Canadian Musician - September/October 2020 | Page 31

DIGITAL MUSIC
FutureDJs: How to DJ is a guide to DJing and electronic music by Austen Smart, Scott Smart, and Tom
Dent. Put simply, FutureDJs are remixing music education to make the art form more accessible to
young people. For more information, visit www.futuredjs.org.
Performing Live as a DJ
Part 2: Constructing a Routine
From FutureDJs: How to DJ
A
routine is a showcase of skill, creativity, dexterity, mastery
of the instrument, and compositional technique. It is an art
form like no other in that it is judged on the technical ability
displayed, the artistry of the performance, and the composition
of the routine itself. It is an opportunity for scratch DJs
to compete with one another; to showcase a new technique, their own
ability, their ideas, to communicate, to perform, to push boundaries…
Techniques in a scratch routine generally include scratching, beatjuggling,
and hotcue drumming. DJs will utilize beats, samples, a cappella,
and hot cues, and routines can last from 60 seconds to 15 minutes. There is
no formula. Structure, much like in constructing a mix, can help organize
your creativity as well as be creative in itself.
Routine Structure
A DJ mix is a journey – always moving in a new direction. Think of a routine
as being like a story. The pacing and structure of a story affects the impact
of the details within it. A good story isn’t just about what is told, but the
way it’s told. A story may centre on a particular character, or an important
message. Whether you work from the outside in or the inside out, the
overall form will determine how well your ideas are heard.
Typical Structures in Music:
This comprises two
contrasting sections.
How these sections contrast is up to you – it may be techniques,
sounds, complexity, etc.
Like any story,
themes and characters
develop and return. So can your ideas. A story, however, never
repeats itself exactly. There is always a reason for the recap.
This form keeps returning to a particular idea. As above, it helps to develop
the A idea to maintain interest. Consider how the other contrasting sections
affect the A sections as they return.
Climax
What and where is the climax of your routine? The climax may be the
most technically complex section – the most musically intricate, the most
impressive, or the most exciting. It is the moment that your routine is
building towards – the culmination of all that has come before. As in a
DJ mix, the climax is often best left until the final third.
Techniques
Consider separating
your routine into sections
according to
technique. What skills
do you have in your armoury?
Work with what
you know and choose a
suitable level of complexity, then divide them into the sections of your
routine. Where are your strengths? It’s often good to start simple and get
gradually more complex.
Themes
Where does your story take place? Is there a common theme that connects
the sections – for example, eras of music, genres, artists, music with particular
messages or connotations, etc.? What does your choice of samples
and beats say about you as a DJ and performer?
What’s the Moral of the Story?
Take a step back from the overall form and think about the point of your
routine. What are you trying to achieve? Which messages does your choice
of music and approach send to others? What are you communicating?
Listen, Listen, Listen
Ideas rarely spring from nowhere. Research and critical listening will help
inspiration strike. Unless you are producing your own sounds, your routine
uses music already out there; you have to go find it! You can’t make a
routine with tracks you haven’t heard, so go and listen!
Adding an intro and outro can frame your routine.
This column is an excerpt from the book FutureDJs:
How to DJ, published by Faber Music. Get it now at
www.musicbooksplus.com.
Ð CANADIAN MUSICIAN 31