Music Lovers Should Try DJing

I think that if you love music, you should try DJing at least once.

You don't have to become a pro. You don't even have to play in front of anyone.

Pick two songs you like and try mixing them together.

Even that alone will change the way you hear music.

You start to see how a track is built

Once you start DJing, you begin to listen closely to songs you used to listen to only casually.

Where does the beat start?
How many bars until the track changes?
Where does the vocal come in?
Where does it build up, and where does it settle down?

You begin to see the "structure" inside a single track.

Once you can hear this, it comes through naturally even when you're just listening to music.

You start to understand what a DJ is doing

Before you DJ, you might just feel that "songs are playing" when you listen to music at a club or festival.

But once you DJ, you start to notice things like:

"So that's where they brought in the next track."

"They're going from this track into that one."

"They dropped it down here so they can build it up next."

You begin to see the choices the DJ is making.

Each track that plays doesn't just happen to be there.

Someone chose that track at that moment.

Just knowing that changes how you see a DJ quite a lot.

You come to respect DJs

When you understand what a DJ is doing, respect for DJs follows.

They watch the crowd, think about the flow so far, choose what to play next, and mix one track into the next.

They are not just playing tracks at random, one after another.

Once you understand that, you also understand why people dislike it when someone ignores the flow of the floor at a club and keeps asking, "Play this song."

Of course, requests themselves aren't bad.

A request that fits the moment can sometimes give the DJ a hint for track selection.

But pushing only the one song you want to hear is different from respecting the flow the DJ is building.

Once you DJ, you start to see a DJ not as "a person who plays songs" but as "a person who chooses the music of the moment and builds the flow."

Clubs and festivals become more fun

Once you understand what a DJ is doing, you have more ways to enjoy clubs and festivals.

It's no longer only the fun of hearing a song you love, but also thoughts like:

"I like how they mixed that."

"I didn't know there was a track like this."

"They're bringing this in from that flow, interesting."

You become able to enjoy music in these ways.

Since I started DJing, I've been listening to other DJs' sets in much more detail than before.

Even at the same club or festival, there is more that you can see and hear.

You start searching for more music

When you DJ, you start thinking about "what to play next."

Then the songs you already know aren't enough.

You listen to other tracks by artists you like.
You follow the label that released a track.
You dig into similar genres.
You try music you hadn't listened to before.

Instead of listening passively, you start looking for music yourself.

Starting to DJ can also be a chance to widen both the amount and the range of music you listen to.

You find out what kind of music you like

When you try to choose tracks for other people to hear, your own taste becomes clearer too.

Why do I like this song?
What tempo do I like?
What kind of development feels good to me?
What kind of tracks do I want to hear in a row?

You go from simply "liking music" to gradually understanding what kind of music you like.

Track selection shows a person's taste.

Even with the same 100 tracks, the tracks you choose and the order you play them in differ from person to person.

That is part of what makes DJing interesting.

It's fun to mix tracks you love with your own hands

And in the end, this is the biggest reason.

Mixing one track you love into another with your own hands is simply fun.

The moment two tracks first blend smoothly is interesting in itself.

Once you can line up songs you like and create a flow of your own, music is no longer only something to listen to.

It becomes something you choose, touch, and combine yourself.

You don't have to keep DJing for the rest of your life.

I think it's fine to quit partway.

But once you've DJed and understand track structure, selection, and mixing, that ear stays with you.

That's why I think,

if you love music, you should try DJing at least once.

That's what I believe.