Gbor Sznt

version 17.09.2013

Learn to DJ with
DJ Player

Preface

Its not about the equipment

does, its about what you can
do through that equipment.
Thats where the soul is.
Richie Hawtin

DJing is the art of musical flow with pre-recorded music to reach a certain goal, make the
crowd dance for example.
It can be taught in many ways. I show you a very ecient, cheap and fast path to try and
begin with DJing, so you can quickly have success or fail without investing too much.
Learning concepts first would be better, but i know youre eager to play instead.

Youll need:
1. Some modern electronic dance music in your music library. I think house is the easiest
genre to learn DJing.
2. An iOS device running DJ Player (free). http://djplayerapp.com

Thats it. In this post-PC/mobile age you dont need any expensive hardware to get you
started (except your iOS device).
Please note: DJ Player is free to download and try, but shows you a notification every 2-3
minutes and reduces the audio midrange for a few seconds. I think it's a reasonable
compromise to let you try and learn for free.
When you're satisfied with the software, you can remove these by upgrading with an inapp purchase.
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About me
Im the creator of DJ Player, started DJing with tape decks in 1992, then played with all
kind of DJ gear (turntables, CD players, laptops and controllers). I was one half of the EDM
band Techtonic at Strictly Rhythm (USA) and Warner Music (UK), with some dance chart
success all around the world.
Im an iOS DJ evangelist now, transforming DJing from the old gear-based approach to
the ultimate era, where tools and entry price are not barriers anymore.
http://linkedin.com/in/szantog

Above is my full setup, really. The overall cost is $40 + DJ headphone + iPad, no more
than $1000. Im using this everywhere, from a small house party to big clubs.
If you want physical controls (knobs, faders, buttons), you can connect a MIDI controller or
turntables for vinyl control.
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My setup has more features + better audio quality than the following overhyped and
overpriced gear based on technologies of the previous decade:

$6500+ (black) or $8000+ (shiny), OMG!

Unfortunately there is still a number of DJs (and club owners) saying you should use
brand XY, thats what real DJs are playing with. This stone-age approach is decreasing
rapidly.
I dont care what gear the DJ uses, if the mixing is good and i have a great time listening
or watching the performance.
Or should we say you must use DJ Player to be a real DJ? :-)

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1
Concise guide to the
basics

Blending two tracks together through

the various features of DJ Player,
and some DJ concepts.

On the end of the chapter you'll be able to understand and use the basic features of any
DJ software or hardware.
Read everything even if youre an established DJ to get out the most of DJ Player!

Navigation and controls

DJ Player has 3 main screens:

PERFORMANCE

SETTINGS

TRACK BROWSER

The app opens with the performance

Hold SHIFT on the performance screen

screen. The musical note buttons at the

and tap the gear button to display

corners are displaying the track browser.

settings.

The most common DJ setup consists of

The many things may look "too much" for

two music players (called decks) and a

the first time, but don't worry: each deck

mixer. For example two turntables and a

has exactly the same controls.

mixer in between.

Similar to other DJ gear, the lots of knobs

DJ Player's performance screen shows

and faders are just multiple decks and

two decks (blue and orange).

channels repeated.

DECK A

DECK B

Every deck has 5 panes: mix, big,

The big pane is identical to mix, but it

points, grid, fx.

has big faders instead of rotary knobs.

Switch to points, grid or fx with holding

Try these navigation buttons multiple

SHIFT. The MIX button always returns to

times. Quick navigation between the

the mix pane.

screens and panes is essential!

MIX

BIG

GRID

POINTS

FX

Please note the importance of the SHIFT button.

It reveals additional functionality or secondary
controls.

Rotary knobs are controlled by vertical

movements only, and an overlay over your finger
displays the current value.

Faders have two actions: main and secondary.

The main action works as you would expect, by
moving the fader head.

secondary

The secondary action is triggered by tapping the

fader body outside the fader head.

HEAD (main)
In this example, moving the fader head adjusts
tempo (the 0.00 value changes), and tapping the
fader body sets sync mode (BEAT SYNC
currently).

secondary

Music library, preparation, beatgridding

The primary music source is the default

Preparation in iTunes is an important task

music library on your iOS device. DJ

when you get a new track. You must check

Player displays and uses the same music

and set the correct artist name, title, and

and playlists what you see in the default

categorize with playlists.

music player app.

For example i create playlists like nu

Always use proper quality tracks!

Muddy sound makes your performance
bad, no matter what you do.
And its not just the file formats. Even an
uncompressed WAV file can sound wrong
if its from a bad source, and can be
outperformed by a 256 kbps MP3 from a

disco slow or classic 90s hip-hop".

Along with iTunes, you can edit playlists in
the default music player app too.
If a track is never used in DJ Player, it will
display a small wave icon on the left side
of it, so you know youve some homework
to do.

good source. You need to listen!

THE SECOND TRACK IS NEW

When you load a track for the first time in

The beatgrid identifies where the

DJ Player, it will quickly analyze it to

individual beats are beginning.

display the audio waveform and detect

some features:

Please note: live or older music has drifting

Beats per minute is the tempo of the song,

set a beatgrid or constant tempo on them.

tempo and beats, so it's not possible to

abbreviated and called bpm.

The audio waveform displays the beatgrid

If the bpm and beatgrid is correct, the lines

as thin vertical lines. Out of every 4 lines,

should indicate the beginning of every

one is strong. It shows the beginning of a

beat and bar precisely.

4-beats long sequence, called the "bar".

BEAT BEAT

BEAT

BEAT

4 BEATS = 1 BAR

You can grab the middle of the waveform to move the track. For pixel-precise positioning,
pause playback and tap on the left or right part:

<< 1 PIXEL

1 PIXEL >>

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The most important dance music building blocks are: beats, bars and parts. Parts are a
tracks largest building blocks. Some frequent ones:
Intro
The beginning. For many radio edits its just a short eect or instrument, while DJfriendly extended versions are beginning with drum beats (grooves) usually, to help
mixing.
Chorus
The main hook or message, the catchy part of the track, repeated multiple times. This is
what everyone is singing.
Verse
The main building block before choruses, with dierent lyrics through the track.
Breakdown
A little rest, when music is quieter and has no drum beats (grooves). Very often ends in a
huge build-up towards the last main epic chorus.
Outro
Helps blending with the next song in DJ-friendly tracks. Its like the reverse of the intro
with drum beats and removing instruments gradually.
The length of every part may be 8, 16, 24, ... bars. A multiplier of 8 almost all the time.
Everybody can feel when parts are coming to the end, but i suggest to practice a bit with
counting bars for a few tracks. Write them on a piece of paper to see interesting track
structures!

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DJ Players track structure display is designed for easy identification of the dierent parts.
Remember scrubbing/searching with cassette and CD players? Forget it. You can tap on
any part to immediately jump:

BREAKDOWN

BREAKDOWN

DJ Player's automatic bpm and beatgrid detection is not perfect sometimes. You must
always check and correct the results if needed. Here is what to do:
1. Load the track.
2. Wait until the automatic analyze ends and the waveform appears.
3. Go to the grid pane.

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Check and fix the beatgrid like this:

1. Position the track to the beginning of the first strong bar, where the bass kick comes in
for example. Many house music starts immediately with this.
2. Press the SET GRID button to mark the beginning of a bar.
3. Check if the bpm is correct: grab the tracks waveform and scroll a few seconds to see
how the lines are matching the beats.
4. Jump towards the end of the track and check if the lines are still correct.
5. If they match until the end, you're done. A little dierence is OK near the end, doesnt
need to be perfect.
6. If the lines are totally missing the target: play the music, tap the beat on TAP button for
more than 8 beats, and DJ Player will re-calculate with your finger's hint. Then go back
to the beginning and start checking again.
7. If the bpm is close, but the lines are slowly drifting away, modify bpm using the bpmor bpm+ buttons.
8. Continue towards the end of the track.

EXAMPLE: BPM VALUE IS TOO FAST, GRID IS OFF

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Beat-matching: tempo, nudge, sync

Beat-matching is the process to make two tracks playing with the same tempo and their
beats synchronized. Its a combination of two tasks:
1. Matching tempo with a tempo control.
2. Proper timing or nudging to sync beats.
It can be done:
Manually
Beat-matching was invented with turntables. DJs are using the pitch control to change
tempo and nudging or slowing the vinyl with hand to stay in sync with the other track.
This technique requires skills and practicing, because you must do it by ear, and its hard
for beginners to listen and understand two tracks in the same time.
Semi-automatically (tempo sync)
The evolution of DJ technology with built-in bpm detectors has made the sync button. It
matches bpm, but timing/nudging must be done manually still.
Automatically (beat sync)
One result of DJ software and waveform displays is the beatgrid. Knowing the tempo
and position of the beats brings fully automatic beat-matching.
You can use any of these beat-matching

I recommend to set beatgrids and bpm

techniques. Many DJs say that manual

correctly (preparation), then let the

beat-matching should be learnt first, but

software do beat-matching for you with

that's a lot harder to do.

sync and quantize, so you are not retained

Some DJs still saying if you use sync or

to learn the fun of DJing.

quantize youre not a DJ. Thats bullshit.

Note that live or older music has drifting

Refer back to Richie Hawtins quote at the

tempo and beats, so it's not possible to

very beginning of this book. And the

set a constant tempo beatgrid. Manual

audience doesnt care how you

beat-matching is a must-have skill, but

beatmatch.

you can pick it up later!

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DJ Player supports all beat-matching

If beat sync is on, play and cue buttons

techniques, and you can set it per deck,

may have a delay, because they become

using the secondary feature of the tempo

beat-synced waiting for the right moment.

fader (sync o/tempo sync/beat sync).

You can set the default sync mode in

settings.

ORANGE STATUSBAR AND BACKGROUND WHEN

DECK B IS MASTER
Now let's learn the concept of the "master" deck. One deck is always the master deck,
and other decks may synchronize their tempo and beats to it. In other words, the master
deck will "dictate the tempo and beats" for automatic beat-matching.
DJ Player sets the master deck automatically, which will always be the loudest playing.
The background of the status bar (on top) and the background gradient of the user
interface changes according to the master deck.
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Even if you use fully automatic beat-matching, you can still nudge (pitch bend) a track in
DJ Player. Tap and hold on the left or right part of the waveform while playback goes.

SLOWER

FASTER

You can set the tempo in two ways. The tempo pane has a large tempo fader, or you can
hold SHIFT and tap on the left or right third of the waveform:

TEMPO-

TEMPO+

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Cue points and loops

You can store 8 cue points or loops per

A loop has an IN point and an OUT point,

track on the points pane.

and repeatedly plays audio between those.

A cue point is like a bookmark where you

The '+' signs are representing empty slots.

can jump to. Its represented by an IN

Tap on an empty slot to store a cue point

point.

marking the track's current position. Tap

on it again to jump and play. SHIFT-tap to
delete.

CUE POINT ON SLOT 1

LOOP ON SLOT 2

CUE POINT ON SLOT 3

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To create a simple loop, tap IN at the

If a deck starts looping, IN becomes IN

loops beginning, then tap OUT a few

ADJ (in adjust), OUT becomes OUT ADJ

beats later.

(out adjust), and CUE becomes EXIT

Or tap IN for longer than 1 beat for an

instant 4-beats loop.

LOOP.
Tap on IN ADJ to change the beginning of
the loop. Tap on OUT ADJ to change the
length of the loop (half, double, etc.).

Please note: in beat sync mode cue points and loops are snapped to beat (hold SHIFT to
un-snap).
DJ Player also has loop roll for on-the-fly performance looping, but covering the eects
section would be too much for this chapter.

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Mixer

There is a VU meter for every deck, and a

The horizontal fader above SHIFT is the

twin VU meter for the master signal. They

CROSSFADER. It adjusts volume between

have a very important role in sound quality.

the blue deck (left side) and the orange

The best is to play around 0 db (zero

deck (right side).

decibel), which is the recommended level

Some DJs use the channel faders instead

in DJ gear.

(the VOL fader per deck, hold SHIFT to

0 db is the first white segment above the

grey ones in DJ Players VU meters.

reveal). You can switch them permanently

on using the VOL switch (hold SHIFT, its
between the headphone switches).

The topmost segment is red. If you reach

it, digital distortion makes your sound bad.
When mixing two tracks together, its OK
to temporarily go full white, but there is
no excuse for going into the red.

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When you blend two tracks together, having

similar loudnesses is important. Gain adjusts the
overall loudness of the track.
DJ Player sets it automatically, so i recommend to
adjust it only when the track is still too quiet
compared to the other deck.
You can turn o auto-gain in settings of course.

Here is a very common technique to blend two tracks together:

1. Crossfader is on the left, master deck is blue, audience hears the blue deck only.
2. Cut the bass of the orange deck.
3. Start beat-synced playback on the orange deck.
4. Move the crossfader slowly to the middle, so the audience hears both tracks.
5. Swap the basses: reduce the blue deck's bass slowly while adding back the oranges.
6. When you finished swapping the basses, move the crossfader slowly to the right.

Bass is the loudest component in most dance tracks, and adding two together would
often result in going into the red (distortion). Swapping the basses sounds cool and
prevents distortion.
Please note: dont use DJ mixer equalizers to make your sound system better sounding,
always use a separate equalizer for that purpose!
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Pre-listening

Along with the master signal playing for

Youll need Apples Camera Connection Kit

the audience, DJs need another signal to

or Lightning to USB Camera Adapter to

prepare the next track. This is the "pre-

connect external USB devices ($29).

listening" or "cue" signal they listen with a

headphone.

Believe it or not, im using that cheap ($10)

Every iOS device has just two channels

audio quality.

making one stereo output, while a stereo

master and a stereo pre-listening signal

USB audio dongle above, it has great

Alternatively, you can use a special DJ

needs four channels together.

splitter cable (around $20), but it makes

The best solution is to extend your iOS

same signal on the left and right sides.

both outputs "fake stereo", playing the

devices stereo output with a USB sound

card (standalone or built into a mixer or
MIDI controller).

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DJ Player has full pre-listening functionality. Hold SHIFT to reveal the headphone switches
to set which deck is audible for pre-listening:

The MIXER screen under settings has even more, less frequently used pre-listening
controls, like the pre-listening volume. Adjust the MASTER-CUE fader to set how much of
the master signal is mixed back to pre-listening. If it's on the right side (CUE), you'll hear
the decks selected by the headphone switches only.

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Congratulations!
That's it, now you know many common DJ functionality, not just in DJ Player, but all DJ
gear! Here is a picture of a classic DJ mixer, where you can find many familiar controls. Its
not that complex anymore, is it?

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Now that you're familiar with the basics, i recommend to practice a little bit before you go
any further. Have fun!

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2
More?
I plan to extended this book with more chapters of course. Were just scratching the
surface!

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