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FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012
If you’ve got a notebook and a couple of
speakers, then the party can start. That’s
because modern software has replaced
expensive hardware and allowed amateurs
to become their own DJs, provided they
have a digitized music collection that is
organized properly. Long gone are the days
when DJs had to lug around crates of equipments
and albums. Theoretically, all you
need today is a notebook computer and a
well-stocked hard drive to get the party
started.
It’s all possible thanks to DJ software.
Although used by professionals, it’s easy for
beginners to figure out too. “They can learn
it in a few minutes,” says Lutz Scheffler, a DJ
and spokesman for the German Professional
Association of Disc Jockeys (BVD). The programs
do more than just play music, says
Scheffler. “This is creative processing software
that can replace one or several high
quality CD players.”
Songs can be played at higher or lower
pitches, with effects like reverb and echo
blending and pitching, in effect slowing
down or speeding up the music. That helps
create a seamless transition between two
pieces. Many programs use a function called
beatmaking to recognize the speed of songs
and find ways to match them to one another.
Traktor Pro from Native Instruments is a
program in widespread use. The graphic
interface looks like two record players,
underneath which is a folder structure from
which the user can choose the next song.
The program costs 199 euros (265 dollars)
and a time-limited demo version is available
for trials.
A lot of DJs are also fans of programs
from the New Zealand company Serato, says
Scheffler. “But those are really for professionals.”
VirtualDJ from Atomix is much
more welcoming to beginners. It has a similar
interface to Traktor Pro and is available
for the Mac. The same applies to Ultramixer
from Digital Audio Solutions, which also
comes in a Linux version. VirtualDJ and
Ultramixer can both be used for free, so long
as they are not used professionally.
One open source alternative for
Windows, iOS and Linux is Mixxx. Other free
versions include Jackson and DigiJay.
Beginners should take the time to try out all
these freeware programs, says Hartmut
Gieselmann. “But you often have to cope
with programming errors,” said the expert,
who works with the German computer magazine
c’t. If a person plans to use the programs
for an extended period, he recommends
moving to the commercial versions.
“Beatmatching delivers significantly better
results,” he said.
Whether free or not, all of these programs
can be operated like any other, with a
mouse and the keyboard. But, when working
as a professional, many DJs also add a
Midi controller. This significantly speeds up
the selection of songs and effects, because
the controllers can be set to the user’s individual
needs.
“But Midi controllers usually only work
with commercial programs,” says
Technology
Get the party started
DJ software turns your computer into a mixing console
Gieselmann. Good models cost at least 200
euros (278 dollars). Beginners are advised
not to jump straight in with the professional
hardware. If you’re just starting to figure out
DJ software, you’ll probably be starting out
at private parties. Here, there are usually no
legal perils. But that’s not necessarily the
case at public gatherings. Be sure to know
local rules about playing copyrighted music
at such events.
A lot of DJ programs can generate edited
songs or mixes as MP3s. But if you record
pieces like that onto a CD or release it as a
download, you could be violating the rights
of the original artist.
“Then you have to ask the copyright
holder for permission,” says Gaby Schilcher
from gema, the German Society for Musical
Performing and Mechanical Reproduction
Rights. The holder is usually the appropriate
record label and it might not always want to
cooperate. Rules apply not only to whole
songs, but also to snippets and individual
components of a piece.
And a final tip: If you’re going to work as
a DJ, you have to get your music organized,
otherwise you’ll be looking in vain for the
next track as the party threatens to die,
warns Scheffler. “It’s important that not just
the file names are right, but also that you
keep track of the ID3 tags.”
Those tell, for example, the song title, the
performer, the album and the genre, among
other details. The tags can be edited via
Windows Media Player, Winamp or iTunes.
The freeware program MP3Tag focuses
exclusively on such tags, pulling a lot of data
out of Internet databases and saving the DJ
a lot of typing. — dpa