DJing in the Real World.
Introduction to the course.
Welcome to Year 9 Music! For the next 9 weeks you can become a DJ, as long as you have the guts and the creativity to work hard and have fun!
You will be creating a promotional kit to advertising your DJ and mixing your very own song using Audacity.
Sound good? Don’t be fooled – it’s not all roses and candy! DJ’s actually work extremely hard and it can be difficult to find the right music and the right combination of people, amongst other things!
So choose your attitude, rock out, and make this course what you want it to be!
Promotional Kit.
Your task is to firstly come up with a name that you would like to be called if you were a DJ. Some examples of DJ’s: Grand Wizard Theodore, Grand Master Flash, Grand Mixer DXT, and Cool Kurt. Just to name a few.
You are a starting DJ and want to make name for yourself. To do this you need to create a promotional kit that you will send to Promoters to consider you to be promoted by them.
Your promotional Kit will included the following:
- Cover Letter
- DJ Poster for Gigs.
- Create an artwork design for your debut album.
Extension Task
- Fake Review.
Cover Letter
While most parts of your Promo Kit stay the same each time you send it out, your cover letter should change depending on who you are sending the kit to and why.
Now, everyone knows that at the end of the term there is a live performance for this Journey. Don’t take it for granted that you’ll get a spot! You will need to send Miss Hawking your Promo Kit—with an appropriate cover letter.
Here are some guidelines drawn from
The bits in italics have been added by me.
The Cover Letter
Basic Guidelines
Keep your cover letter no more than one-page long. While the style of writing should reflect your image to some degree, the cover letter must look and sound professional if your pitch is to be taken seriously. Finally, always find out and include the correct spelling of the first and last names of the person to whom you are writing (a lot of artists don’t bother to get it right).
The Pitch
Start your letter with a few words presenting your request and then immediately point out why the contact (Miss Hawking) you are writing to should want to support your act and what they will get out of your proposal (I want to know what is in it for me!). Are you going to attract a lot of paying customers? Do you have a lot of experience?
Keep in mind that since many industry folks are extremely busy, your letter may only receive a few moments’ attention. You want to put the basic request and the most pertinent convincing information in the first few sentences. After you’ve made the pitch, include any key impressive statistics (e.g. good radioplay, album sales, etc.) and relevant information (e.g. upcoming shows or a new album release) that you didn’t already mention as part of the pitch. Close the letter by asking them to get back to you, and note that you will also follow up in a reasonable period of time.
Band Poster
Until you are awesomely famous and have a graphic designer in your employ ready to design a different poster for each gig, most bands have a stock-standard poster with their band logo or some other design on it. At the bottom is a blank space where they write when and where their next gig is.
Your task: Design a band poster taking into consideration the type of image you are trying to present. If you are punk rockers, a pink flowery logo is probably not for you! Make it something fabulous that will catch people’s eye. You can draw this by hand, use a computer, paint it...whatever.
Album Cover Design
Now that your band is establishing its identity fairly strongly and rehearsals are well underway, you need to start thinking about the future. After all, it’s inevitable that you will be signed (well, let’s pretend!) and when that day comes, you want to have an awesome image to put on the front of your debut album.
Consider carefully—will it be a photo, a drawing, will it make sense or be totally out there? What will the name of your album be? Get to it!
Extension Task
Fake Review
(Individual activity)
Reviews are a really important part of your Promo Kit. I mean let’s face it, if you’re the only one saying your band is good, who’s going to believe you? But if The Age, Triple J, Nova or the Berwick News get on board, all of a sudden people sit up and listen.
Got no review? That’s the point. For this activity, we’re gonna fake it.
Write your own review of 300 words or more. Choose a believable performance venue (Ambrosia’s, primary school fete, Arts Festival etc) and write a believable review (eg don’t write that there were 50,000 people in the audience).
Make it interesting, and make sure that the review includes the following details:
1.Who are the people in the act and what are their roles?
2.What sort of music do you play?
3.Tour and Performance dates
I have included some examples on the next few pages. You should also have a read of some gig reviews in Inpress, The Age, Herald Sun or on any decent music website to get an idea of how these should be written.
Each band member should have written their own review.
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My Chemical Romance - Sydney Entertainment Centre, 30 November 2008
It's becoming rare these days to see a band embrace an over-the-top live show, so it was extremely refreshing to have My Chemical Romance not only deliver a solid set but display showmanship as well. Unafraid to camp things up a little, they played a show that was both highly entertaining and true to their recorded sound.
Main supports Circa Survive seemed to suffer at the hands of American product rock. While they have some interesting time signatures and drumming patterns, at their bare bones they're just another rock band; even Anthony Green's soaring, impossibly high vocals couldn't save them from relative blandness on the night.
The clothing uniform most attendees adhered to even stretched to the many parents in attendance, apparently dressed up for a night out with the kids. As security guards fished limp bodies from a sea of bad dye jobs, a swell of screams welcomed Gerard Way and his allies to the stage against an explosive, flame-fuelled backdrop. Opening with 'This Is How I Disappear' from The Black Parade, MCR immediately demonstrated why they've risen to their status. A blisteringly tight set followed, highlighting material from their entire catalogue - 'Helena' from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge a crowd favourite. Throughout their set MCR held the crowd in their hands; it was actually a little unnerving to see the amount of teens hanging off Way's every campy movement and word. There's no doubt he could have lead these kids anywhere and they'd have followed in one large black-clad group. Closing with 'Famous Last Words' the pyrotechnics returned, befitting of a band that has graduated to broaden their sound beyond the genre they're often ill slotted within.
While MCR may sometimes be perceived as bad teenage music, when you look beyond the general fanbase and some of the cheesy lyrics there lies a group doing what few others manage to achieve, and they continue to do it far better than most out there. If The Black Parade came to my town, while I wouldn't join in the march you'd probably catch me throwing confetti.
Gotye - Metro Theatre, 29 July 2008
There was a buzz in the air as fans gathered early for one of this year's most anticipated live tours. Opening act Mountains in the Sky warmed the tightly packed crowd with their blend of hip-hop infused electronica. The Melbourne duo's music was celestial, melodic and - dare I say it - a little bit groovy, reminiscent of musical peers like Four Tet and Lucky Pierre.
After a long interval, the crimson curtains parted to make way for Gotye. With music meticulously pieced together from samples and sounds, it seems almost impossible that he would be able to recreate such density and precision live. But with the help of some stunning visuals and his mini-orchestra filling in the gaps, the man behind the sound, Wally de Backer, managed to capture the emotion and richness of his albums on a live scale.
It's difficult to fault Gotye's live show. The moodier tunes were a pleasure to hear, with tracks like the delicate 'Puzzle With A Piece Missing' tugging firmly at the heartstrings. However, the emotion of 'Heart's a Mess' was lost when the crowd decided to sing (or more accurately, shout slightly off-key) over the song's chorus, rendering it more cringe-worthy than heart-wrenching.
Surprisingly, it was the faster numbers like 'The Only Way' that made their mark on the evening, showcasing de Backer's incredible sense of rhythm. When the band returned for a far-too-brief encore, 'Learnalittlegivinandlovin' got the arms waving and the dance floor shaking.
Silverchair - Enmore Theatre, 10 May 2008
Doubling up from their sold-out performance the night before (with, you guessed it, a sold-out performance) Silverchair silenced naysayers with a dynamic performance at Sydney's Enmore Theatre. More recently praise has been lavished on the trio-turned-quartet from Newcastle, in review after review, as they made their way across the nation. It was not only their Sydney shows that sold out either. But then, is the popularity of the shows really all that surprising? A strong, local fan-base is not something Silverchair has ever really struggled to maintain.
Dappled Cities Fly's sound was uncannily at home on the large Theatre stage. By all accounts they were a beautiful prequel to the main act. Still, it was Silverchair the heaving crowd was anxious to see. So when the boys made their way out into the large stage, dressed as it was in an enlarged Young Modern album cover, people went nuts, screaming and hollering like they were seeing the first Stones concert. With little fanfare they began proceedings with the opening - " and almost title - " track off Young Modern, 'Young Modern Station'.
The ferociously cracking, Young Modern-dominated set included a three-piece horn section that gave the band means to translate their idiosyncratic (not to mention ambitious) new sound almost effortlessly. The daydream-evoking 'Reflections of a Sound' and Sgt Pepper-esque 'If You Keep Losing Sleep' delivered as if they were always intended to be played to a live audience, with Daniel Johns' vocal delivery unwavering.
The boys mixed in old favourites such as 'Emotion Sickness', 'The Door' and 'Freak' into the set to ensure even those hard-edged, anti-Diorama, strictly old-school 'chair fans had something to dance to.
The chemistry between Daniel Johns, Chris Joannou and Ben Gillies is and always has been undeniable. Having gone through their fair share of trials and tribulations of late, it was heart-warming to see that the band appears to be, once again, enjoying each other's musical company. If this second Sydney show is anything to go by, the future is looking brighter than ever for Silverchair.
Promotional Kit (Album Cover/Promotional Poster/Cover Letter).
8 / 8.5 / 9 / 9.5 / 10Creating and Making / The tasks did not reflect the identity of your DJ. / The tasks that make up the promotional kit does not reflect the idenity of your DJ and do not fulfil there purpose. / The tasks that make up the promotional kit do not always reflect the identity of the band and may not all fulfil there purpose. / The tasks that make up the promotional kit generally reflect the identity of the a type of DJ and to a large extent fulfil there purpose of drawing attention to the DJ. / The tasks that make up the promotional kit reflects the identity of the band and and fulfil there purpose of drawing attention to the DJ.
Exploring and Responding (Cover Letter) / The cover letter was incomplete doesn’t meet the standard of a cover letter. It is very sort or doens;t meet the standards of a cover letter. / The cover letter ocontains many errors withspelling and grammar. There are parts of the cover letter that are not set out correctly or ceatian things are missing At some parts is doesn’t quite meant what the cover letter is for. / The cover letter uses the appropriate writing techniques.Spelling and grammar need some
attention. It makes the point of what a cover letter is meant for. The cover letter is set out correctly. / The cover letter has no spelling or grammical mistakes and uses appropriate stylistic writing technique for a cover letter. The cover letter is persuasive and meets the set requirements.
The cover letter is set out correctly. / The cover letter is engaging and very persuasive. There are no spelling or grammical errors. It is to the point and informs the reader about who they are as a DJ and what they are about.
The cover letter is set out correctly.
Exploring and Responding
(Promotional poster and Album cover) / Both tasks show very little correlation between the type of DJ they are wanting to represent and the promotional poster and album.
Work is rushed and / Only one of the tasks represents the type of DJ that the students has ideniftied as part of the style of music they are going to mix. / Both tasks represent the type of DJ that the students has ideniftied as part of the style of music they are going to mix. / Both tasks show a high level of detail and show the repsrentation of the stype of music that is being mixed. / Both tasks show a high level of detail and show the representation of the type of and shows a very detialed reposnse to the work required.
Managing Personal Learning / A very limited number of lessons were used effectively. / Just under half of the lessons were used effective.
Didn’t ask for any support and work was at a love standard. / Many of the lesson’s were used effectively.
Regularly asked for assistance with questions and feedback / Each lesson was used effectively. Many questions were asked and higher level of understanding was shown through these. / NA
Presentation / Little effort has been put into presentation / Some effort has been put into presentation / The assessment has been neatly presented, but plainly presented / The assignment is neatly and beautifully presented. / The assignment is wonderfully presented.
DJing Your Own Mix.
"Everyone is a DJ…when you’re the one choosing music in the car, or loading up a CD player at a party; you’re a DJ." –Jam Master Jay.
Some factors that make a DJ set good are: mixing skill, track selection, programming, and originality. Mixing is about using the equipment to incorporate blends, tricks, scratches, or effects. Track selection is about the quality and appeal of the tracks the DJ chooses. Some people say that the track selection should be a blend of popular/accessible tracks with new/unique tracks. Programming is about the flow of a DJ’s set. The DJ should try to make it progress smoothly and make sure the audience is not bored. Originality can be about sound, look, or effects—anything that makes a DJ stand out.
Your Task.
Your Task is to create individually or in a pairs (you both will need to know how to do each of the elements lists below), a mix that includes at least three different songs and submit it as an audio file.
You will need to include the following elements at a minimum.
- Minimum duration of three minutes.
- Three songs (part of) at a minimum.
-At least three phase in/out between songs.
-Include at least Seven different effects eginverting, reverb.
-Removal of Vocals in one song/or part of or recording.
*Songs will need to be in the format of an mp3 as there are issues with using wav files.
Running List of Mix.
You will also need to keep track and submit a copy of the running list of your song.
For Example
0.00 sec / Good feeling to 2.10 and we are young0.10 sec / Hey Soul sister fade in
0.19 sec / Effects reverb (10 sec)
0.30 sec
0.40 sec
0.50sec
1.00 / Stop Hey Soul sister
1.10 / Start Reverse
1.20
1.30
1.40 / Finish Reverse
1.50 / Hey Soul sister fade in
We are young fade in
2.00 / Good feeling fade out
We are young paulstretch,
2.10 / stopgood feeling
2.20 / Hey Soul sister Phaser
2.30
2.40 / Hey soul sister fade out and stop
3.3o / Finish with we are young
A tip is to use a table in a word doc and put down the left side 10sec increments and as you go you can change some of these and add in your information as you do it in Audacity. This will save a lot of time and anxiety if you do it as you go rather than at the end when you will need to go through it.