DJ Tips: 15 Common DJ Terms You Might Not Know
For young people who are pursuing or getting into DJing, these DJ terms are an important key to learning the craft. Many people have never heard of most of them, so MUSE INC has put together 15 essential terms in the post below. We hope it's useful for anyone on the DJ/producer path.
Non-stop (Nonstop): Non-stop refers to a mix made of many different tracks blended seamlessly (a bit like a medley). The term is common among DJs and in dance music mixing.
Mix: Blending tracks together into a non-stop mix. A good DJ mixes so smoothly that listeners can hardly tell when one track ends and the next one begins.
Remix: A new arrangement, in a different style or genre, of a song that is already known… For example, Motorcycle – As The Rush Comes (Gabriel & Dresden Chill Mix) means the track "As The Rush Comes" written by the group Motorcycle and remixed by Gabriel & Dresden in a chill style.
Original Mix: The original version, the first mix of a track written by a DJ. If the track is good, other DJs will pick it to remix or to play in their compilation mixes.
Extended Mix: A longer version than the Original Mix (with the full intro/outro, breakdowns and climax).
Vocal Mix: A mix with a singer's vocals (usually a female voice in Vocal Trance tracks).
Instrumental Mix: A mix with the vocals removed, leaving only the instruments.
Dub: An instrumental remix (without vocals) with some extra sound effects added.
Edit: A version of a track reworked for a particular DJ's own purposes.
Radio Edit: A version edited for radio play, usually shorter than the original recording.
Artist Album: An album of tracks written by a single DJ. Releasing an artist album isn't easy, because the DJ usually needs to be famous and have plenty of hits… DJs typically release an artist album at around 28–30 or older, after writing lots of tracks and playing in many clubs around the world… only then do they think about releasing one.
Example: Armin Van Buuren's artist album Shivers, made up entirely of tracks written by AVB together with a few other artists.
Compilation Album: An album of tracks chosen and mixed together by a DJ, usually around a theme. It holds 12–15 tracks and runs 60–90 minutes. For example: In Search Of Sunrise mixed by DJ Tiesto.
Compilation: CDs featuring many different artists, such as Dream Dance, Future Trance, Trancemaster or Serious Beats.
White Label: A record with a plain white label, usually released to test the market; it is sold widely but in limited numbers.
Vinyl: A record played by a needle running in its grooves, with analogue sound. A side lasts 7 to 15 minutes on average, so it holds one or at most two tracks or mixes. The sound quality is better than CD, but the capacity is small and the record is easily damaged if scratched. Vinyl comes in three sizes: 12″, 10″ (for LPs, or long-play records) and 7″ (for singles).
Promo Vinyl: A DJ's promotional record, not released on the open market. It is usually a trial pressing sent to DJ friends and listeners to get feedback. If lots of people like it and the feedback is good, the single gets released… if not, it's just treated as a draft recording. Promo vinyls carry the DJ's latest mixes.
Source: Tinnhac
