As you can probably tell, I love DJing, and recently I’ve started to up my reading level. There are a fair few DJ books out there and so I thought lets buy as many as possible and whittle them down somewhat to give you an idea on the ‘must read’ DJ books out there.
In case you’re on the fence about buying any particular DJ book, or dubious about how much value DJ books can bring, this article should help you out. Let’s get stuck in and run through the top DJ books from my research.
Here are my top ‘How to DJ Books’ plus great DJ books on professional DJs in the scene too. Not all are ‘How to’ exactly, but there are valuable learnings from each to help you progress as a DJ.
Bantam Press
How To DJ (Properly): The Art And Science Of Playing Records
by Frank Broughton & Bill Brewster
Packed full of some great DJing knowledge and information, mainly focused on the record vinyl DJ.
Slightly outdated for the ‘DJ controller‘ type DJ, but the principles are all there.
Especially the addition of ‘The Dancefloor’ Section about play out as a DJ and also Industry advice are useful for any aspiring DJ.
Quick Facts:
Heavy Book
Make sure you put up a sturdy book shelf, this is not a light book, and reflects in the knowledge it shares with you.
295 Pages
Plenty of pages to sift through a comprehensive amount of DJ info.
Practical
Not just theory and technical advice. Some really great advice about how to DJ out of the bedroom.
Pro DJ Quotes
There are plenty of DJ quotes in there, from DJs such as Fatboy Slim and LTJ Bukem. Love that about this book.
Key theme of the book
Taking DJs from the ‘Bedroom DJ’ stage, to learning the basics of DJing through to application in the industry and playing live.
Technical points are covered right from the get go, covering beat matching with some great visuals to support. There’s definitely a focus on the record vinyl DJ.
The DJ industry and practical advice for DJing out live is really helpful, especially if you’re a DJ looking to get out of the bedroom to play in front of people.
Best learning point from the book
By far my favourite point, especially beneficial for you readers of this article (if you’re new to DJing) is page 50 of this book.
It’s a fantastic diagram explaining how to hear which music track is faster than the other. And that’s by separating the two music tracks in your mind, it takes a lot of practice. Focus only the kick drum and this can help you focus on whether which track is faster or slower (then make adjustments required to the tempo).
Groove Press New York
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
by Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton
A massive book for DJs to read and revel in the history of DJing musical genres and styles.
The book explores the beginnings of DJing and casts back in time into the beginnings of genres such as Reggae, US Garage and Acid House to name but a few.
Quick Facts:
606 Pages
A massive DJ related book that’s got plenty of pages to dig into.
Text Heavy
Probably related to the nature of the book. Not many images, quite a text heavy read.
Historic
There’s a fantastic coverage of the history behind genres and the DJs within each.
Real World Stories
Some fantastic stories to enjoy and potentially learn from.
Key theme of the book
This amazing book is steeped with the background knowledge of various genres both current and historic. Not so much a ‘How to DJ’ book as such, but a great book to reveal insights into the world of DJing in the past and how music scenes operated and evolved musically.
Music genres covered from Northern Soul, Reggae, jumping forward to Hip Hop, House and Acid House.
Some really great stories about finding and attending raves in the middle of the field in Hertfordshire (which is where I’m from, how funny is that!). Some of these stories were giving me goose bumps just thinking about attending these amazing raves (I was too young in the late 80s / early 90s to be attending these events).
Best (personal) learning point from the book
My personal learning from the book are points that reveal the development of music styles and genres.
For example the term ‘Garage’ music (in 1985, anyway) meant something different to music lovers and club goers in the USA compared to the UK, who understand it as ‘UK Garage’ (previously known as ‘Speed Garage’).
by Phil Morse
Rethink Press
Rock The Dance Floor!
by Phil Morse
A step by step guide book for DJs looking to start DJing, such as buying equipment, straight through to promoting yourself as a DJ and getting gigs.
A great insight into getting started as a DJ with practical advice on how to DJ parties too.
Quick Facts:
273 Pages
Not too big of a book to get over-whelmed but certainly plenty of pages to digest and learn from.
Easy to Read
Well written and font makes it super easy to digest pages.
Phil Morse
Written by a very well established DJ, with lots of experience to share with DJs.
Logical
It’s so easy to follow. If you’re a logical person who wants to be a DJ then you will love this read.
Key theme of the book
The book explores 5 steps to becoming a DJ. It takes your from Equipment setup, Music, Techniques, Playing Out and Promoting yourself. I couldn’t think of a better way to communicate a book in a more logical manner. Top work Phil Morse
Best learning point from the book
Some of the practical elements the Phil mentions about promoting yourself is invaluable. For example, I never even considered running my own DJ night at a club when I first started out as a DJ. The point is here is that it’s quite hard to get a DJ gig (sometimes) so it takes some networking at clubs and music nights to even get a look in. So my point being is that if you don’t want to network so much, crack on and set up your own night and promote it.
There’s some fantastic points too on music programming and music selection. I love the idea of trusting your instinct on playing the next tune. I’ve naturally had a talent for that, especially DJing Drum n Bass because I know my records so well.
Get to know your records and music collection people, you will start to build up that “gut instinct” on which music track to play next.
DON’T LIKE READING BOOKS?
Check out our video based DJ Course here, taking you from Beginner to Advanced DJ in a matter days.
Black & White Publishing
Calvin Harris: The $100 Million DJ (The Unauthorised Biography)
by Douglas Wight
This book is more a “case study” on how it’s possible to make it as a DJ / Producer in the music industry.
It’s not necessarily a ‘How to DJ’ as such, more of an example how your path to success as a DJ / producer is not always a quick, easy or clear.
Quick Facts:
Case Study
A great example of how persistence and luck can sometimes get you success as a DJ / Producer.
244 Pages
Plenty of pages to read through to draw upon the journey of Calvin Harris.
Inspiring
Fantastically inspirational to see how Adam Wiles AKA Calvin Harris got lucky connecting and networking with people on MySpace to hitting fame and fortune.
Key theme of the book
An exploration into the journey of Calvin Harris, starting from humble beginnings to international stardom. His story is quite motivating and inspiring as it shows the struggle that he had to get noticed and nearly giving up with music to pursue a Cafe business venture. For me, this is a bit of a sliding doors moment in his journey.
Best learning point from the book
Some really great points about how meeting the right people and networking in the best method at the time, AKA MySpace. There are a lot name dropping of people in the industry within this book. Taking this as a positive, you could use this as a bit of research to reach out to these people within the industry.
Also, never give up! You never know what’s the round the corner.
Faber Music
Future DJs: How to DJ
by Austen Smart, Scott Smart and Tom Dent
Fantastic book to learn technical aspects of DJing.
Initially when I opened this DJ book I was blown away by how beautifully put together it was visually and simplistically.
I highly recommend getting this book for someone who’s starting out DJing, or who wants to polish off their skills.
Quick Facts:
152 Pages
Not too long that it’s going to bore the socks off of you. Impactful and highly valuable amount of DJ information to learn.
A4 Size
A great size book for someone looking to get into DJing, making it easy as pie to read.
Amazing Graphics
I was blown away by how simplistic and visual the book is. If you’re a visual learner, this book is for you.
Breadth of Knowledge
Breath of knowledge is great for beginners to level up their skills quickly.
Key theme of the book
The key theme of the book is to educate ‘Future DJs’, and is intended to be a guidebook for someone like you, potentially a new DJ, to follow along from start to finish.
The breadth of knowledge covered is amazing for beginners to learn all of the technicalities of DJing, such as equipment setup, DJing skills, background knowledge of music, performing a DJ mix and the structures of different music genres.
There are amazing quotes from DJs, tutors and music industry people to draw inspiration from too.
Best learning point from the book
Structure of music is different throughout various genres. In order to DJ well, you need understand the structure of music so that you can phrase match effectively and find the best structural parts of songs to mix in together.
In doing so, you can easily start to develop amazing DJ sets. I like the quote from Judy Griffiths (Fabric), “having a perfect sense of timing and connection to what’s happening on the dancefloor will make you stand out”. It’s these gold nuggets of information that make this book stand out, merging the technical with real life practical advise.
Amazon
In The Mix: Discover The Secrets to Becoming a Successful DJ
by Tommy Swindali
Compared to other DJ books out there this is pretty thin on the ground in terms of quantity of pages.
For aspiring DJs out there looking for ‘quick start’ guide into DJing technically and then DJing in clubs live, this book delivers.
Provides some decent value for the money you spend on the book.
Quick Facts:
61 Pages
A very short book for you to read or skim through quickly. Which is a positive if you want to quickly glean DJing insights and knowledge.
Short & Impactful
A short book but definitely has enough value to learn from. Especially find value in the practical aspects of DJing, such as ‘DJ Agents’, ‘Management’ and how to get DJ gigs.
Quick Start Guide to DJing
This is most certainly a quick start intro to DJing. Enough to get your mind in the zone of DJing, but not too much to bore your socks off.
Key theme of the book
Educates you, an aspiring DJ in the equipment, how to select DJ music and organise it. Then ends on the more practical aspects of DJing in real life and what to expect.
Worth a purchase if you just want a very quick read and flavour for getting into DJing from a technical to practical point of view.
Best learning point from the book
That you won’t usually get paid for your DJing services for the first few DJ sets you play. All good experience that can lead you to becoming a more successful DJ in future.
There are some great tips towards the end of the book. One of the best in my opinion is linking up with other DJs in your local area or club nights that you want to DJ at. This will be a great opportunity for you to network, find DJ gigs, make new DJ friends and potentially gain a DJ “mentor”.
Favourite Picks
My favourite book out of all the above is ‘Future DJs: How to DJ‘ by by Austen Smart, Scott Smart and Tom Dent, I think those guys have a done a great job of visualising the art and skills of DJing in a very clear and concise manor.
My second favourite is ‘Rock The Dance Floor!’ by Phil Morse. If you’re looking for a path to success in terms of becoming a DJ, then this book is pretty much a blueprint to get you there in 5 steps.
Summary
My take on DJ books is that it’s best to pick whatever suits the needs of your skills at this point in time. Whether it be inspiration or the beginnings of DJ equipment setup and DJ skills.
The books on this article will certainly help you gain the skills and knowledge, past and present, to understand what you need to do in becoming a superstar DJ, OR just a hobby DJ and that’s ok too!
If you need any advice on DJing, please always feel free to reach out to me on beatmatchguru@gmail.com or via YouTube Channel here.
DON’T LIKE READING BOOKS?
Check out our video based DJ Course here, taking you from Beginner to Advanced DJ in a matter days.
