Does Software DJing Hinder Your Overall Skill?

[NathanWard]

I wish I'd learnt on CDJs or vinyl, it's a lot funner for me. But because I'm a poor teenager I can afford neither, so I learnt on MIDI controllers. I feel like I focused a lot more on the music with CDJs, which was nice.

[djproben]

And when I say it's harder to use sync it seems like a lot of the bpm's in hip hop are off in traktor. I can't trust it.

yeah auto-beatgrid won't always be correct; if you don't check and adjust your beatgrids before a set you should avoid the sync button. But if the grids are set right sync works perfectly.

[photojojo]

The software isn't what hinders your skills, it's the laziness in using these things that hinders your skills.

[DarioJ]

The software isn't what hinders your skills, it's the laziness in using these things that hinders your skills.

+1

Its YOUR skill, creativity and responsibility; just as much as it is any other "DJ".

[mostapha]

I hardly read any of the responses, but I will say a couple things.

First, this isn't the same old debate. Slight changes make this question a bit more interesting to me.

Second, I don't think there's anything inherent with the tools that is explicitly cheating or in any way hindering to throwing a good set.

Third, I can't imagine what it must be like to learn on controllers. I learned on vinyl and did a lot of sets that way. I've owned every major performance medium there is, and I think the controllers got boring because "live remixing" the way most people mean it isn't the least bit interesting to me. Live production is cool, but you don't need a computer to do it and you never did. The MPC60 came out in 1988. So, I don't get the whole "computers makes you more creative" thing……moslty, they just makes specific types of being creative cheaper…which is kinda cool.

Fourth, how much that stuff matters really does depend on your genre. I hate what people call multi-format DJing. It sounds like ADD on parade to me most of the time. And I don't think the effects or mashups make up for the complete lack of direction and timing. But that's just a taste thing.

And last……I have no idea how people learn on controllers. Learning to DJ on vinyl forces you to either suck miserably or learn to listen to music differently from a layman. Without learning that, I couldn't DJ. And you can learn it with controllers and all the tools in the world……it's just that most people don't.

[djproben]

Live production is cool, but you don't need a computer to do it and you never did. The MPC60 came out in 1988. So, I don't get the whole "computers makes you more creative" thing.

Sure, coz the MPC60 isn't a computer.

Sorry, just being pedantic...

[mostapha]

Worse things have happened.