|How to DJ with Serato|
DJing is
slowly becoming one of the fastest growing industries in the world of
entertainment with its own fair share of “success stories” in recent years. If you are a
prospective DJ who wants to kick start his own career with the platform that is
going to trampoline him to the heights of success, starting with Serato
wouldn’t be the worst decision you’ve made. The Serato company, being as old as
most of the DJs using it, boasts of experience and the ability to deliver the
best environment for your musical tinkering. Here are some tips on how to DJ
with Serato
1. Are you a Vinyl
person or a CD person?
One of the highly
contributing factors when choosing your DJing hardware is knowing whether you
prefer using the traditional vinyl or you are into CD. Answering this question
is important as it helps you to decide which DJing equipment would suit your
preference. Whichever you fancy, the program has you covered.
2. Getting Serato
DJ software installed onto your device
·
Most packages come with a CD containing the
installation files but, if your package doesn’t (or you simply have a thing
against CDs), you can always download the setup file from the official website.
·
After downloading your file, run the setup from
the Downloads folder – or wherever it is that you save your downloads – and
complete the installation process.
3. Linking up the
controller to your device
·
This is probably the easiest bit of the hustle.
Simply connect whichever controller you are using to your PC using a USB cable.
·
Once done, you must connect your system to the
speaker for audio enhancement or for the mere reason of being DJ-ish.
4. Creating a My
Serato account
·
Once the installation has been completed, the
next step is to launch the software and familiarise yourself with it. The best
way to enjoy all the features that come with Serato DJ is to create a My Serato
account.
·
The process is quite simple, actually. Using
the “Buy/Activate” button displayed on your screen, you must simply enter an
e-mail address and a password. After submitting this, you can now start to use
the app.
5. Try something
·
When you see the first window after creating
the account, you may not understand some of the stuff that is there but that is
the magic of it. You just have to make sure that you don’t freak out and decide
to drop it. In the words of the one guy who makes most of our shoes, “Just Do
It”. It is the only way to start. Some of the greatest mixes we dance to
everyday were made by someone who did not really know what they were doing but
knew that they just wanted to make something good.
·
If you are completely baffled, try adding
tracks to your decks and twitching with the volume and crossfaders until you
start feeling DJ like.
6. You need some music – remember?
·
For loading a track, you can drag and drop any
track that you want to play from its relevant location or load them using the
several keyboard shortcuts which you will find in the tooltips.
·
You can always unload a track from your deck
using the “Eject” button on your screen or also by use of the keyboard
shortcuts.
7. How many decks?
·
You can use two or more decks depending on your
preference or the limits of your controller. Active decks are marked by a blue
border which means that all actions you take and any other changes are applied
to these decks.
8. Know your music
and learn it’s sequence
·
In order to become a successful DJ, you should
know the sequence of the music that you have. One thing I always notice about
DJs is that they utilize the intros and outros of songs for their mixing and
knowing these is vital for this process. Another important thing to note is the
BPM (Beats Per Minute) of your tracks. Serato can calculate the BPM of your
tracks in its offline player. You can also enter your own BPM value by clicking
the BPM column in the music library or simply using the TAP feature to dictate
the BPM of your track as it plays.
9. How to control
the pitch
·
The pitch slider on the Serato DJ hardware
controller has monopoly over the playback speed of the track. By making use of
the pitch range buttons on the Serato DJ controller you can also adjust the
pitch range.
10. You can’t do
DJing without effects
·
To use effects, click the FX menu which is
usually at the top of the screen in Serato DJ interface. These effects can be
applied on different channels – depending on how many channels you have – or
solely to the master output. They have parameters which you can mould to your
own liking making sure that you get to edit your tracks in the exact way that
you want to
11. Know how to use
the Beat Multiplier
·
The beat multiplier is for adjusting the time
when effects “take effect”. Originally, the effect time is set using the
Beats-Per-Minute of the track in question when in auto mode. By applying the
beat multiplier, you can edit the timing. You can also set a pace for your
effect manually using the TAP feature.
12. Start right now
·
Probably the most important (although non
Serato related) tip of them all would be to start doing it now as it helps you
to learn and get to your destination sooner. There are many success testimonies
which were never revealed to the world due to the mere fact that someone didn’t
start when they were supposed to. They say, “Procrastination is the killer of
time”; well, they are right. Besides time, postponing might also be the reason
you stop dreaming and the reason why the world never gets to her that “sick”
beat you were cooking up in your mind.
With such a
wide range of features and with the flexibility to make the user make most of
the decisions, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Serato is the best way to start
your journey to becoming the next Steve Aoki whatever your own name is
