Dj's don't have to schlep around tons of cd's anymore- just a laptop, a pair of powered speakers, and maybe a wireless mic. They can download anything (most songs for under $1US) and don't have to learn how to cover the original, they just play it. From any genre. And all the ones i've known work cheaper than live musicians...which makes a difference in this economy (in the states).

Which begs another question- how much is your musical talent worth (something many dj's don't have) with the investment in a sophisticated arranger keyboard? Do you make more every time you upgrade?

Many places are paying the same rates they did many years ago. That being said, if the performer can't afford the top of the line, will that upper level disappear due to low sales?

But (and this also refers to DNJ's posts too) there is just "something" about actually watching someone play an instrument and add their own personality - soul - feel, whatever term you want to use, to a song.

Whether it be with styles, or midis or backing tracks or whatever...there is just that indefinable thing that I think DJ's cannot quite match.

I daresay people would seldom, if EVER, go along to just watch a DJ - they go to dance and partake of other activities....but many people WILL for someone playing an instrument (including the voice which is after all the oldest instrument) even if with some form of backing.

And to Spalding I say, yes I do remember that thread - I agreed with you then, and the same for now!

I don't disagree- what brings people and keeps people returning to see a live performer is their appreciation of the aforementioned talent, which you don't need to click a mouse.

So the public is too stupid to see the difference in a person playing a recording be it through a radio, a phone, a computer, midi file or whatever to be able to see the difference in a real musician with real fingers playing notes chords especially more than 2 chords and appreciate the difference. Are humans really going to get that ignorant? Really? That sounds real sad to me.

Seems to me that there will all ways be the teeny boppers who will go for the cute entertaining guys and gals even if they sing out of tune and or off key, like AI and AGT, that's a given. Teeny boppers are just unlearned kids with taste for s**t. I think they are about 95% tone deaf for all the S**t they are smoking, drinking and whatever else they do to get high. It’s pathetic.

However, it seems that there will be a few who are much wiser and who will appreciate the real talent of a human really playing an instrument of any type that takes musical knowledge, practice and dedication.

Don't you think in the future there will be a few intelligent people left who’s brains aren’t fried on drugs and booze. Is society really becoming that stupid. If that's so, how shallow eh? SHALLOW. (FRIED, “BRAIN DEAD DISEASE“). It’s the wave of the future????

I believe that there will always be Saxes, Trumpets, Keyboards and people who will not be brain dead and want to learn to play these instruments.

What does a DJ know but how to make money. Ha ha! And everyone knows money is everything right? Just ask Howard Hughes who died with hundreds of needle marks in his arms.
I feel sorry for people like that. I really do.

100% +1

As long as there are people/musicians with real musical passion that drives them to pick up and learn an instrument rather than just listening to their I-thing, there will be a demand for those instruments. And it will continue to be available per this demand and if it can be made and marketed within the financial limits of said musicians. And like everything else humans manufacture, it will be made with the intention of being better than the last one.

Let us hope the passion of our music and performances rubs off on the next generations.......

I do some DJ'ing and thought you might be interested to know what happens, at least for me...its not just a matter of playing records anymore.

Lets say I have a wedding. I will talk to the Bride and Groom and we work out what they want to have played, sometimes it involves talking to family members or emailing them for requests too. I then obtain any additional songs (I have a library of 18,344 titles already and every single one is legally purchased by me). Every MP3 file I have is 320kbps and because of that each laptop has a 500gb HDD fitted. I try to work well in advance so i can buy actual CD's to rip, sometimes from ebay or charity shops (you can buy a whole CD for £1 instead of 80p for one track as a download, this builds my song database too). As a last resort I will buy them from an online vendor (not Itunes as they did not support 320kbps last time i looked). I then go through each and every song file (which can be a few hundred songs if your covering right through the ceremony, reception and end of night disco). I check lyrics for all the songs to make sure there are no profanities in case anyone is offended. If I must play a song with profanity I make sure I have....or I find the radio edit version. I then play every song to get the BPM and organize them into categories to build the final playlist.

I then divide the playlist up into the various parts of the day and throw in some additional songs because these things always run over time.

Then during the the gig you have to be on the ball - there are no breaks. each track has to be carefully mixed into the next as silences between a track are unacceptable and quickly changes the mood in a room, if during the disco you sense a song is clearing the floor you have to be able to quickly and seamlessly move into another track. Or if someone has a request you have to be able to find it quickly on your HDD or download. Playing tracks seamlessly is the art and involves matching speed and rhythm type (you might have to adjust speed very slightly) and then you mix the tracks to form a seamless transition. If songs don't quite fit together. I will use drum loops to merge the two tracks.

I take an MP3 player with the entire playlist on just in case there is a disaster and two laptops (one is on standby in case my primary laptop crashes - which has never happened). Both running DJ software and connected to my desk via USB soundcards. Which in turn runs through two 800W subs and two 400W active tops. Depending on the venue I take various lighting rigs to illuminate the floor and ceiling and I might also take a third laptop connected to a digital projector. The laptop runs a specially written program for lighting effects or I can use it to display lyrics, and again you have to prepare so the effects match the type of music you play.

Its hard work and totally full on. You don't have to have a musical background, but definitely need a good sense of rhythm. I am not a professional but its enjoyable and very different from playing an arranger.

I have not covered other duties...like talking! I also research the playlist and make notes on certain songs; like how many weeks it was in the charts and who was the artist, news events at the time, how old the groom was and what was number one for hm and her...etc etc.

Any wise professional should do their homework/prep before a show regarding content, playlists etc. Live musicians do take it a few steps further though. After I gather new music, I have to learn how to play it and perform it well. And if my band is performing, I have to distibute the same materials and have them do the same, not to mention juggling the personalities..

I don't want to get into a live vs recorded debate any deeper as that is not the topic here.

I will allude to my previous comments- as long as there is a demand for the product, it will continue to be made available. If the computer keyboard totally replaces the piano keyboard, then it will no longer be necessary to manufacture the product.

But I hope that never happens, and though I don 't know when the first piano was used to perform , the keyboard instrument has been around a long time and seems to endure albeit change.

Without the human aspect, music is nothing more than coordinated noise. I agree with Boo and Wrinkles, someone has to make the music - even music played by DJs and KJs. Someone with individual instruments, guitars, drums, trumpets, saxes, and yes, even arranger keyboards. From what I've been able to garner, much of today's music is written by musicians using arranger keyboards--not synths and PCs. So, at least from my perspective, arranger keyboards will be around longer than most of this forum's members.

A good example of this is concerts. Imagine a Jimmy Buffett concert with nothing but backing tracks. Yep, Jimmy standing up there singing his heart out with a PC sitting on a table next to him. How about a Sinatra or Elvis concert in Vegas with the same setup? You guessed it! The concert goers wouldn't be there. They would be somewhere where there's at least one band member along with the performers on stage. They'd be down in Bossier City, LA watching Don Mason singing his heart out at Ernest's Restaurant and making that keyboard's guitar sound like the best steel player on the planet. They'd be applauding and asking for more while filling his tip jar with 20s.

I was at an American Legion a few weeks ago, a place where I played every Friday night for more than 6 years. Since I left, they added a stage, a large deck overlooking the Susquehanna River and really fixed the place up. When they have a band, even an OMB performer, the place is packed. The evening I was there they decided to have a DJ. There was only a half-dozen people on the deck where he was playing. The brought an OMB duo in the following week, same location, and 75 people were dancing on the deck.

There are a few times when Donny and I disagree - this is one of those times. Sorry Donny.

Good Luck,

Gary

Donny, I am well aware of what's happening musically...I travel all of a fair sized territory, and, as I said, many pro arranger players that are gigging are forced to resort to DJ'ing in order to compete, although there are some still utilizing only the arranger.

My type of gigging was primarily restaurant background, and still appears to be in good demand.

Again, because most arranger sales are to home players, my clinician end of the business is hardly affected.

That's why I took time off from playing when I did, as I am doing a restructuring...I planned for this ahead of time.

My only performing, for the time being, and while I relocate, will consist of Yamaha demos, clinics...plus playing for myself and for friends.

I also have other projects planned for the winter, especially recording, utilizing my bought and paid for Tyros4, so I'm doing okay, and glad to be out of the trenches.

I'll leave the DJ'ing to others....not my thing at all; I'm a player first and foremost, and DJ'ing ain't playing.

Life is good,

Ian