I may be a DJ!!!!

[aragonh]

So yesterday, I received a call from my former teacher who asked me to be a substitute DJ for the salsa dance social. The original DJ was out of town. So I brought some of my music and "DJed" (not that hard to be a Salsa DJ!!)

Well, I guess some people liked what I played b/c I was approached by a person who offered me a job as a DJ for this new salsa venue that he is thinking about opening. Nothing is set in stone and Im not sure If i'll take it, but it got me thinking:

What kind of salsa music do people like to dance to?

That is, for beginners, do you like slow or fast salsa? Do you prefer "common" songs or "rare" songs?
Intermediates, do you prefer long (5+ minutes) songs or shorter?
Experts, do you like 2 hear more NY Salsa (60's 70's), Mambo era or other type of Salsa music?

I've seen the other threads on what people dont like about their DJs, but Im wondering on what they do like?

[tj]

Congratulations!

One thing that I've learned over the years... you won't be able to please everyone.

So find out what the regulars to your scene prefer, and cater to that.

Personally, I hate it when all the music starts sounding the same. I'd much rather have a variety of tempo, old and new, etc. Even the occasional merengue, cha cha cha, and bachata, too.

[BrookeErin]

Personally, I hate it when all the music starts sounding the same. I'd much rather have a variety of tempo, old and new, etc. Even the occasional merengue, cha cha cha, and bachata, too.

Congrats. I'm not real knowledgable about salsa music, so I like hearing songs that I know and are fun to dance to. I guess my suggestion is to keep a few standards for the less knowledgable of us, but definitely mix it up. Beginners especially need a break from one style occasionally. I like dancing lots of styles, but it's probably not best to change style with every song.

[gte692h]

firstly, congratulations! i dream of being a dj someday, though not in salsa, and all credit to you. as far as playing stuff goes, if people liked what you played that day at the social, that's the style I would stick with. and like tj said, you can't please everybody, so if I were you, I'd play what I like. it seemed to work at the dance social.
i'm new to salsa, but i generally prefer dancing to happy, energetic music, although nothing too fast, or crazy. since i dont' speak spanish, i only respond to the sound of the music, rather than the words. generally, i dont' like too much slow and romantic stuff, unless its cha cha or bachata. an example of a song i really like is ' Manana me voy pa' sibanicu' by 'Ibrahim Ferrer' which is track 10 on 'Hecho en cuba 2'. I don't know what style of salsa it falls under, or if it is rare or popular, but i love it. its not too fast, its just right, and the beats are really clear, so I never go off time ! amazon has a preview
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00015HWOQ/qid=1107815530/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-5488854-6787319

also one last question: do salsa dj's ever play vinyl records, or do they use cds ?

[cocodrilo]

Ditto what Tj says. You really have to see what your crowd likes, and crowds on different nights at different venues can differ greatly! A good dj is watching the floor at all times. If everyone is sitting on the sidelines, take the hint and break up the salsas with a bachata. I have known some djs to play allt he same stuff at every party we had, to the point you could almost predict what they were going to play next. Also, too much trendy stuff gets old. Play some old stuff(not many newbie or young djs know much about latin music history, and just have recent CDs in their collection). There are some really great lengthy(5-minute) salsa tunes out there, but you play this after previously playing 3 salsa songs where everyone was out on the floor, they're going to hate you (read: good song, but we need a bloody break!).
Good luck! :D

[dancin/dj]

Congratulations!

One thing that I've learned over the years... you won't be able to please everyone.

So find out what the regulars to your scene prefer, and cater to that.

Personally, I hate it when all the music starts sounding the same. I'd much rather have a variety of tempo, old and new, etc. Even the occasional merengue, cha cha cha, and bachata, too. this sums it up well,go with tj"s advise.1 type of dance-salsa or fill in the blank is easy to dj as far as your playing the same dance music all night ,however to be diverse in that same genre is something even the so called pros are not doing. shoot for that and you'll be the new kid in town :) who dusts the old chumps off the map 8)

[Lockstep]

one thing ive noticed is that some DJ's tend to believe that its easier for beginners to dance to *extremely* slow salsas...believe me, its not! Spins actually become harder after the pace drops down below a certain limit, without styling it tends to look fairly dull, and most of the patterns beginners are taught are not made for the slow, dreamy, salsas.

Just a bit of random advice from me :) Simply run 'decently slow' salsas with beginners, but dont slow em down to much or they'll simply shut down!

[youngsta]

Dancing to a slow salsa will really show you your skill as a dancer. Takes a very high level of control.

[Sagitta]

Dancing to a slow salsa will really show you your skill as a dancer. Takes a very high level of control.

Ditto! :)

[Lockstep]

exactly...thats why its not suitable for beginners, right?

[MacMoto]

There's slow and there's slooooooooooow. Medium-slow is okay I think, and for complete to almost-complete beginners that will be the upper limit. But I think for beginners what's more important is that the beat is very clear and easy to pick up, and there are no or few breaks that confuse them. Steady and consistent. No wild descargas. Cheerful and happy songs tend to work better than romantic or jazzy.

Long vs. short -- depends on how good the song is! And it's probably not a good idea to play two 7-minute songs back to back. :roll:

Like tj, I generally like variety, both in terms of tempo and style.

Coco's point about reading the floor is very important. When you don't know the venue (e.g., it's a new venue or you are guesting at a venue you've never been to), you have to make sure you have plenty of different stuff to make sure you can adjust your set to suit the crowd.

[aragonh]

Sorry, I've been away on travels and withwork and havent had time to post.

But Thanx to all for the tips!! I'll definitely keep them in mind.

One thing i like to do is to intermix salsa songs w/ cha-cha songs (So there is no set 'Salsa time' and 'Cha-Cha time'). Will have to see if the crowd loves it or not.

Thank you again

PS. oh and I only use CDs. The music is from my own expanding (and expanding) collection. I really should stop expanding it.

[djpatricio]

Read the floor, and know your clientele

Buy all the music you can, and really listen to it and know it intimately (you can write all your cds off on your taxes, so buy away!)

Take chances

Please the crowd, but don't forget to please yourself, because I've always found that if I am having fun, the crowd is having fun

If someone wants to buy you a drink, let them

Even if you are a salsa snob, like me, don't let it show too much

When being a salsa dj stops being fun and being a passion and becomes a job, quit

Realize there are no saints in the nightclub business, and that sooner or later you will end up being used, so don't take it personally

If you're not a professional comedian, stay the hell off the mike

Don't get in a rut, and if you do, ask yourself why you are in a rut

Practice safe sex, because you'll be getting a lot of love

Play requests when you think they should be played, when they flow with the sequence of what you have been playing, not when some drunk is demanding that you play it

If you play salsa in your car on the way to the club, and then play salsa at the club, and then play salsa on the way home, then you are meant to be a salsa dj, otherwise, stick to dancing

[gte692h]

to djpatricio,

i assume you have dj'd a bit with salsa, so i thought i would ask you this question :

is it common for salsa dj's to use vinyl records on turntables ? I have usually seen that dj's bring a lot of cd's ..

Do you know of places that sell records of salsa songs ?

thanks

[cocodrilo]

Djpatricio-
WORDS TO LIVE BY! :applause
I am thinking about translating that list to Spanish, entitling it "Conditions of Employment" and handing it out to prospective djs before we hire them for our parties in the future.

[youngsta]

to djpatricio,

i assume you have dj'd a bit with salsa, so i thought i would ask you this question :

is it common for salsa dj's to use vinyl records on turntables ? I have usually seen that dj's bring a lot of cd's ..

Do you know of places that sell records of salsa songs ?

thanks
VERY hard to find salsa on vinyl. Nothing like it is for us House DJ's! 8)

[gte692h]

VERY hard to find salsa on vinyl. Nothing like it is for us House DJ's! 8)

:D

thats too bad.. it was my dream to fuse salsa and tribal house music someday in the future. I heard a bit of it at club space in Miami, by Oscar G, who is a resident there, and it was incredible. I think there's a lot of potential for mixing latin music in the house/trance genre. I'll figure something out though..

[youngsta]

I'm not saying it's impossible, but you really have to dig in some hardcore record stores. Off topic for a sec--what genres do you normally DJ? I just started DJing salsa around here, but I've been a Deep House/Garage guy for over a decade.

[djpatricio]

to djpatricio,

i assume you have dj'd a bit with salsa, so i thought i would ask you this question :
is it common for salsa dj's to use vinyl records on turntables ? I have usually seen that dj's bring a lot of cd's ..
Do you know of places that sell records of salsa songs ?

thanks

No, most all salsa djing is done with CDs nowadays, because that's the format the music is most available on. A lot of non-salsa DJs like vinyl for the feel, for tricks like scratching, etc, but really, in salsa that isn't something you do, with the exception of reggaeton, and maybe some other types of latin stuff, latin house, meren-house and meren-booty, etc, things that you can beat-match. But in salsa, real salsa, it's a no no, don't do it.

Plus, any scratching or any other trick you can do on vinyl you can do, and more now, with CDJ turntables, like the Pioneer, some Numarks, and the new Technics. Beat-matching, whatever you want to do you can do with that now.

As far as where to buy vinyl salsa, I have no idea. Probably you should go to used record stores in places like NYC, Miami, and San Juan.

It might be cool to experiment with mixing salsa with jungle, or whatever, like you say you want to do, but truly, I am of the old-school, and I don't think that salsa needs any help to be cooler than it already is. I've heard a lot of house, jungle, etc., mixed with salsa and latin rhythms, and it may be interesting to the ear once in a while, but it dosen't do anything for my soul, and believe me, salsa people don't dig it. But that's just my opinion. Salsa has an old soul (but is always fresh), and electronic beats and other funky stuff just don't do anything for it.

But, good luck anyhow, no matter what you end up spinning. Just keep in mind that being a good salsa dj has more to do with musical knowledge than it does technical turntablist knowledge.

[djpatricio]

Djpatricio-
WORDS TO LIVE BY! :applause
I am thinking about translating that list to Spanish, entitling it "Conditions of Employment" and handing it out to prospective djs before we hire them for our parties in the future.

Glad you like it, feel free to use it any way you wish!

[youngsta]

No, most all salsa djing is done with CDs nowadays, because that's the format the music is most available on. A lot of non-salsa DJs like vinyl for the feel, for tricks like scratching, etc, but really, in salsa that isn't something you do, with the exception of reggaeton, and maybe some other types of latin stuff, latin house, meren-house and meren-booty, etc, things that you can beat-match. But in salsa, real salsa, it's a no no, don't do it.

Plus, any scratching or any other trick you can do on vinyl you can do, and more now, with CDJ turntables, like the Pioneer, some Numarks, and the new Technics. Beat-matching, whatever you want to do you can do with that now.

Well actually most of us House DJ's don't do many turntablists tricks, beatmixing is our forte. Don't get me wrong, many of us do have those skills they just don't translate very well to the genre. Also having a lot of experience with both turntables and cdj's I'll say that even they don't give you the amount of control that turntables do. But new technology likd Final Scratch that allows you to manipluate mp3's with real turntables gives you the ultimate control! I prefer vinyl myself, the warmth of an analog music source just speaks to me.

[volleybgrl]

Everything I've read seems like really great advice. I'm no DJ, and I'm not really a salsa afficionado (though I am striving to be), but when a DJ blends the end of one song into another VERY SIMILAR song, it makes it difficult to know where the end is. If you're dancing with your favorite partner, this isn't usually a problem, but when you aren't exactly feeling a dance...it's hard to pull away and stop (especially if it's a beginner). Maybe that's just something I find personally difficult (non-verbally saying "it's the end...stop dancing with me"), but it would be a HUGE help if the DJ put a half second pause between songs, or blend two totally different beats so that it's easy to tell where the end is.

I don't know if other people have the same issue, but it's one for me.

[djpatricio]

...it would be a HUGE help if the DJ put a half second pause between songs, or blend two totally different beats so that it's easy to tell where the end is.

I don't know if other people have the same issue, but it's one for me.

I wish I had that many salsa dancers here to require that I do that a lot! When I have a lot of salseras/os, I try and do that, but usually I don't have so many great salsa dancers, so I get kind of slack on that when I'm mixing salsa, merengue, punta, reggaeton, etc., all night long. Except when the Baila Salsa Club of Denver came up to see me last year up here in Vail. Then I really had to mind my DJ etiquette!

[cocodrilo]

it would be a HUGE help if the DJ put a half second pause between songs, or blend two totally different beats so that it's easy to tell where the end is.
That's a great point. To keep dancing to another 5-minute song can sometimes be exhausting!

[gte692h]

I'm not saying it's impossible, but you really have to dig in some hardcore record stores. Off topic for a sec--what genres do you normally DJ? I just started DJing salsa around here, but I've been a Deep House/Garage guy for over a decade.
It might be cool to experiment with mixing salsa with jungle, or whatever, like you say you want to do, but truly, I am of the old-school, and I don't think that salsa needs any help to be cooler than it already is.

honestly, i am just beginning. I only recently discovered a passion for dj'ing, although i have loved trance and house music. I have a friend who is teaching me the basics on turntable equipment that he has. Since I am still in college, I dont' have the money to buy equipment. I will, probably in a 4 to 6 months from now.

I would probably lean towards tribal/progressive house or vocal, uplifting trance. However, like I had mentioned earlier, I want to have a definite latin feel in my music, because salsa has given me so much. And I absolutely agree with djpatricio, I don't really wish to change salsa music, but instead to bring the salsa influence into house music. I'm not talking remixes of songs, but a genuine use of latin instruments and vocals. My intended audience is not the world of salsa, but the world of electronica. I strongly feel they have been denied something really warm, and beautiful, that is latin music. In my mind, I have a great vision for it, but I can't put it down in words. I can't put it down in music either, because I am still learning the basics. But I would probably need a recording studio to make the kind of music I want. This is me dreaming far far into the future...

and btw, this has been an excellent, informative thread for me.. thanks to all !

[aragonh]

Buy all the music you can, and really listen to it and know it intimately (you can write all your cds off on your taxes, so buy away!)


I never thought of it like that. Will have to look into it!!


Take chances


Definitely. Have several songs in mind that are done by Fania but are not of the "salsa tune" (Bamboleo w/ Celia Cruz comes in mind)


Practice safe sex, because you'll be getting a lot of love

Isnt that one of the fringe benefits?? :lol:
:ladiesma:


If you play salsa in your car on the way to the club, and then play salsa at the club, and then play salsa on the way home, then you are meant to be a salsa dj, otherwise, stick to dancing


I satisfy those prerequisites. I also sing along to the song while Im dancing!!