Confidence...

[DoppleGanga]

DJ'ing at a house party or playing at a wedding for your own family or family friends is very different for me than playing in front of people I don't know for money!

I have confidence in my mixing capability and song choice but theres just something about playing in front of strangers that makes me nervous. Is there any advise anyone can give me to deal with the nerves and also some advise on how to boost my confidence as well??

Despite having some experience i still see myself as a complete noob so any and all advise is welcome :)

[David Bowman]

Cup of Horlicks and a Thai massage.

[dlove]

DJ'ing at a house party or playing at a wedding for your own family or family friends is very different for me than playing in front of people I don't know for money!

I have confidence in my mixing capability and song choice but theres just something about playing in front of strangers that makes me nervous. Is there any advise anyone can give me to deal with the nerves and also some advise on how to boost my confidence as well??

Despite having some experience i still see myself as a complete noob so any and all advise is welcome :)

Hi, I'd say keep it in perspective - you know your music, you know what to do with it, so all you have to do is change your mindset about your nerves. Look forward to getting a rush from having to do things right first time, and get into that feeling when it's there as it's a learning curve you'll be proud of yourself for riding-out.

Personally whenever I feel a bit flustered, I say to myself 'Cool Your Mind' (DBC song lyric) - no doubt you'll have a favourite lyric or something that can pull your mind back up to your flow on a nerve-wracking night. All the Best!

[Duluxx]

Cup of Horlicks and a Thai massage.

Are you referring to a rub and tug? Lol

[JackStalk]

Youve just gotta get out there and gain experience, after a while you get used to reading a crowd and the types of tracks people want to hear

[David Bowman]

The trick is to enjoy yourself, that's when the nerves go away.

[pete]

The trick is to enjoy yourself, that's when the nerves go away.

You are referring to a rub and tug? Lol

[David Bowman]

It's just you guys being complete subjective pervs :D

[DoppleGanga]

Thank you for the advise! :)

[Cervantes]

Confidence come from knowing what you're doing. Know your hear and your music and the rest will fall into place.

[StuWilson]

:Big thing in Djing out :banana::banana:

[residuum]

the way i do things is when i lose confidence is, its my moment, i worked to get here and nothing is going to take it away :D you are master of your own destiny. (sorry cliche :)

[djNME]

If you mix or play out of your comfort zone,then you need to spend more time with tunes etc. Also have a few really good reliable songs, that you master and can pull out to get things back on your level.

Also try this, wear your fav. shirt, new underwear or whatever makes you feel comfortable, have your best mate sit in hte crowd.. many different ways to bring yourself that comfort.. the biggest part is you notice that it affects you and your looking to deal with it.

biggest help, is experience, it goes away, but if you get big enough shows it can always come back for a visit. It keeps you in check, keeps your practicing etc.

[BDC]

Confidence is HUGE.

It is the one thing that can affect your performance.

I remember when I got an opportunity to play at a club and the resident DJ was just technically perfect in his blends. Effortless in his mixes. I started doubting myself. How could I be on the same wheels as this guy? Needless to say, the set bombed. I had double beats coming out of every corner! Even songs I knew I could mix in my sleep were suddenly unmixable. Unrelenting, unrecoverable, unforgiving double beats!
I don't know what happened - but this lack of confidence stayed with me for weeks. I still had mobile DJ gigs with my crew but I was hesitant to play. It was a tough time for me.

This applies to anything you do in life. If confidence is lacking, then everything becomes a challenge. The only way to get past this is to persevere. Keep at it and have faith in your abilities. After enough experience, this can be better managed.

[DJ Riddims]

I was the opposite when I started. I was fine in front of strangers but the family parties were full of critics who always had something to say and would constantly make suggestions dues to the fact they could approach me and make demands.

Have fun while you dj and make variety of playlists of possible genres the crowd will want. You'll walk in feeling more prepared and if you see the crowd gravitating to a certain genre that you planned for you'll have your playlist ready to go.

[South Rakkas Crew]

Use VirtualDJ software if you are not using it already. It has the least amount of crashes and has functions that really help new DJs. Having peace of mind that your program can help you in case helps build confidence. Perfect example is it automatically gives you song suggestions when you are mixing. It will recommend songs you can play following the one that you are already playing based on its vast user based data. If you ever zone out on what to play next (all DJs do at some point) this can really help. Also, the music subscription you can search and grab songs you don't have during your set. Helps if you get requests you are not sure of.

[David Bowman]

Use VirtualDJ software if you are not using it already. It has the least amount of crashes and has functions that really help new DJs. Having peace of mind that your program can help you in case helps build confidence. Perfect example is it automatically gives you song suggestions when you are mixing. It will recommend songs you can play following the one that you are already playing based on its vast user based data. If you ever zone out on what to play next (all DJs do at some point) this can really help. Also, the music subscription you can search and grab songs you don't have during your set. Helps if you get requests you are not sure of.

It would be nice if you stopped the VDJ fanboyisms and sticked to the subject matter at some point. The equipment does not make the DJ, and the equipment has no control over the DJ's nervosity.

[Spy]

As a somewhat experienced (read 'old') amateur I still get butterflies before I play my first tune regardless of the situation, but by the time I've lined up tune number two and am looking for tune three (usually, actually, physically looking because most of my music is still on vinyl) I'm too busy being busy to be nervous. Get stuck in and you won't have time to get stuck... (looks like we're back at the Thai massage :eek:)

[KLH]

Welcome to DJF, DoppleGanga!

This is what helped me back when I started. I would create a playlist and practice with a focus on the first 3-5 tracks. That way, I knew what I'd play and I knew how I'd transition between them and I knew it'd be smooth. After that, I'd practice rounding the playlist so that a 140 BPM track would go into a 70 BPM track so that I could increase energy and generate the crowdgasm all over again.

In the beginning, knowing what I'd begin with really helped me to settle any performance anxiety. It might work for you.