Syllabus for Swing DJ Training

[russell]

I am running a workshop to train our local scene swing DJs (or wannabes). I have run a similar session before but am interested in what other DJs would think are important topics to cover and resources.

Topics I have thought of include:

1. Building a music collection
- the local jazz shop
- online, amazon, cdbaby etc
- iTunes, eMusic
- books
- swingdjs
- allmusic
- the history of jazz
- different styles of music
- good sources - eg Proper sets, Mosaic
- organising your music
- what is important information to keep

2. The techniques for DJing
- CDs versus laptop
- the art of DJing
- wave (see article), mood, contrast, tension
- balance of old and new (see Matt's article)
- reading a room
- how to come up with a great DJ name
- using a microphone
- preparing for a gig
- the pitfalls of being a new DJ

3. Digital DJ (refer to article)
- ripping
- tools
- previewing
- soundcards
- backup strategy (for when the computer goes down)

4. Resources
- www.swingdjs.com
- Dj Bubs thread on www.sweethotblue.com (Australian swing forum)
- Mr Jesse podcast
- other DJs playlists

5. Getting a gig
- in your local scene
- nationally
- internationally

5. Copyright and the DJ


Of course the most important thing is to get out there and get experience (with some mentoring)
I want to make it practical so at our regular dance afterwards I want to get people in shifts as I am DJing and explain what I am doing and how the floor is reacting (similar to Jesse's online tutorial on Yehoodi Radio).

[Lawrence]

You might want to focus more on starting small instead of overwhelming them with too much information. You don't need 1000 CDs or a finer understanding of the ebbs and flows of DJing to come up with an hour-long set once a month.

Much of good DJing involves intuitive common sense. Some of the more complex stuff you included would be good once they get some experience or if they come to you about it. Or if they flop and you need to intervene. Otherwise, just tell them to play good music, play it safe until they get some experience, and follow their instincts.

[LindyChef]

Nice little syllabus ... I'm actually in the process of starting to develop a DJ training program for the DJs at Blues Underground here in Seattle and I've put together my thoughts in these little bullets. I will definitely use what you've listed to good use.

(just read this list with the word "swing" instead of "blues")

* Don't prep your list in advance. Know your music well and build your sets on the fly.
* It's not about you, it's about the dancers. Make sure to take a temperature of the room and not just note how many people are dancing, but who is dancing and why. If you play a novelty song, everyone will know it. Don't. It's the sign of a poor (or drunk) DJ.
* Know your library, deeply.
* I expect you to be able to tell me within 5 seconds of hearing a song whether it will be good or not.
* Use pauses wisely. If you make people wait for a transition, you build up tension ... release it to your advantage.
* Mistakes work wonders. Not only in the "I played the wrong song" sense but also if there's a technical mistake, if often serves as a way to cleanse the palate of the dancers.
* Make sure that you understand the blues aesthetic. That doesn't mean my take on the blues aesthetic and what I like to play, but what is the blues. If you can't put out a set that is at least 80% blues, you need to listen more.
* Transitions are great, but don't put too much stock in them. At first just work on finding your groove ... the transitions will find themselves.
* Listen to music, lots of music, and don't acquire large libraries of music very quickly. How well you know your collection will make you an infinitely better DJ. If you had a hard drive with 20 GB of the best music on earth and I had a collection of 50 CDs that I knew well, 99% of the time I'd win in a DJ battle because I'd know what I have.
* Get exposed to new music. Listen to shows on local radio (Preachin' the Blues, All Blues, the Roadhouse), go to the library and pick up some CDs that you might not normally listen to.
* Know how to paint a mood from beginning to end. What you want at the beginning of the night is markedly different than what you want at the end.
* If the music really and truly doesn't move you, don't become a DJ. If your taste in music tends to significantly differ from the blues aesthetic, don't become a blues DJ. If you get the sense that people in the room are dancing because they're there to dance rather than dance to your music, don't DJ. Take your ego out of the equation ... if there's someone else you know that does it better, by all means let them.
* Don't dance and DJ ... a song here and there is fine, but you can't really do both.

[LindyMom]

Thanks so much for starting this thread - very timely! I too am trying to build a training program in my local scene. What do you think of trainees mentoring with experienced DJs? How would you structure this? I am thinking that after some observation, trainees would then be allotted time to practice DJing during our dances while being shadowed by some of our experienced DJs to assist and provide feedback. Is this too much?

I like all of the suggestions above. I was going in that direction, maybe just less intensive. Some of these things will come with experience and time and will be (I anticipate) difficult to teach.

- Laura

[Haydn]

You might want to focus more on starting small instead of overwhelming them with too much information.

Great idea Russell

I would say keep it simple to start with. Emphasise practicing and talking to other DJs. What about having a low-key social where everyone has a go at DJing? That will give people a chance to have a go in a low-pressure environment. Then you could do a follow-up workshop.

[Platypus]

Both Austin and us here in Houston have written DJ guidelines.

I added a write-up of the steps that it takes to become a DJ at one of our local venues to be able to have someone ease into the booth in a way that would decrease dancer complaints and help the new DJ feel more confident that their first full shifts will go well. I find that if someone is serious, they are willing to go through the steps. Since the learning curve is different for each DJ, the length of time until someone "flies solo" will differ person to person. Of course, if the DJ comes with experience, the "training" may take as little as 15 minutes and be focused solely on what is specific to that venue's acoustics/equipment and the attendees tastes.

So, tips:
1. learn how to use the equipment. bring your own headphones.
2. talk to DJ coordinator about expectations in the booth and understand that the venue may request a music mix that differs from other venues in town. be clear about what you are expected to do at THIS dance. You might be a terrific blues DJ, but if it is a swing-centric event, you need to decide if you can DJ what they want to hear. Think of this as creating a game plan. If we don't have a game plan and you haven't explicitly agreed to follow the venue's guidelines, you don't DJ.
3. if you are going to use a computer, know how to use your music player and get all the necessary wiring to plug your computer into the sound board.
4. sit in with experienced DJs who can talk you through their sets, so you can actually hear and see a lot of what has been mentioned in previous posts in this thread. Hopefully, someone can coordinate this for you. If the coordinator is setting up new DJs to sit in with experienced DJs, he/she should make sure the experienced DJ is knowledgable, can explain WHY and HOW they are doing things, and is encouraging.
5. start with a 1/2 hour set, helping a DJ choose a few songs during their set, or coDJing a set with an experienced DJ. The experienced DJ in the booth should give feedback and support, as well as to entertain the visitors and questions so that you can concentrate on DJing.
6. Be aware that you will get feedback, not just from the experienced DJ, but from the people who run the event. Their expectation is that your next sets will take into consideration their feedback.
7. Work with the DJ coordinator so that progress will meet both their needs and yours. Usually, after the informational and equipment training, people are usually pretty good at judging when they are ready to take on a full shift.
8. You are responsible for ensuring each step is set up. I will make an offer for the next step, but if you don't follow up, we won't go to the next step and you won't get a shift (ie DON'T FLAKE OUT!).

[Eyeball]

So many rules. Too much getting in the way of you and the music. Too much analyzing. Too much electronics. Just sit there and play the record, Jack.

[kitkat]

Methinks you haven't sat there and played the records for too many dancers who're getting upset by screw-ups that could've been avoided w/ better preparation...

[Eyeball]

Methinks you haven't sat there and played the records for too many dancers who're getting upset by screw-ups that could've been avoided w/ better preparation...

You are quite right, but your "A" plus your "B" may not equal "C".

Sometimes it seems like DJs have created their own personal and quixotic hell with their own personal and quixotic rules, in error and out of ignorance.

No one is saying to not be prepared, just maybe stop agonizing a little bit?

[kitkat]

I don't think lindy hoppers tend to be agonizers, on the whole. A lot of other things, sure, but on the whole, not necessarily overanalytical agonizers. (The fact that it doesn't work as well to learn to dance that way probably weeds many out.)

If they're making lists, their scenes probably needed them.

[Eyeball]

I don't think lindy hoppers tend to be agonizers, on the whole. A lot of other things, sure, but on the whole, not necessarily overanalytical agonizers. (The fact that it doesn't work as well to learn to dance that way probably weeds many out.)

If they're making lists, their scenes probably needed them.

I am not entirely sure what your post is saying.

[djstarr]

I don't think lindy hoppers tend to be agonizers, on the whole. A lot of other things, sure, but on the whole, not necessarily overanalytical agonizers. (The fact that it doesn't work as well to learn to dance that way probably weeds many out.)

If they're making lists, their scenes probably needed them.

are you saying overANALytical agonizers can't triple step w/o falling all over themselves?

[Roy]

I always tell new DJ's to watch who is not dancing and see if you can rotate them onto the dance floor without upsetting the total amount of dancers on the dance floor, flow of the music, or mood of the room.

I would think for the sylabus you would want to talk about DJing at different times of the night, what to do when DJing band breaks, how to handle things if you are DJing a venue with multiple dance rooms, how to handle requests, how to DJ to an unfamilar dance crowd, what to do if you DJ a stinker song, how to win over a room killed by a previous DJ, what kind of songs are good for jam sessions, what kind of songs are good for after a jam session, and how to mix up the music if you DJ to the exact same crowd week after week.

[Lawrence]

So many rules. Too much getting in the way of you and the music. Too much analyzing. Too much electronics. Just sit there and play the record, Jack.

For perhaps the first time, I completely agree with Cooper. Those rules that the Austin Swing Syndicate developed are counter-productive. Like most well-intentioned rules that are swiftly and inexpertly drafted to address certain blatant "problem" inexperienced DJs, they are just distracting at best and have been misguidedly used years later against the better DJs. Virtually every great DJ set violates one of more of those rules in one way or another.

There should be one guiding principle: keep people dancing and having fun. Everything else is nuance.

[Toon Town Dave]

I think it's good to introduce a bunch of concepts to new DJ's, from simple skills like working with a mixer and using cross-fade to techniques for observing the audience to cataloging and classifying your music.

Just like any form of training, some will memorize what they were taught and repeat it, others will apply what they've learned and adapt to different situations. Every good DJ will have his or her own procedures or guidelines for doing the job derived from training and more importantly experience.

I think the goal of this discussion (and the Austin policies) is to establish some terms of reference or baseline skills that a new DJ should learn. I really don't see the value in coming up with a syllabus for the purpose of teaching (it's not like anyone is going to open a swing DJ school). I do think it is a good reference for new and potential DJs to identify what they should be trying to learn.

Like anything, there is a certain point at which you learn enough to be dangerous but not quite enough to realize how much more you still need to learn. Enumerating some of the requisite knowledge as we are attempting to do in this discussion is a worthwhile step to help new DJs become great DJs.