Tips for Getting Your Practice in at Home!

Get right at home!

When there's a ton of gigs going on, it's hard to keep those creative juices flowing. One thing I've learned is that it's good to find anytime to practice. With what we do, it's important to create a space where you can not only get the perfect sound, but also simulate the same energy you would get at your gigs. Here are somethings I would recommend to anyone looking to get more practice in at home!

1. Make sure everything sounds good

This one is kind of obvious, but to me without having good overall sound it makes it very hard to find the drive to get a set going. Playing off your headphones can be good if you need to keep it quiet but you want to still pay attention to your overall hearing. We damage it enough at gigs! Getting a good monitor set up that is in parts a space saver and can still give you that boom is the way I would go! I've tried different types and the ones I recommend are the Mackie CR4-X's with the Mackie MRS10 Subwoofer. Together they make a great cost efficient pair that will still have a great overall sound!

Mackie CR4-X Monitors

Mackie MRS10 Studio Subwoofer

2. A Portable Easy to Move Setup

This one depends on whatever kind of set up you normally use, but to effectively get a good amount of practice in you need to have something that feels great to play on and easy to setup. For me, I've always used turntables and transporting that in and out from gigs to the home setup was very tiring. I decided to get something that wasn't going to cost a lot of money but still was loaded with features so I wasn't making too big of a sacrifice so I can get the most out of it! I would recommend the DDJ-REV1 or the DDJ-FLX4 for anyone looking to get great controllers at a great price. Both offer a ton of features while still not costing a ton of money. For anyone looking to up their controller game and getting something that can be used out and about while still not being the heaviest thing in the world. I would recommend the DDJ-REV7 or the XDJ-RX3 to get that turntable or club style feeling.

3. Keeping That Motivation:

This one was always the hardest for me. You finally get a day off to yourself after a bunch of events and they were all great and everybody had a fun time. You look to start practicing but that motivation is just not there anymore. One thing that's helped me is listen back at my mixes. I try to record every set I perform (using an external recorder) and when I have time or if I'm driving, I'll listen to some mixes and make notes for myself. It's important to not be too critical but be honest with yourself. I always have want to get better and to continually try new things. Some of my favorite mixes have come from a random practice session I was doing that once I tried out at an event, it was a complete hit. Do your best to not become stale so I would say to keep using that drive to get your motivation up as much as you can!

4. Making Time for Yourself to be Yourself:

Avoid that burnout! Don't fall into the trap that you need to be playing and practicing everyday! Sometimes pushing yourself too hard can result in major burnout and will kill your motivation. Make time to do things that you enjoy away from the day to day in order to refresh yourself. It doesn't even need to be a full on vacation, you can make time for something else that is away from DJ'ing, that way when you come back into it; everything will seem more exciting and you should be itching to get back at it!

5. Scenarios!

It might seem weird, but putting yourself in scenarios that you could come across while DJ'ing has been a great way to learn how to troubleshoot situations when they do come up on the fly! Think about what would happen if a turntable goes out, the microphone doesnt work or even if Serato crashes. The best place to try those out without ruining the party is at home! I've learned a lot from just seeing all the problems come up as I'm practicing and if it ever did happen; I always feel like I'm prepared!