEAR
CDJ’s (Compact Discs Decks by Pioneer)
Requires: CD or USB with music (mp3 or WAV), 2 CDJ players, 1 mixer.
How it works: Each CDJ reads the music file on the disc, and saves it to
temporary memory. The song and waveform are displayed on the CDJ
display, and the song is played out through audio ports on the CDJ (usually
to a mixer or amplifier).
11. DIFFERENT T YPES OF GEAR
Controller & Laptop
Requires: A powerful laptop, USB-based controller, copy of software
(specific to controller usually).
How it works: USB cable connects laptop to controller, and controller
and DJ software on the laptop interact directly. Audio is sent from
controller to mixer or amplifier.
13. XLR – XLR
The connectors
are circular in
design and
h a ve b e t we e n
3 and 7 pins.
They are most
commonly
associated
wi t h b a l a n c e d
audio
i n t e r c o n n e c ti o n
14. ¼‖ cable (Mono)
PHONO
CABLES
(TRS CABLES)
1/8‖ Cable (Headphone)
¼‖ and 1/8‖ comparison
This includes
the original
6 . 3 5 mm
(quarter inch)
jack and the
more recent
3 . 5 mm
( m i n i a tu r e o r
1/8 inch)
15. TRS CABLE
TRS Stands for:
• TIP (+)
• RING (--)
• SLEEVE
(GND)
These 3 parts
a l l ow a u d i o
s i g n a l to t r av e l
t h r o ug h t h e
cable’s copper
wire.
16. RCA
(RED/WHIT E)
Ty p i c a l ly a
w h i te a n d r e d
cable with
male ends.
Each cable
c a r r i e s s te r e o L
o r s te r e o R
audio
i n d e p e n d e n t ly.
18. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WAV & MP3
.mp3 is considered LOSSY compression —meaning the smaller
file size, lower the quality of the sound of the audio
.wav is a lossless audio format —audio is as close to original
producers intended sound and clarity as possible.
BEST FORMAT FOR DJING:
Most music you purchase from a reputable source (iTunes, BeatPort)
will be either .wav (uncompressed) or 320kbps .mp3 files (near loss less compression)
Both are high quality and acceptable for playing live.
19. MP3 VS WAV
Dynamic range ―squished‖
H er e w e s e e
s ev er e
aud i o
compression
w hi c h c ut s o ut
the
d y nam i c
r a ng e
a nd
c l ar i t y o f t h e
wav efo r m
( d ec r e a s i ng
p erc ei v ed
c l ar i t y o f t h e
sound).
20. VIDEO: Example of bad
compression
TIME TO
LISTEN
We w i l l n o w
l i s te n to a n
ex a m p le o f
poorly
compressed
a u d i o . Ke e p i n
mind the
compression
g et s w o r s t
sounding the
l o u d e r yo u p l ay
the song.
22. INTRO TO OUR EQUIPMENT
We will be using Serato DJ software
Serato is the industry standard software in most clubs and major
event venues
23. INTRO TO OUR EQUIPMENT
We will be using a Pioneer DDJ -SX USB controller
This is extremely similar to Pioneer CDJ and mixer combo found in
majority of clubs
