Which software?

Mixing 103

Everybody thinks theirs is the best

So now that we have gone through your equipment, we must talk about software. These days you will hear people tell you that they prefer Serato over Traktor, or Traktor over Rekord Box, but you must remember that ultimately it's what you feel most confident with using. Most will stick with their first software they use, yet it's important to know the differences in them as well. Being knowledgable in more than one could give you an advantage, especially when you might use them in any event. There is no ultimate or perfect one but all come close these days.

They all work the same

There may be a lot of choices but all work essentially the same. So what they all have in common? 

• First and foremost you will always see a visual of two decks with the waveforms of the songs being played in the middle or top. 
• The waveforms will always have some type of marker indicating 4 beats and 16 beats, which is important for visualizing the part in which the song is at in any given moment. Some include color schemes that help with mixing vocals or knowing where the bass is.
• The visual for your decks will have a BPM counter, and to the bottom or side you will have a sampler, hot cue, and loop options. 
• The software will analyze the songs you play and tell you around the top somewhere the key or chord you are playing at.
• Absolute bottom will have a library with search functions, and the ability to sub divide your music into catagories of choosing. This becomes very important when organizing your library.

If you take your time and look at these softwares you can see that they always try to replicate the actual look of your controller, giving you a representation of your equipment on your laptop screen. In fact it's actually possible to DJ with the software only, and knowing the right shortcut keys can make you sound just as good. 

What does it do exactly?

In short it augments the skills of a DJ. Having all the visual information and the ability to sort through your music faster, allows someone to better play with techniques like splicing, adding instrumentals, scratching, and changing music on the fly. Features they have while sometimes controversial also help with beat-matching with sync buttons, and slow automated tempo changes. Advanced DJ's also use other software to create music while doing shows live, but of course with pre-recorded samples as well.

Old school

With the rise of the digital age and new DJ's that have come out with it, the older generations will discount the skill of the current popular Dj's due to the fact that software helps with what was once a manual skill one had to learn in order to DJ. While we must show respect for those that came before us, it's important to remember that with the changing landscape new skill and techniques are emerging, replacing older ones that are now automated. Also remember that the old CDJ's or vinyls that were once used have evolved too, and show digital screens on the controller themselves with their own software.