mad skillz: mentoring, encouraging and skilling up (new) DJs

[dogpossum]

I think this might have come up a loooong time ago, but it's not something I've seen discussed in a while...

Lately I've been talking to DJs in both my local scene and in other Australian cities about new DJs. Basically, some of our key questions have been:

- How should we encourage dancers to take up DJing?

- What are our options for running workshops/classes for new DJs (ie what structure should workshops take, how many people should be in a workshop, who should take them, how long should they be, should there be a series of workshops, how should we handle conflicts in DJing workshops, etc)?

- How should we go about mentoring new DJs?

- How important is it to have female DJs teaching DJing workshops or mentoring new DJs?
[I should note here that I've had more than a few new female DJs approach me and say, explicitly, that they feel braver about approaching women DJs for tips than they do male - even when the male DJs around town are super-sweeties! My own experience, starting DJing, was that there simply weren't any female DJs around to bother for tips - so I followed the blokes about, trying to get in on the 'cool DJ action'.]

- What sorts of issues should experienced DJs discuss with new DJs (ie is the type of music they play as important as knowing how to work the technical equipment, work the room or maintain professional contacts?)?

- Should new DJs be paid as much as experienced DJs?

- How should a scene encourage/include new DJs in their social dancing nights (eg should new DJs be restricted to 30 minute sets for a while, should new DJs be restricted to casual after class gigs or (as in the case of a smaller scene with less options) be slotted into a bigger social dancing event, should event organisers invite beginner DJs)?

- And how (or should) we go about including new DJs in exchanges and larger events (eg When is a new DJ 'ready' to play a larger event)?

- On a side note, something I've always wondered is, how do we deal with DJs who really aren't any good, and who don't improve? Is it cool to just avoid giving them gigs or to not answer emails? If not, how should we deal with the inevitable social awkwardness of being straight up with DJs who aren't so great (especially event organisers who're doing all this work for 'free' or out of communitas)? But then, how - or should - we encourage more experienced DJs to improve their DJing? How do you make a place for more experienced DJs in DJ workshops generally?


These are just the beginning of the things we've talked about, and it's been interesting to see how important the differences between local scenes has been in shaping the approaches taken to encouraging new DJs.
I've also wondered, with the more scenes I see in Australia and internationally, whether the 'professionalising' of DJing (with pay, more formal approaches to set times/booking/etc, greater critique or discussion of DJing styles, etc) has a detrimental effect on the friendliness or 'casual fun' vibe of a scene. If a scene gets more hardcore about things like DJing, is there a shift from a truly social vibe to a more 'serious' approach to dancing generally? Is it perhaps important for a scene to patronise live bands on 'neutral' territory simply to defuse the politics of a 'professional' local DJing culture?


This is all, of course, based on the assumption that having a few DJs (rather than just one or two DJs) in a local scene is a good idea. But I wonder if we could also ask whether there's an upper limit to the number of DJs a scene can support?



How do you or does your local scene 'skill up' new DJs? Do you feel there's a 'shortage' or 'surplus' of DJs in your scene? How's the gender/age balance - more chicks? Fewer young people?

My own feelings tend to centre on the idea that having a few DJs with a passion for music is a good thing for a scene, especially if they have different musical tastes and interests. I also think that dancing to the music recorded during the era these dances we love developed helps us 'get it'. And it just plain old feels good to lindy hop to that stuff. I think some degree of professionalism is good - DJs turning up to sets on time, organisers treating DJs with respect and not exploiting them, organisers paying DJs where possible, if only to feed their music buying budgets. But I also think that live music is super-important, for all sorts of political, social and creative reasons: DJs + bands = good for dancers and good for a scene.

[Haydn]

Are you writing a paper on this Sam?

With something like DJing, I really think there's no substitute for having a go. That's the quickest way to learn. I suppose the simplest way to do this is for a few people to get together and organise a dance. It needn't cost that much, and it will give everyone an opportunity to DJ. You could also start your own regular dance night, but be prepared to do a lot of work and probably lose money. (Of course, if it's your dance, you get to say who DJs )

In a way, DJing means you love the music and want to share it with others. Looking at it this way, the more DJs there are, the better. Because the more passionate people are about the music, the more they will enjoy dancing to it and the more they will want to spread the word to others. DJing is also a very competitive field, but I find most other DJs are pretty friendly, just like most people on this board.

In London, most dance promoters either DJ themselves or have long-established DJs. But I've noticed a redent tendency for promoters to use guest DJs, including some new ones. This means there are an increasing number of opportunities for the 'casual' and new DJ. Most DJs here are male, and the average age I guess is about 45. There are also a few female DJs, average age 30-something. Some DJs complain that there are too many DJs, or not enough opportunities to DJ, but I think it's fine - the opportunity is always there for anyone to start their own night if they want to.

[dogpossum]

Are you writing a paper on this Sam?

Nah, not this time - I'm just curious... guess my inner acka became a little more outer than inner, huh?

[Platypus]

I hated the fact that sometimes it felt like new DJs were being thrown to the sharks and got a lot of flak when they were first spinning.

When I was running a local booth, I created a "how to" guide, which I loosely based on the Austin guide and added in local policies and procedures (I know that everyone from there has an opinion about the guides, but dang, having it written down helps in training new DJs). It was not an official document of the club, but more about what knowledge should be known by any DJ stepping into the booth. All training was done 1:1.

My main goal was to ensure that new DJs learned the basic mechanics of the equipment, be able to play towards the expectations of whatever booth they were spinning in so that they would get asked back, and began to think about music choice critically. It wasn't about teaching style, but about teaching mechanics.

Here is the crux: If someone didn't go through all of the steps, they weren't invited back. If someone didn't respond to suggestions and criticism from shift to shift, they weren't invited back. If someone showed up unprepared or consistently late, they weren't invited back. All DJs were guests until they were asked to become regularly spinning DJs.

Steps for a newbie DJ:

Read the overview and discuss with DJ coordinator.

Sit in on a DJ shift with an experienced DJ, one who knows how to teach equipment and DJ skills. Start practicing equipment skills.

Share a DJ shift with an experienced DJ in the booth. I usually ask the newbies to play ONLY tried and true tunes (which is easy when you have a long club-created list of beginner-friendly recommended songs), so that they can focus on the mechanics of the position. Plus, it cuts WAY down on the complaints.

Move to full shift when ready, with experienced DJ riding side-saddle until they feel the DJ is ready to do it alone. May take one or more shifts. Over the shifts, increase their "DJ choice" number of tunes.

The final decision to get someone from trial status to "regularly scheduled DJ" status was made by the board of the club. The club board had a clear direction for that venue and wanted input. Also, it took the heat off of me personally when a decision was being made.

Re. women: I think we might still have one of the highest percentages of woman DJs spinning and running booths in the country.

Hope that helps!

[remysun]

Re. women: I think we might still have one of the highest percentages of woman DJs spinning and running booths in the country.

Are you at least about half? Never thought much about it before, but the odds are fifty-fifty in SE Michigan.

[remysun]

It's much easier to correct a new DJ than an old one. If they are new, you can give them all sorts of pointers, and in fact, Carol Shepard gives the Friday night people some really good guidelines.

It's the ones who've been at it who are the most incorrigible. What usually happens is that the dancers just let those nights die.

[Platypus]

I think we currently have twice as many women as men spinning regularly, although the split is more even if you add in our "occasional" DJs.

I agree about the new vs. old. Ya gotta set up the "feedback" loop early on, letting everyone know who is going to spin that they will get feedback. Once there is precedent for DJs not to be given feedback, then the coordinator has set themselves up for problems later.

I personally request feedback after every shift. I don't want someone coming back later to tell me that I wasn't meeting the needs of the venue.

I like feedback that gives specific tips. Just saying "that was awful" won't help someone understand what they can do to get better. Also, telling someone what went well and the REASON is very important. If someone hears something went well, they are bound to want to repeat it and add to it.

[dogpossum]

Hey these are all useful things - sorry I didn't check in earlier to reply.

I noticed in Melbourne there were far more women DJs than I've seen anywhere else in Australia. But then there were far more DJs than anywhere else. Nationally, there are more male DJs than female who regularly play big events. But there are a host of 'second tier' female DJs who do the uncredited 'shit work' of local scene DJing - filling in after class, doing band breaks, etc etc etc. Low profile stuff that glues a scene together. Kind of the dish washing at a dinner party... or the working the door at a dance.
One thing I've noticed - if a scene values social dancing and has quite a tight community vibe, there's a strong emphasis on skilling up new DJs. But the local culture dictates how this skilling up is achieved.
I don't really know the Sydney scene well enough to comment properly - I'm still settling in.


...incidentally, I've noticed that having access to 'pirated' collections has been really important for getting new DJs on low incomes into DJing. Simply having access to a pool of music is a good stepping stone to payed gigs which then fund further purchases. Ethical dilemma, much? On the one hand illegally circulated music helps widen the pool of DJs and makes it more inclusive. On the other, there's the whole pirating music problem (industrially speaking, and also in terms of the creative and educational limitations for new DJs who use only pirated music).

I've noticed that emusic and itunes have made a massive difference, though - new DJs can simply buy that one song that they know rocks, rather than taking a punt on an entire (and expensive) new CD. Shipping charges to Australia from the US being what they are, this is an important change. The Australian $'s doing better against the US $ made it possible for me to start buying more CDs a year or so ago. I get my music almost exclusively on CD - I will buy a song here or there from itunes if I need it immediately. I like having a hard copy of an album, I like the liner notes, and I like taking a punt on a new artist/album. But this is a luxury afforded by paid DJing gigs.


One of the most important things for me, as someone who hasn't been DJing all that long, and as someone who doesn't have a lot of money to spend on CDs, is having access to an international community of DJs. I still go through SwingDJs if I'm thinking about getting into a new artist, I listen to Jesse's radio show and I email friends overseas (both DJs and non-DJs). And I quite like SwingDJs to read the staged battles and random 'OMG fan-love' for songs and musicians: it's been so nice to hear a range of opinions and tastes. I also love the fact that the latest 'top 10' hit with dancers today was not only discussed 4 years ago on SwingDJs, it was also actually a top 10 hit 70 years ago.

I'm also quite dependent on emailing other Australian DJs or grabbing them in person at large events. But because I've been dancing for quite a while, most of the experienced DJs are already good friends - people I've known for years. So they're not as imposing as they might be for someone who's new to DJing and relatively new to dancing.

At the end of the day, though, I've always really liked having a buddy DJ to figure things out with on the night - to test levels, to do problem solving as a team, etc. I especially like things like having a DJ buddy come up during my set and say "can you hear that buzz/whine/whatever? what is that?" and then we figure it out together - I like having homies on the dance floor who listen to my sets as a dancer and as a DJ. That's nice.

[Haydn]

One thing I've noticed - if a scene values social dancing and has quite a tight community vibe, there's a strong emphasis on skilling up new DJs. But the local culture dictates how this skilling up is achieved.

Can I ask you - in practice, how does this 'tight community vibe' translate into DJs helping each other?

[dogpossum]

One thing I've noticed - if a scene values social dancing and has quite a tight community vibe, there's a strong emphasis on skilling up new DJs. But the local culture dictates how this skilling up is achieved.

Can I ask you - in practice, how does this 'tight community vibe' translate into DJs helping each other?

I have to reiterate: I'm working largely from an Australian perspective, with only a bit of international experience. I'm sure things are vary in different places. Sorry, also, for rambling on here.
Also: I'm not doing 'secret research' on this stuff (I'm a cultural studies academic whose special interest is uses of technology in communities of dancers). I'm actually just interested and wondering - as a DJ - how other people do this stuff in their own home towns. I'll get on with the secret research when I get another grant

'A tight community vibe' needn't actually translate into DJs helping each other. I don't see it very often, but I'm sure there've been times when a DJ has made it difficult for a new DJ or experienced DJ to 'break into' a scene - to preserve their own status, to preserve their own profits, etc.
Also, definitions of 'community' (and who's actually considered part of that community) are ideologically and politically loaded. Do you count west coast swing dancers as part of your 'swing' community? Rock and rollers? People from other dance schools/studios? Musicians? People you don't know?
When I say a 'tight community vibe', I'm thinking about scenes where people articulate some sense of 'communitas' or identify themselves as part of a scene or community with some sort of pride, protectiveness, etc.


But how might that translate to DJs helping each other?

Well, if a local scene has an active social club or organisation who also run social events, then that club might have an incentive to manage DJs quite carefully - so new DJs will get a bit of mentoring or coaching in a more organised way (rather than informal arrangements). I've noticed that gigs run by a smaller more coherent group - or by one person, or coordinated by someone who really cares about the DJing/social dancing - often manage the DJs more carefully. If the night is only one of many, is managed by an inexperienced dancer (or DJ) or isn't actually 'valued' terribly highly, the DJing might be less strictly managed. Also, interestingly, if an event (or club or individual) has a particularly fervent revivalist bent (ie they're really really really into historical 'accuracy'), they're also usually pretty anal about music and about 'teaching' their DJs to like and play the 'right' music. But people might 'manage' DJs for other reasons - nepotism, interpersonal rivalries, failed romances, burning desires, professional networking, wanting to teach at someone's camp, etc - all might affect who hires whom for which gigs (as many of us might already know ).

What I've noticed (and I guess I'm talking about Australian examples, and only very vaguely in reference to the US, etc) is that if a local scene has quite a close community - ie people volunteering their time for events, events run by committees with a 'community development' agenda and ethos rather than (or in addition to) a profit motive, etc - then there's a greater interest in 'skilling up' DJs - for the community's benefit. More experienced DJs are more likely to volunteer to mentor new DJs in that context out of a spirit of 'communitas' or 'doing good stuff for the community'.

There are other reasons for managing new DJs, though - profit motive is a good one, especially if you're in a scene where dancers really value or care about the quality of DJing. Or plain old competition for cultural capital - a DJ might feel it's in their interests to discourage new DJs or to not open their night to new DJs (ie they want to keep their status and ward off competitors). If a particular event has a specific musical focus (eg it might want to showcase a particular musical style or moment in history), then there'd also be reason to manage the DJs - if you were (for example), interested in running a 'neo revival' night, you might favour DJs who play BBVD, etc, and not hire DJs who play old school exclusively.


Something I've noticed: experienced DJs are generally very helpful and welcoming to new DJs. This might be a trickle-on effect from the revivalist impulses of contemporary swing dance generally - there's this impetus towards 'recruiting' new dancers, so as to 'preserve' historic dance forms.

Or it could just be that nerds - no matter their flavour - love to talk to other nerds about stuff they love.