You Just Have to Do Two Things Pretty Good

“Successwise, you’re better off being good at two complementary skills than being excellent at one.” —Scott Adams Writing and arranging music and DJing go hand in hand. I don’t know how I at all did one without the other. DJing taught me song form intimately. I knew it, but I didn’t know it. Every time I DJ, my writing and arranging ear gets a little sharper. I’m able to consider what the crowd may or may not like for the situation the music is being created for. Things like this... DJing has you listen to a crazy amount of music and judging it quickly, because you’ve got to get onto the next song. On the hunt. For instance, this week I’m building a deep house set that I’ll want to play and not get bored with. This isn’t the easiest task in the world. But it requires a quick turnaround. It’s a three-hour set, so I bet I’ve listened to 100 hours of music. I haven’t listened to every note. I skip through them, and I’ve got about five hours and 45 minutes, which means I need to find…