Course Syllabus

Live-Performance Disc Jockey Techniques 3 Credits MUC135, Section 33575 Scottsdale Community College, Department of Music Fall 2015 (September 1 to December 18, 2015) Tuesday Evenings 6:30 PM - 9:10 PM (Room MB-136) Instructor: Rob Wegner, B.S., M.A. ([email protected] or [email protected]); Cell: 480-695-6270 Office Hours: Monday’s 6:00 - 7:30PM (Room MB-139)

Recommended Text:

How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton (Grove Press, 2003). ISBN: 0-8021- 3995-7

Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ by Mark Katz (Oxford University Press, 2012). ISBN-10: 0195331125

Recommended DVD:

Scratch: A Film by Doug Prey by Doug Prey (Palm Pictures, 2001).

Required Gear: Headphones (for labs)

Additional Suggested Reading:

Off the Record by Doug Shannon (1982), Pacesetter Publishing House. Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, The History of the Disc Jockey by Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton (2000), Grove Press. On The Record: The Scratch DJ Academy Guide by Phil White & Luke Crisell (2009), St. Martin’s Griffin. Looking for the Perfect Beat by Kurt B. Reighley (2000), Pocket Books. How to Be a DJ by Chuck Fresh (2001), Brevard Marketing. DJ Culture by Ulf Poschardt (1995), Quartet Books Limited. The Mobile DJ Handbook, 2nd Edition by Stacy Zemon (2003), Focal Press. Turntable Basics by Stephen Webber (2000), Berklee Press.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to: explain the historical innovations that led to the evolution of the modern live performance DJ; describe the typical construction of an industry formatted dance song and how a song's composition relates to segueing; explain the process of determining a song's BPM (beats per minute) and convey its relationship to beat mixing and dance music genres; describe how to cue a song to prepare for a segue with an industry standard CD player and turntable; identify the five primary methods of segueing songs; describe how to program songs to entertain a live (general) audience; and explain how to solicit employment as a DJ. Prerequisites: None

Attendance

You should treat the time allotted for this class like a job (DJ residency). This means that you must come to class, including the period scheduled for the final exam. To avoid being marked absent, you should be prompt and not leave early. It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheet. Take limited breaks at your own discretion. Instructors may drop students with four or more unexcused absences. If you plan to miss a class, inform me (either in person, phone, or e- mail) and do not call the Music Department/school. Assume personal responsibility for missed lecture notes and assignments.

In accordance with the Music Department at SCC, an attendance policy will be enforced as follows:

2 absences = -10 points/1 letter grade 3 absences = -20 points/2 letter grades 4 absences = -30 points/Automatic failure and withdrawal from class 2 tardies or early dismissals = 1 absence

Grading

Attendance/Participation: 30% Mid-term Exam (Multiple Choice): 20% Class Presentation: 15% Eight Minute Song Set During Lab 3 15% Final Exam (Multiple Choice): 20% *** Bonus Point(s) opportunities such as sharing gear during labs and participation in campus performances involving the DJ classes.

Statement of Civility

Instructors at SCC are expected to be professional, courteous, respectful, and empathic to students -

- Begin and end class on time - Be prepared for each class session - Provide academic feedback and grade assignments in a timely manner - Be available for individual consultation - Clarify assignments and inform students of any adjustments to the class schedule

Students are expected to be reflective, courteous, respectful, and emphatic to classmates, instructors, and other College staff assisting in your learning -

- Be in class and be on time - Be prepared for class sessions - Participate in class activities - Follow instructions and complete assignments - Keep up with and turn in assignments - Put forth your best effort - Ask questions when you don’t understand - Maintain knowledge of your grade status - Contact instructor immediately about concerns or situations that interfere with your success in class - Comply with policies in the College catalog and student handbook

Course Policies

Students are responsible for the college policies included in the college catalog and the student handbook. **** Please do not eat before or during class in the classroom ****

Withdrawal Policy

• Student may initiate an official withdrawal from any course by submitting a withdrawal form with required signatures to the A&R office within published deadlines. • Failure to attend any classes is not a guarantee for a refund or an excuse of debt incurred through registration. See Refund Policy in the 2015-2016 College Catalog page 241. • Official date of withdrawal is last date of attendance as determined by student’s withdrawal or as reported by the instructor. • The official date of withdrawal will determine degree of refund, if any. • Failure to file official withdrawal form within published deadlines can result in a failing grade and may affect refund of course tuition and fees. Additional information on Withdrawals can be found in the 2015-2016 College Catalog page 252.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it alters working conditions and creates a hostile environment or reasonably interferes with, limits, or deprives a student of the ability to participate in or benefit from any educational program or activity.

Sexual harassment and discrimination in any college education program or activity, is prohibited. Students should report any discrimination and/or harassment they experience and/or observe to the Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs (SCC’s Title IX Coordinator); located in the Administration Building (AD), phone 480-423-6300.

To view the full Sexual Harassment Policy, refer to the Student Handbook – page 254

Academic Support Services

These services are free to registered students:

Writing Center (LC379) M-Th: 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM Fridays: 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM

Counseling Services (SC-108) M-Th: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM If you have a specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disability and require academic accommodations, please contact the Disability Resources & Services office located in SC-144. You will need to provide appropriate documentation of your disability. Please contact DRS at 480-423-6517.

SCC General Education Statement

General Education enhances students’ abilities in critically analyzing and effectively communicating in Written, Oral, Visual, and Numerical form. General Education is WOVeN through the curriculum and co- curricular experiences at Scottsdale Community College.

WOVen: General education enhances students’ abilities in critically analyzing information and ideas and effectively communicating in Written, Oral, Visual, and Numerical form. General Education is WOVen through the curriculum at Scottsdale Community College.

Labs

Three or more classes are devoted to “hands-on” training. These labs cover basic techniques such as cueing and mixing. While it’s not required, students have the option to bring two turntables or two DJ-CD players, as well as a DJ mixer to the lab sessions. Bonus points may be awarded to students that share their gear (for lab purposes) with other students. There may be opportunities to earn bonus points throughout the semester.

Class Presentation

Each student shall present the topic of his or her choice as it relates to the DJ profession. This presentation should take approximately 20 minutes in duration and will count towards 20% of the final course grade. Class presentations are scheduled for the second half of the semester. The presentation shall be graded on the student’s ability to demonstrate comprehensive research on the subject, the relevancy of the topic to the DJ profession, and the student’s overall presentation of the subject (i.e., speaking skills, mastery of any demo gear, etc.). Students are required to submit their topic during the mid-term exam.

Schedule (Note: This schedule may change depending on class needs)

Weeks Two through Four

I. Live-Performance DJ History A. The First Wave (1943-1969) 1. World War II Paris Underground 2. First Live-Performance DJ‘s 3. Origin of the Word "Discotheque" 4. Sock Hops and Platter Parties 5. Bob Casey (First Double Turntable System) 6. American Rock Records in Europe 7. Francis Grasso (Pioneers Slip-Cueing/Beat Mixing, 1969) 8. Vietnam War and its Impact on Dance Music B. The Second Wave (1974-1982) 1. Philadelphia (TSOP) and Growth of Disco 2. Walter Gibbons (First 12" Record for DJ Mixing) 3. Kool Herc (Turntablism/Record Looping) 4. Origins of Hip Hop (Bronx, NY) 5. Grand Wizard Theodore (Invents Scratch) 6. Influence of Studio 54 and Saturday Night Fever on Pop Culture 7. Technics SL-1200MK2 "Direct-Drive" Turntable 8. The Decline of Disco C. The Third Wave (1985-2000) 1. Influence of Philadelphia Based Salsoul Label Producers (Computer Based Disco) 2. Frankie Knuckles and Chicago House Music 3. Larry Levan and New York Garage Music 4. Detroit Techno 5. Origin of Raves and "Superstar" DJ's 6. Technology's Impact on DJ Industry (CD players, MP3's, etc.) D. The Fourth Wave (2003-2009) 1. Serato Scratch Live (2004) 2. Video DJ (Serato Video-SL) 3. Ableton Live (2001) 4. Formalized DJ Education 5. DJ Mashup/Vegas-style DJ (i.e. DJ AM) E. The Current Period in Historical Perspective/Future DJ’s II. Vinyl Background Introduction

Week Five

I. Vinyl Background Continued (LP, EP, SP) II. Typical Dance Music Song Construction A. Song Layout in Detail 1. Intro 2. Post 3. Verse(s) 4. Chorus/"Hook" 5. Break/Outro B. Location in a Song that a DJ Typically Conducts a Segue (and Locations to Avoid)

Week Six (Beat Mixing)

I. Beats Per Minute (BPM) A. How to Determine a Song's BPM 1. Finding the Beat/Foreground v. Background Beats 2. Counting Beats Per 60 Seconds with Stopwatch (and 30 Seconds Times Two) 3. Employing a DJ Mixer's Built-in BPM Counter (When Available) 4. Employing a Metronome (and/or Beat Counting Device) B. The Relationship Between BPM and Beat Mixing 1. Beat Mixing with Narrow BPM Range of ±5 BPM Between Songs 2. Problems with Beat Mixing with a Range Greater than ±10 BPM Between Songs C. Dance Music Genres and BPM Range (Typical) 1. Hip Hop/Rap (60 to 110 BPM) 2. Acid Jazz (80 to 126) 3. Tribal House (120 to 128) 4. House, Garage, Euro-Dance, Disco-House (120 to 135 BPM) 5. Trance, Hard House, Techno (130 to 155 BPM) 6. Breakbeat (130 to 150 BPM) 7. Jungle, Drum-n-Bass, Happy Hardcore (160 to 190 BPM) 8. Hardcore Gabba (180+ BPM) D. Genres Not Confined to a Specific BPM Range (Rock, Country, Disco, Salsa/Merengue, etc.) II. Review for Mid-Term Exam

Week Seven

Mid-Term Exam (Students submit presentation topics)

Weeks Eight through Eleven

I. Beat Mixing Part II II. The Five Common Types of DJ Segues A. Classic Volume Fade B. The "32-in-and-out" (32 Beat Segment Mix) 1. Finding Comparable Song(s) within BPM Range 2. Cueing to First Beat of Intro 3. Adjusting Pitch Adjust on Turntable/CD Player 4. Matching Beats/Adjusting Volume During 32 Beat Segment C. The Extended Blend (64 or More Beats) D. The "Slam" (aka "Dropping It on the One") E. The "Scratch and Slam" (Effect and Slam) F. Choosing the Appropriate Segue to Facilitate Music Genre(s) III. Begin Student Presentations

IV. Programming A. Programming Theories 1. Programming Based on Owner/Manager/Promoter Instructions 2. Programming Based on "Reading the Crowd" 3. Programming Based on Past Performance(s), Appropriateness of Venue B. Programming Dance Clubs/Events (General) 1. Pre-Show 2. Show a. Constructing Sets b. Sandwiching (aka "Breaking" New Songs) c. Transitions Between Sets d. Rotating the Dancefloor; Listening/Energy Fatigue; Momentum e. Peaking Energy 3. End/Afterhours C. Programming Weddings 1. Pre-Wedding Music/Format Meetings 2. Ceremony Music 3. Reception Music 4. Post-Wedding Feedback D. Procuring Music/Building a Music Library

V. Soliciting DJ Employment A. Having the Right Attitude/Expectations B. Business Cards C. Creating a Resume/Package D. DJ Website E. Demonstration (Demo) CD 1. Demo CD Mechanical Licensing through Harry Fox Agency (HFA) 2. Demo CD Compliance with ASCAP, BMI, RIAA, and Copyright Laws 3. Choice of Songs for the Demo 4. Appearance of CD F. Networking G. DJ Agents, Publicists, and Personal Managers

Week Twelve

Lab I I. Cueing a Song A. Headphones (Finding Cue/Headphone Volume on Mixer) B. Turntables 1. Finding the First (Intro) Note on Vinyl 2. Cueing on First Note Employing the Classic Start/Stop Timed Cue 3. Cueing on First Note Employing Slipmats 4. Spotting (aka Marking) a Record to Cue Visually C. CD Players (and Digital DJ Software) 1. Finding the First Note with Forward/Tracking Buttons 2. Cueing on First Intro Note (Digitally) II. Learning a Radio Fade III. Learning a “Slam”

Week Thirteen – Students should bring headphones to class

Lab II

Students will learn how to perform a 32-in-and-out beat-mix/blend.

Week Fourteen - Students should bring headphones to class

Lab III (Each student is expected to mix an 8 minute song set with a minimum of 4 songs, which is worth 15% of final grade).

Week Fifteen

I. Legal Issues and DJ’s A. The Industry Standard/Mobile DJ Insurance (Torts) B. ASCAP/BMI C. AHRA of 1992/RIAA D. HFA/Songfile II. Arizona Liquor Law (as it relates to Club DJ’s/Special Events) III. Careers Related to the DJ Profession IV. Student Presentations V. Guest speaker on mobile DJ opportunities VI. Review Final Exam

Week Sixteen: Final Exam

Classroom Policies/Professional Atmosphere Live-Performance Disc Jockey Techniques MUC135 Department of Music, Scottsdale Community College

I have read and understand the policies for this class:

Course: MUC135 Section# 33575 Semester/Year: Fall 2015

______Student Signature Date

______Student (Print Name)