Laidback Luke's 10 Rules Of DJing - Free DJ Tutorial 

01. Command the troops. 02. Never play the same set twice. 03. Elements over key. 04. If it's in key mix long, if it's out of key mix short. 05. Grab the decks. 06. If you make a mistake own it. 07. Set to manual. 08. Always think 'What should I do next?' 09. Think in clouds. 10. Don't just show up, turn up. For more context, watch the video/course.

I’ve been spinning 30 years and agree with all of these tips. 👍🏾

Not a big fan of the music he plays but Luke seems like a really nice guy and I agree with most of he says here.

So many “superstar” DJ’s love to break rule number 2

Phil and Laidback Luke seem like they were made for giving lessons on DJ'ing! Laidback Luke is sooooo Laidback!!! Hahaha You make it easy to listen to you!

This is a FREE sample lesson from "Laidback Luke's Creative DJing" course - find out more here: djtips.co/luke-sample What are some of your "rules for DJing"? Let us know 👇

That is a really eloquent and well thought-out colleague. Respect!

Great tips! I was djing at a small lounge over the weekend and I was pleasing small groups by the end of the night everyone was dancing. I also stopped playing songs I don’t like. Thank you from LA!

Two of the most giving teachers ever. Mad respect from a radio DJ, y'all.

Tried your 10 rules Luke and they worked perfectly for me Thanks for the tips

These are great rules and this is such a great video. I love that Luke promotes DJing and shares his developed skill sets, with other DJ’s. Keep promoting the art 👌

i agree on all 9 points. except for rule no. 1: As an open format DJ, playing the music i love is a natural high and makes us DJs feel better with our music. BUT, when an event comes, like a wedding, and you have TONS of different people with different tastes and age, and when a request comes in from a guest or audience, then that song is their Jam, and even if i might not feel that certain song BUT they do, i still have done my job. my taste is second to their request. last night, i did a wedding and 3 hours of mixing, and i can say that 60% of those songs were their request. i get a text message from the bride and groom and they tell me they had so much fun with the music. SO, case in point: You dont necessarily play the music you like to make money. IF i play the music i like for a certain event and persist on my taste, then i have lost the "relationship" with the crowd.

How about "elements" over bpm AND key. As a DJ myself I feel like this is one of the hardest to get over. I think what it really comes down to is experience and knowing when to drop which song at the right time regardless of the genre, bpm, key etc...

When im on a set and touch my Shoulders Kungfu Moves might come out😂 Thats all i learned from this episode😂

Thanks for the tips i love videoes like this. Please share more on youtube.

Luke you hit it on the head with the key and elements. So true!!! Always the elements over key! Why drain the dance floor energy over that perfect robotic boring sound. Keep everyone On the edge 😁 I love this real djing interview!!

Okay I just got finished listening to laid-back Luke and his 10 tips on DJing.. excellent he had it straight from the start.. thank u laidback Luke thank digital DJ you guys get five stars..

I'm already thinking about which DJ video to watch next.

Totally agree with not getting overly hung up on key. Fairly early on I learned about mixing in key, and I did it obsessively. But after that I relaxed a bit, and let go of that clinical, formulaic approach, and I think the end result is often much better. At the end of the day, if it sounds right, it sounds right. I'm often playing in +/- 10-16% pitch ranges with some tracks, so I really can't rely on the displayed key. It all comes down to knowing your music library well. Obviously this depends on your style and genres, DnB and a lot of house is fairly consistent with BPM, but if you're mixing newer and older hard trance or hardstyle tracks you can be looking at a difference of over 10 bpm between tracks. As cliché as it sounds, it's all about feeling the music, no amount of data can match what you actually feel.

I loved it. Thanks a lot for the video 😀

I would love to see that at the back of my shirt when I DJ, " Do Not Tap My Shoulder Or Kung Fu Moves Might Come Out" Lol!

A good set of rules to follow! I like that watching the crowd keeps mentioned a lot of the times - something personally I don't see happening that often in clubs. The DJs just look as if they're programming something really important and never lift their eyes from the decks...

i am very shy on my gigs haha but these tips would help me

Bloody great video! ❤🎉😮

Thankyou for this video...great help from a pro as laid-back as Luke is!!!

I've been spinning since 1975 and his explanation is on point I couldn't have said it better.

Specially love the rule: grab the decks! Djing is not just pushing buttons. In general I‘d advise every beginner to also learn to spin vinyl, helps you to learn so much about music and also improve your skills even with digital

Rule 2: Never play the same set twice *Tiesto laughs in $$*

this is great, one of the reasons i keep subscribed to Digital DJ Tips - tons of amazing great info to keep my on top of my game. thank you!

Oh yes

Very good info, spitting facts here. However the point about the sync button keeps showing up with the older DJ,s. Its definitely not true. Get the skillset to mix/train without it yes. But as soon as you mastered it, use sync to your advantage. You'll have more time working on the track playing, engaging the crowd, mixing the next track. Long story short; Sync frees up valueble time for creative mixing.

Great tips however I disagree with nr. 8. Thinking about what to do next constantly can take you out of the moment. Sometimes you can let a track play for 1 or two minutes if it's a good one. You can enjoy yourself and interact with the crowd for a bit, more fun for everyone!

Rule #6 is why I started posting all my mixes even the ones with mistakes. :-D

Luke is a great and clever Dj!

loved this tutorial! Thanks Phil and Luke!

SICK SICK SICK SIIIICK 10 AWESOME ADVICES 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I just bought the course because of this content.

Possibly two of the best DJ teachers on yt! I have my first club gig this month and first bar gig also, have you got any advice?

About sync: Most entry level controllers have way too small pitch faders and jogwheels to have fun beatmatching manuallly. I use sync on my DDJ-SR. Coming from vinyl & CDJ's the pitchfaders are just too small to use them all the time.

One of the few big DJ'S that can actually DJ really well.

Great advice!!!

You certainly 'made it' as a DJ if you can earn a decent living and never have to play music you don't like :)

Way bigger than just the Key is so right.Plus one does not have to blend the separate keys together.Ways around that.Not always have to blend long in mixes.

Yes, the last rule! Enjoy the ride as well.

I like this.

Switch to manual. Oh Yes !!. Can honestly say in the whole time ive owned my controller, ive never turned Sync on once.

Spot on!

0:29 ❤ 10:37 12:51

Great! 🔥

Wow very very cool! Thought number 4 was my best rule but they kept getting better and better, Thank You Awesome .

Fully agree with elements over key. Nice video, some great insights 👍

Amazing!!

Own your mistakes. Unless you accidentally stop the wrong deck on a busy night and have to start it again cause the next track wasn't prepared. Happened to me last week. Luckily I had a Hot cue set up and managed to get it back to the chorus pretty quick. But damn I felt like Ant-Man after that

Thats how i dj i look at the crowd and play what i like

Thank you for the great content.

Those denons are gorgeous 👀

Luke Rules 👍🏻

Okay that OH YIEH song between every rule is really starting to get on my nerves

I’m gonna apply these tips to my Djing!!

I kinda put myself on edge, I get scared every night...I do this 3-4 nights a week.. You get to a certain part of the night where everything clicks and it all falls into place and after that, you can do no wrong as you have the crowd at your fingertips. Sometimes it takes longer than other times but you are there to entertain, you are a performer.

"Never play music you don't like" nice one i'll tell the bar manager that when i'm asked to spin mr brightside for the 20th time

Wait...there's a sync button? My vinyl turntables don't have that. Lol

The golden rule to never play anything you don't like hasn't always worked for me though. I recently played a tune which I personally thought was meh to tone things down between bangers and all the girls got on the dancefloor and the guys followed, so you never know. I think some DJs are lucky that what they personally like is what their audience also likes. This sort of thing has happened to me several times so I often drop tracks which I think might do well but which I don't necessarily love. For me this is part of the fun of DJing, the element of surprise, which both works ways: some times I am surprised, some times I surprise the crowd.

Kung fu moves might come up 🤣💪🏽🙌🏽

LUKE please ask them to release Prime 5 soon with big wheels 🙏🏼😎

Sooo tru

Rule nr 7 is so important. Sync still leaves so many room for mistakes. your library has to be perfect (grids, bpm, cues...) and you won't have that all the time. You must be the one in control and sync can backfire badly if it won't work properly.

I'm actually a fan of using sync. Of course you should learn to manually beat match but after you learn it and become proficient at it sync is nothing more than a tool in your inventory to help free up time to focus on something else. I look at beat matching more of like a pilot learning how to get out of an aircraft stall. You aren't going to use it much but thank God you know it when you have to.

this was actually pretty good..

LL from the NL

💘

Those are good rules to go by. Mine are different but I do like his. I judge a successful DJ career on two fronts. #1 How long have you lasted? I see too many DJs that come and go. Playing for just two years does not cut it in my book. I meet DJs all the time that tell me that they used to be a DJ, then wait for my response and not get one. Hmm... You're 30 years old and out of the game already? #2 Did you or have you made a lot of money? Man, there are just too many broke DJ's out there. I say that the top 10% in any field should make a lot of money. I meet broke DJs that can't even afford their gear. If you are that good, why are you playing for chump change I ask many DJs.

That was funny to see that I have the exact same rules all 10 checked so this course is not needed for me then :-)

I already do all this

I will LATE to school and come BACK to home because of watching this, so my name is Lateback Darren😉

Isn’t he Detective Dan “Douche” Decker from Lucifer??

Kung fu moves might come out 🤣💪🏼🤟🏼

Rule number 10! Don't just DJ, people want a showman and also the crowd is more likely to enjoy the DJing if you are as well.

👍

luke called us all deckheads lmao

Yo I swear I've wanted to bring out my karate moves at times lol.

Kung Fu moves might come out 💪😂😂😂

Playing what they like but what you like but not anything you don't like 🤔.Think about that for a moment.So always play what you like but also reserve a time to what the audience prefers.

I'd disagree slightly, I play tracks I don't like but if it makes the punters happy and makes 3 mins of my life easier then i'm happy.

3:45 I look at my tracks just like cards too !!!!

I've never played the same set twice but the people who make 17x more than me? 👀........

The ten commandments

Good video! Wise suggestions. 👊 Using the sync buttons on these controls and decks is so cheating! If you’re using those YOU are NOT a DJ!

luke you say it right don't act like a clown ...did you told it too dimitri vegas and like mike or timmy trumpet or someone of the edm main stage from tomorrowland they are all the time on the tables jumping around next to the djgear like litte kids wanna be all the the time in the spot or be the man...and they also mixing always the same djset mix after mix year after year and also mixing in when the brake falls and fade out and the voices begin not even one beat was sync....im djing over 28 years started with sl mk2 technics there was noy key match no effect no bpm on the screen realy old scool making effects with the vinyldesks right on the moment you think something scratching...spinning back or forwards playing around with the faders or eq's that was djing not everything digital and sync in the beat there is nothing on..they getting easy and quick money for doing nothing..greatz...

Rule #10 Don’t be turn into Steve aoki Got it...!!!

11. Lear how to dance! Dj's who can't dance are terrible ah ah ah

"Never play anything you dont like." ????? Not totally sure on this one, if you want to play your music stay at home.... Dont forget who's paying your wages...

pity he plays such terrible music

Never play anything you don’t like... you are full of shit... I’m against playing a whole set of something you don’t like but never play anything you don’t like ...that’s bullshit... I think a dj should just do what works for the crowd and them it’s a partnership .