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Become a Laptop DJ

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Guide to Becoming a Laptop DJ

With the help of a few basic techniques you too can mix like a professional DJ, your laptop playing an important part. No turntable is required for this. We are in digital age where traditional techniques and equipment are being pushed aside to make way for more modern equipment such as laptops and virtual DJ software. The progression of hardware and software has powerful audio applications to run easily on a laptop giving birth to the laptop DJ with minimal equipment requirements and basic ability.

Using laptop DJ equipment!

Regardless of you being a veteran in the art or a mere novice, it takes a lot of behind the scene preparation to put together a good mix. Doing the actual mixing is also important, but less time consuming. Here we are examining how to learn DJ mixing and what equipment is also required in addition to a laptop.

Learning DJ mixing

First you have to select the right songs. The songs you select must attract the attention of the people. You must have a pool of many songs to improvise according to the need of the occasion. Make sure that the selected songs will create enthusiasm in the audience. Import the selected songs into your software. Organize the downloaded music of different genres like country music, rock, rap, alternative, R&B and classical. These can be stored into the turntable of the laptop. After setting up your DJ equipment, practice switching songs. Switching songs halfway through a song must also be practiced. Understanding the software is important.

How to DJ with a Laptop

HOW TO DJ WITH A LAPTOP (PC) Part 1 PC DJ: by mike71flores | video info

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Equipment required

The basic DJ equipment required is a laptop with a quality sound card. If the laptop you already own does not have a quality sound card, you may upgrade it or, alternatively, a pluggable sound card may be purchased and used whenever required.
Another DJ equipment of great use is a speaker system or DJ decks. A new complete speaker system is an added advantage. Do some search in the market for the speaker system to ensure that you get back your money's worth. To amplify the deep bass in the music, a subwoofer is a must in the system. A good sound system is one of the best attractions for the audience. Consider reading our comprehensive guide to buying DJ equipment.

Music Formats

Different audio formats are used in DJ computer software, the most widely used one being MP3. It has several advantages. Almost all software plays MP3 files. These files can be moved around easily and there is no built-in copyright for them. Microsoft WMA format is another one. License is to be obtained prior to the playing of the files from the Microsoft Corporation. Then the DJs have to go through the CD, MP3 route. So it is avoided by most DJs. CGA is another format which becomes popular very fast. Other formats available are the FLAC and WAC which are not yet very popular.

After starting as a laptop DJ you can advance a lot in the field with a little effort and patience. While gaining experience you can find the every song's key signature. If you already have a taste for the music and play any music instrument, picking up the key signature is easy. With this you can arrange the songs appropriately so that incongruity will not appear during transition.

Using laptop as the main DJ equipment is becoming the in thing fast. It has the advantage of portability and can allow you to give a great performance at the same time.