dj your own party

How to DJ with Your iPhone

Intro to DJing with your iPhone

So you’ve got a backyard BBQ, graduation, or heck - even a wedding coming up.  What do you do if you can’t afford a professional DJ?  For the price of hiring a really, really bad DJ - we will teach you how to be a really decent DJ in just one blog post. Read on...

Overview of equipment needed

There are hundreds of speaker, mixer, amp combinations that will get the job done.  Usually, the more expensive the equipment, the more complicated.  I suggest we keep it simple. You will need 1 or 2 powered speakers, a mic, some cables, and this incredible-life-changing iphone app called DJay2.  I've got a full list of equipment to get you started.  But let's just focus on DJing with your iphone for now. 

Overview of DJay2 app for iphone

So DJay2 is pretty revolutionary for the DJ industry.  It allows you to tap into the power of Spotify’s music database (which is over 20 Million songs) and DJ directly from your phone. Though, you might not look like Diplo DJing at TomorrowWorld, who cares. You will have the dancefloor packed with just a few tips.

Getting started

The first thing you will need to do is have the Spotify premium membership. Spotify premium membership gives you access to unlimited songs without ads. It costs $10 a month, but you can try it out for $.99 for 3 months.  

Setting up automix on your iphone

Automix is the way to go if you want to enjoy your party and not stand behind a table all night mixing song after song.  This is especially useful when there isn’t actual dancing happening, but it’s more for mode music. I suggest that if people are dancing - you DJ for real (no automix). Again for hanging out, or if you have to use the bathroom, set up automix and put a cardboard cutout of Martin Garrix behind the DJ booth. To setup automix, simple click the automix button in the middle of the screen and choose a playlist that you would like mixed. Finally hit “start automix” and you are good to go!

With automix you dance while you DJ! What what!

With automix you dance while you DJ! What what!

 

DJing "for real" with your iphone

If you’d rather read the crowd, beat match, and do more realistic DJing - you can do that with DJay 2! Since the phone is small, I tend to use the crossfader more than I would than a physical DJ mixer - but you can still do seamless transitions without this app.  

Setting cue points

One of the first things you’ll want to do is set a cue point. In this instance, the cue point is exactly where you want to the song to start playing when you press play.  This is important because most songs have a few seconds of silence at the beginning of the track.  You need a cue point set exact so there is no silence in between songs.

Note: If you want to cue the next song without the crowd hearing the mix. You will need a “splitter”.

Beat Matching and syncing

The cue point will also help you sync up your songs together.  When beatmatching your songs, you need to make sure they are close in BPM (or beats per minute).  If one song is 130bpm and the other is 98bpm, they will not mix together well and you should do another type of transition.  Quick tip: Make sure your beatgrid’s are are aligned accurately on the kick and snare of the song. This will make sure the kicks and the snares of both songs line up together and play “synced”.

To learn more about song transitions and using effects in the app check out our DJ School.  Also, we’ll help with talking on the mic, reading the crowd, and ally types of DJ equipment.  Sign up for FREE DJ School by Nice Guys DJ.

 

Nice Guys DJ is Atlanta's Premier DJ company. We exist to create once-in-a-lifetime memories.  Our team of Atlanta DJs provide some of the best wedding entertainment in Georgia. What this means to you, the bride and groom, is that you can rest assured that it will be the night of your life!

CONTACT

If your not the emailing type and want to speak to us directly, please call @ 404-396-7303.

Nice Guys DJ

Hey there, thanks for your interest in Nice Guys DJ. Below are a few questions that will help us know exactly what you're looking for from us.  We will get back to you within 24 hours.  We know there are tons of DJ's & Bands to choose from - we are so grateful you are considering Nice Guys DJ.

Cheers!

Hans Daniels