Top 10 Best Songs for Beginners to Learn to DJ with
As I will be a part-time DJ tutor at my college next year, I am already considering tracks that have an easily detectable, regular beat and are also great tracks in their own right. The fact is, a lot of people learn to DJ with commercial deep house music, myself included, because it is easy to mix. However, it is only easy to mix because there is little to no variation within it.When I teach people, I will encourage them to think differently and go outside the box. Of course, they can learn with whatever genres they prefer. This is partly because I have experience mixing several kinds of music, from melodic dubstep to psytrance, but also because I do not want to force anyone into a specific style. When you learn with a broader range of music, you become a much better DJ. You become one of those DJs with several tricks up their sleeve, not afraid to use them, rather than someone who brings in a track slightly out of sync and hopes nobody notices.
So, without further ado, here are some tracks, not necessarily my favorites to listen to or play in a set, but ones I believe will help misinformed beginners become cultured experts in no time.
As with many of my lists, there is no definitive ranking to these items. The tracks at the bottom are by no means less valuable for learning how to DJ.
The isolated vocals at the beginning of the song are ideal for practicing various types of transitions, possibly by simply varying the mid or by implementing a filter. When you're just messing around with this track, the whole track is good for getting to grips with how a general track is pieced together. The more you mess around with it, the better you get with these effects. I'd recommend experimenting with the filter, pitch, and beat loops using Technologic.
The only issue with this track is that the beat is non-existent for the first 30 seconds, but if you've analyzed this track, either by memory or using something like rekordbox, you'll be fine.
One of my all-time favorite songs, for its incredible sound and uplifting message. This track made learning to DJ a much more ecstatic experience. Speed it up or slow it down dramatically? Sounds good. Rapid beat loop before the drop? Sounds good. Flanger on buildup? Sounds brilliant!
I love being spontaneous when bringing this track in or out, or by messing with it mid-track, because you know that if it doesn't sound good, you're doing something drastically wrong.
In short, this track really allows you to be creative during your set. If I were to learn it all again from scratch, I would've used this track more often. I was cautious about fiddling with something so intricately put together, but I found that, with concentration, I became much more confident with mixing progressive house as a whole.
A laid-back house track, I know, but KoT is easily better than anything you hear on mainstream radio. It has a heavy beat with a distinct clap, and there are various parts within the full nine-minute version of the track that are perfect for introducing unexpected effects.
As soon as I learned the basics of DJing with music I didn't necessarily love, such as simple beat-matching and changes of basslines, I moved on to tracks like this. It has a simple beat, but in just the first 30 seconds, it has several elements that you can get really good at playing with.
The beauty of this track is that it will sound good in a mix if you are very intricate with the sound overlaps, but also if you stick to the basics that beginners learn. It sticks with you throughout your DJing career, being just as good for learning to mix as it is for getting your fans on the dance floor!
The track has a slow beat and a smooth vibe, but there's a surprising amount that can be done with this track using only the basic tools on your mixer. Using just the treble and mid with one or two hot cues, you can change this into a completely different track. Just play around with it, and you'd be surprised with what you can get out of it.
The Newcomers
A very tropical house track, but I think there's a lot more musical variation in this track than most of its kind. Nora En Pure is a great artist for exploring what the commercial house scene, which appears dull and unchanging on the surface, can offer. If you use a track like this for an audience meant either for the mainstream or the progressive house environment, you're likely to get some cheers.
It has a very noticeable clap and kick, so even if it's not to your taste, I'd highly recommend practicing from scratch with this one.
This track has very different sounding beats that alternate noticeably as the track goes on. That may sound like a pain for those who are trying to get to grips with beat-matching, but the tempo doesn't change, making it incredibly easy to mix. Once you have the beat in control, there's a lot you can do with it.
This track is ideal for testing the filtering effects on certain frequencies, particularly when you have another, similar track on top of this one. You can easily observe how these effects change the depths and ranges of the final sound.
I would recommend doing this with a mixer that divides the input into as many frequency ranges as you can obtain, but really, as long as your mixer does so with suitable quality, you're ready to go.
I have several hot cue points in this track. Why? Because there are so many vastly different parts of this track, each with a number of hidden elements that require a good ear to detect. When you're getting the hang of slipping those parts over each other, you can really bring more of this track to life!
Of course, this is a difficult part of DJing and requires a lot of skill, but given time, practice makes perfect. This track is something I would definitely practice with.
