Rek_Aviles
02-09-2012, 11:20 AM
How to make a demo
(Posted in front page, but never created the thread for it)
http://i42.tinypic.com/2h54abp.jpg
There are many steps needed to become a DJ. Some of which take time to develop and others just come with experience. Eventually, after fine-tuning your skills in front of a small crowd, you'll reach a point when you're ready to take it to the next level. This next step would be to package this up and figure out how best to present your talent to someone who’s never heard you before. This is where a demo comes into play.
A demo gives someone an idea of what style music you play and what you're capable of bringing to the table. Although it should reflect what you are capable of doing live, it should also represent your best work, so it’s best to plan everything out ahead of time. Keep in mind that you are creating this set for people to listen to, at their leisure. A carefully planned set will show off your creativity and attention to detail, which is what sets us apart from other Djs.
Whether you're making the set for yourself or someone else, try to stick to a theme, to help get an idea of what type of tunes will be needed. We all have tracks that are demo worthy, but not everything blends together.
If you want to throw down a mix of different styles, just remember the theme you gave the set and try to pick tracks with the same feel/mood. Meaning that certain songs, whether it be electro, house, techno, can have a dark, low-key feel to it. This same group can be a bit more bright/epic, so you’ll need to able to separate the difference. The best tool every DJ has is his or her ears. Train yourself to catch these subtleties and you'll be able to do this on the fly with ease.
Now once you have the tunes that you would like to use, its time to trim the fat. Remember that the typical CD plays about 70 to 80 minutes of music, so try to keep your set within this time frame. With that said, go back and listen to your tracks again and choose the best of the best, leaving yourself about 12 to 15 tunes, or an hour worth of music. And don’t forget, the selection shouldn’t only be based off of which song you like best, but which best fits the set.
Arrangement
OK, ask yourself this question. Which track should be your opening tune and how is this going to end? You always want to lead off with something interesting, to grab the listeners’ attention. Either pick a track with a good intro or get creative and do something yourself, before the music kicks in. Try some vocal clips, sound efx and/or audio movie quotes, which can be found with a quick search on Google.com.
The opening tune shouldn’t start off too big, unless you know you’re going to keep that same energy from that point on, but that’s just my opinion. We all have our own opinions on what is or isn’t a strong tune. So whichever you choose, try to start off with something mellow. Save your big floor filers for the mid point, which would be the peak of the set, then try to end the set a bit toned down. Try a classic, well-known tune to finish up, or get creative and throw in some more audio quotes. It’s really up to you. Just give the listeners a clue that the set is ending, instead of finishing up on a high note, sounding as if there was more to follow.
Take notes!
Arrangement is a crucial part of the process, but I think this next topic is the most important. You now need to grab a pen and a pad and write down some cheat notes. You already have your opening and ending tunes, now you need to make the other tracks fit in, like a puzzle. This part of the process will help place them in the best possible order.
You’ll find tracks that mix perfectly together and some that do not. At this time, you should be trying to mix and match writing down what works best.
· Track 3 w/ track 7
· Track 5 w/ track 2
After that, figure out the best way to mix them, so that you’re sure they are phrased up and timed perfectly.
· Track 1: breaks at 3:52 / kick drum comes back in @ 4:25
· Start track 4 @ 5:12
· what ever works best for you
Some might call this cheating, but you’re recording a demo and you want this as clean as possible. This doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it live, if you were put to the test. In fact, it helps you get familiar with the track(s), making it that much easier to mix when you’re in front of a crowd. Taking notes helps ease the stress while you record and helps you put the puzzle pieces together, giving your set a good flow from beginning to end.
Recording
I’ll skip this section, since there are plenty of tutorials on this site, starting with the one linked below.
http://www.djforums.com/forums/content.php?155-setting-up-to-record-your-mixes
(http://www.djforums.com/forums/content.php?155-setting-up-to-record-your-mixes)
There's just one rule you should always follow, and that is to keep the recording volume low. Not too low, but give yourself and the tracks, some room to avoid any clipping in the audio. You can always raise the volume later, as pointed out in the next step.
(Posted in front page, but never created the thread for it)
http://i42.tinypic.com/2h54abp.jpg
There are many steps needed to become a DJ. Some of which take time to develop and others just come with experience. Eventually, after fine-tuning your skills in front of a small crowd, you'll reach a point when you're ready to take it to the next level. This next step would be to package this up and figure out how best to present your talent to someone who’s never heard you before. This is where a demo comes into play.
A demo gives someone an idea of what style music you play and what you're capable of bringing to the table. Although it should reflect what you are capable of doing live, it should also represent your best work, so it’s best to plan everything out ahead of time. Keep in mind that you are creating this set for people to listen to, at their leisure. A carefully planned set will show off your creativity and attention to detail, which is what sets us apart from other Djs.
Whether you're making the set for yourself or someone else, try to stick to a theme, to help get an idea of what type of tunes will be needed. We all have tracks that are demo worthy, but not everything blends together.
If you want to throw down a mix of different styles, just remember the theme you gave the set and try to pick tracks with the same feel/mood. Meaning that certain songs, whether it be electro, house, techno, can have a dark, low-key feel to it. This same group can be a bit more bright/epic, so you’ll need to able to separate the difference. The best tool every DJ has is his or her ears. Train yourself to catch these subtleties and you'll be able to do this on the fly with ease.
Now once you have the tunes that you would like to use, its time to trim the fat. Remember that the typical CD plays about 70 to 80 minutes of music, so try to keep your set within this time frame. With that said, go back and listen to your tracks again and choose the best of the best, leaving yourself about 12 to 15 tunes, or an hour worth of music. And don’t forget, the selection shouldn’t only be based off of which song you like best, but which best fits the set.
Arrangement
OK, ask yourself this question. Which track should be your opening tune and how is this going to end? You always want to lead off with something interesting, to grab the listeners’ attention. Either pick a track with a good intro or get creative and do something yourself, before the music kicks in. Try some vocal clips, sound efx and/or audio movie quotes, which can be found with a quick search on Google.com.
The opening tune shouldn’t start off too big, unless you know you’re going to keep that same energy from that point on, but that’s just my opinion. We all have our own opinions on what is or isn’t a strong tune. So whichever you choose, try to start off with something mellow. Save your big floor filers for the mid point, which would be the peak of the set, then try to end the set a bit toned down. Try a classic, well-known tune to finish up, or get creative and throw in some more audio quotes. It’s really up to you. Just give the listeners a clue that the set is ending, instead of finishing up on a high note, sounding as if there was more to follow.
Take notes!
Arrangement is a crucial part of the process, but I think this next topic is the most important. You now need to grab a pen and a pad and write down some cheat notes. You already have your opening and ending tunes, now you need to make the other tracks fit in, like a puzzle. This part of the process will help place them in the best possible order.
You’ll find tracks that mix perfectly together and some that do not. At this time, you should be trying to mix and match writing down what works best.
· Track 3 w/ track 7
· Track 5 w/ track 2
After that, figure out the best way to mix them, so that you’re sure they are phrased up and timed perfectly.
· Track 1: breaks at 3:52 / kick drum comes back in @ 4:25
· Start track 4 @ 5:12
· what ever works best for you
Some might call this cheating, but you’re recording a demo and you want this as clean as possible. This doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it live, if you were put to the test. In fact, it helps you get familiar with the track(s), making it that much easier to mix when you’re in front of a crowd. Taking notes helps ease the stress while you record and helps you put the puzzle pieces together, giving your set a good flow from beginning to end.
Recording
I’ll skip this section, since there are plenty of tutorials on this site, starting with the one linked below.
http://www.djforums.com/forums/content.php?155-setting-up-to-record-your-mixes
(http://www.djforums.com/forums/content.php?155-setting-up-to-record-your-mixes)
There's just one rule you should always follow, and that is to keep the recording volume low. Not too low, but give yourself and the tracks, some room to avoid any clipping in the audio. You can always raise the volume later, as pointed out in the next step.