Today was so fun! We spent the third and fourth lessons practising a DJ WORKSHOP with Mr.Nigel (who was very assisting and helpful). First of all before actually proceeding practical work on the DJ decks, the diploma team had to read pages 2-12 in the "BASIC DJ LEARNING GUIDE". This gave us a brief understanding of DJ ACTIVITY. This also gave me an introduction to all of the set-up apartment and the ability to identify any equipment visually and know how to use it. The booklet also warned me of the cautions and hazards so that I was preferred to know what to do if anything had gone wrong. After the pages of the booklet was read I was ready to take on the practical.
Next step - The diploma team were given an introduction by Mr.Nigel about the DJ Set-Up. He asked us some basic questions just to insure that we was ready and prepared for his assignment. We spoke about what we was going to do and he explained to us how to set up the decks. One of the modern and most advanced turntables is the tech1200 but unfortunately due to the schools economic budget, we were supplied with a cheaper set of old school decks. We connected two wires from each turntable (left:CH1) and (right:CH2) into the main DJ mixer and then connected the outcome wire from the mixer into the amplifier. Two other outcome wires were then connected from the amplifier into the speakers. After the set-up was successfully working - we then discussed more about the differences from the school decks and the techno 1200. After that, we placed slip mats onto each deck enable for the record to keep stable and not slip off. When I saw that everything was secure, I placed a blank record on top of the slip mat up right where the label was facing. We were then taught how to drag and drop music on the virtual DJ base software displayed on the laptop which automatically played when the turntables were switched on. Mr.Nigel also told us that if music was not played through the virtual DJ software, then a vinyl or blank record was to be used.
[PS: A TRICK IS TO TAKE THE RUBBER BAND FROM THE BACK OF THE STYLUS TO WRAP IT ROUND THE ON/OFF BUTTON SO THAT IT DIDN'T ACCIDENTALLY GET TURNED OFF BY THE DJ].
He told us that before we actually started working on our DJ skills we had to do one last thing. On the virtual DJ software we had to select a tab called "set-up", on the screen appeared a green scale with a circle in the middle. He taught us how to adjust the circle through the settings to make sure that the circle was as round as it could be and that the percentage displayed in the corner of the screen was *approximately 100%.
Step 3: Mr.Nigel demonstrated for us a few DJ basics and then left us to fiddle around with the bass and volume settings for while. After about 10 minutes Mr.Nigel thoroughly spoke to us about another technique called "scratching". After he demonstrated himself, we all had to try for ourselves. It seemed complicated at first, but after 5 minutes I started to get the hang of it. I learnt that it was wrong to scratch the disk on the outskirts of the disks (the further/outer lines). It is only suitable to scratch the centre of the record to cause less damage. There has to be s slip mat between the desks and the record at all times. The cartridge which holds the stylus (needle) had to be held by a tiny handle places just next to it at all times and must not be picked up by the head. The needle is so fragile, it can break very easily.
Step 4: Mr.Nigel told us to select two songs for the Left and Right turn tables from "electro house" and "house" as they were the only two folders that included songs that could mix well together. We all put in our headphones but kept one ear open enable to listen to Nigel's instructions. He taught us how to use the Mixer to fade one song into the other and overall mix them - this can also be called blending. He also told us about the techniques of bars and beats. I learnt that one bar = 4 beats. An additional aspect of DJ-ing that I learnt was how to make two songs match the same tempo. The trick is that if one song isn't in time and beat as the other - you simply slide the record back to the beginning, count four whilst slightly sliding the record back and let go without force. This is called "Beat Matching".
Lastly each of us were observed separately on Mr.Nigel's DJ Decks to test how much knowledge and technique we learnt. He said that I was excellent and fast learner. I think I worked extremely hard this lesson and tried the best to my ability. In preparation for next time, I plan read over the booklet to memorise all the keywords and names of the equipment to their meanings. Today was a great day to finish up Diploma Friday.
