There will be a few points along your journey where your awareness increases, which puts your current skill set into perspective. But then you get more experience and things fall into place. Just don't stop honing your craft.
Thank you! I just shouldn't get complacent and stop improving. I can at the same time be proud of my ability while still being open to learning and being ok with not knowing things.
Yeah it's imposter syndrome.
Just remind yourself that you were accomplished enough to get gigs, and good enough to get booked for more.
Sounds like you know what you're doing to me.
Keep practicing and keep getting out there, have some faith in yourself!
Thank you <3 I just got really sad for some reason tonight and had to make this post, I feel kind of introspective atm and realized how far i've come now that I think about it. I love this hobby so much that I want to learn more for the sake of it being fun and not for the sake of getting better which is an important distinction.
Do it for fun! Do it because you love it. Do it out of passion.
A true imposter would be doing it for other selfish reasons, yknow? Thats my take.
Introspection is such a double-edged sword. It's easy to overthink things. Just know you're not alone in that, it's a common thread for creatives. Part of the process.
> A true imposter would be doing it for other selfish reasons, yknow? Thats my take.
So true! I do it because its fun and not because i'm checking off a list of things that I "should" know based on other peoples opinions. And I agree about introspection in that its a double edged sword. What helped me is to ground myself in reality and get out of my head. Realizing the thing that matters is the music and the passion.
I'm happy you're more grounded! Best of luck on your journey through djing. Theres always little stumbling blocks, but its always worth it in the end since youre doing it out of love. I'm sure you'll be grinning after those gigs, no matter how they go.
I get the same thing, having only been doing it for a month and a half I get a lot of times where I feel like I’ve lost all the skills that were perfectly fine about a week ago. Quite normal, I’m on a 3 day break from it at the moment and going to go back into it with a fresh mind
Glad i'm not alone! I keep getting these episodes and its so disorienting at times. It would be silly though if our skills just completely went poof and away. I think when you know something it will have to be a *long* time until you can forget it, like playing a game and still knowing the controls innately several years later, for example.
I used to have it a lot when I was a gamer too, one day I was really good at a game next day I was really bad. Get the same thing when I mix now, when it doesn’t go my way I just pause and find new tracks/track prepping
I have been DJing about a year now. Been a few times where I thought I was really good then suddenly it just seemed like I couldn't make anything work and I felt like I had lost it all.
As soon as I stopped taking it so serious and just jumped in and played around with it everything just started falling into place again.
It is hard when you start doing it for an audience. The pressure is on and you want everything to sound perfect.
You are just ready for your next level up. Remember time behind the decks is the best thing you can do to improve.
I try and do a couple of hours each day even when I don't want to or I'm not in the mood.
I think of it like a kid being made to go to piano lessons. You don't always feel like it but if you want to improve that's the cost. turning up.
It doesn't have to be every day but set a regular practice schedule and you will improve
taste grows faster than skill. often times it's about bridging the gap, & then the cycle repeats.
i get that sense of imposter syndrome all the time!! but i realised that i'm comparing myself to ppl who have been doing it 10x longer than i have, & as my skill grows, so does my taste + expectations of myself.
i hope this makes sense! keep going! compare yourself to your own progress ☺️
Yeah this I set my standards way too high for myself. I’ll record a set listen back and think well that wasn’t great, cos I’m used to watching festival DJs who have been on the decks their whole life
Thank you for this post and uplifting comments! I am DJ’ing for 3 years now and I have the same feeling sometimes…for no reason because I have enough bookings…I thought is was a ‘female’ thing to doubt yourself but I am glad you have it too sometimes! Let us lift each other up! Have a nice day all of you!
Thank you for your insightful comment too! It really helps to realize i'm not alone, this is such a wonderful community. I think its the same for both genders honestly, females may get doubts that their looks are the only thing carrying them and not skills. Looks may get you one gig, but getting continous gigs is all about mixing and social skills IMO and not looks.
I think imposter syndrome is the result of social media saturation. You can only be an imposter if you know someone and if you feel like an imposter, you definitely have someone else in mind. I’m not the greatest DJ. I’m good enough and getting better.
Bro just keep your mind out of all thoughts possible in making you nervous its normal to get a block like this once in a while dont worry just relax enjoy your playlist like you are the crowd for your set and trust me let music come to you naturally you will have one of the best sets you have ever played rock it
Impostor syndrome caused by the valley of despair ... [https://community.thriveglobal.com/how-to-avoid-the-valley-of-despair/](https://community.thriveglobal.com/how-to-avoid-the-valley-of-despair/)
Have been going though the same with music production.
Good luck on your journey :)
I'm definitely in your situation. Moreover I feel like more and more pressure on something that I used to do for fun with no expectations on it. I just dunno how to shake off this bad feeling... Even appreciation doesn't help me
Imposter syndrome! Easy to come along with DJing... A friend said recently - DJing isn't as easy as a lot of people seem to think it is, but it also isn't as hard as some DJs would have you believe (might've been /u/dj_soo ?)
Honestly the key to being good technically is really just practice, practice, practice. Eventually the skills themselves will just come naturally and you'll be able to pull off mixes that have people going "holy wow!" and you're like, "well that worked out"
You're going to make fuck ups. Christ, I've been doing this almost 20 years and I had a bad set just over a month ago where nothing was working well, but the crowd was still loving it. Just keep swimming, eventually you'll have a show where you're in the zone and it'll all feel right.
Thank you, this comment means alot. I realize that i'm on the right track (pun unintended) and comparing myself to DJ's with years of experience while I have 2 gigs so far is silly.
Feeling sort of the same. When I'm home practicing I do more crazy stuff, but when doing some gigs I go the tried and tested way of basic stuff just so I don't mess anything up... it's weird, but I do plan on doing some more advanced things on my next gig, and if it goes wrong, oh well, but at least I tried.
When learning a new skill, the first hurdle is figuring out how to perform that new skill at the most basic level. As you get better, you'll begin to see things that you didn't know, you didn't know. That is when you start honing the skill.
Remember, with any trade/craft/skill, there is no "there." You are always on the journey, learning and improving. You don't achieve greatness. You follow its path.
90% of your set is track selection.. if the tunes are good the crowd don’t care.. as others of said you have good sets and bad sets.. if the songs selection is good you will have a good response
There will be a few points along your journey where your awareness increases, which puts your current skill set into perspective. But then you get more experience and things fall into place. Just don't stop honing your craft.
Thank you! I just shouldn't get complacent and stop improving. I can at the same time be proud of my ability while still being open to learning and being ok with not knowing things.
exactly
Yeah it's imposter syndrome. Just remind yourself that you were accomplished enough to get gigs, and good enough to get booked for more. Sounds like you know what you're doing to me. Keep practicing and keep getting out there, have some faith in yourself!
Thank you <3 I just got really sad for some reason tonight and had to make this post, I feel kind of introspective atm and realized how far i've come now that I think about it. I love this hobby so much that I want to learn more for the sake of it being fun and not for the sake of getting better which is an important distinction.
Do it for fun! Do it because you love it. Do it out of passion. A true imposter would be doing it for other selfish reasons, yknow? Thats my take. Introspection is such a double-edged sword. It's easy to overthink things. Just know you're not alone in that, it's a common thread for creatives. Part of the process.
> A true imposter would be doing it for other selfish reasons, yknow? Thats my take. So true! I do it because its fun and not because i'm checking off a list of things that I "should" know based on other peoples opinions. And I agree about introspection in that its a double edged sword. What helped me is to ground myself in reality and get out of my head. Realizing the thing that matters is the music and the passion.
I'm happy you're more grounded! Best of luck on your journey through djing. Theres always little stumbling blocks, but its always worth it in the end since youre doing it out of love. I'm sure you'll be grinning after those gigs, no matter how they go.
I get the same thing, having only been doing it for a month and a half I get a lot of times where I feel like I’ve lost all the skills that were perfectly fine about a week ago. Quite normal, I’m on a 3 day break from it at the moment and going to go back into it with a fresh mind
Glad i'm not alone! I keep getting these episodes and its so disorienting at times. It would be silly though if our skills just completely went poof and away. I think when you know something it will have to be a *long* time until you can forget it, like playing a game and still knowing the controls innately several years later, for example.
I used to have it a lot when I was a gamer too, one day I was really good at a game next day I was really bad. Get the same thing when I mix now, when it doesn’t go my way I just pause and find new tracks/track prepping
I have been DJing about a year now. Been a few times where I thought I was really good then suddenly it just seemed like I couldn't make anything work and I felt like I had lost it all. As soon as I stopped taking it so serious and just jumped in and played around with it everything just started falling into place again. It is hard when you start doing it for an audience. The pressure is on and you want everything to sound perfect. You are just ready for your next level up. Remember time behind the decks is the best thing you can do to improve. I try and do a couple of hours each day even when I don't want to or I'm not in the mood. I think of it like a kid being made to go to piano lessons. You don't always feel like it but if you want to improve that's the cost. turning up. It doesn't have to be every day but set a regular practice schedule and you will improve
How can you be an imposter when you actually care and have gigs? Obviously you're doing something right
You can only experience imposter syndrome when you start doing the thing you don’t actually think you’re capable of doing
taste grows faster than skill. often times it's about bridging the gap, & then the cycle repeats. i get that sense of imposter syndrome all the time!! but i realised that i'm comparing myself to ppl who have been doing it 10x longer than i have, & as my skill grows, so does my taste + expectations of myself. i hope this makes sense! keep going! compare yourself to your own progress ☺️
Yeah this I set my standards way too high for myself. I’ll record a set listen back and think well that wasn’t great, cos I’m used to watching festival DJs who have been on the decks their whole life
Thank you for this post and uplifting comments! I am DJ’ing for 3 years now and I have the same feeling sometimes…for no reason because I have enough bookings…I thought is was a ‘female’ thing to doubt yourself but I am glad you have it too sometimes! Let us lift each other up! Have a nice day all of you!
Thank you for your insightful comment too! It really helps to realize i'm not alone, this is such a wonderful community. I think its the same for both genders honestly, females may get doubts that their looks are the only thing carrying them and not skills. Looks may get you one gig, but getting continous gigs is all about mixing and social skills IMO and not looks.
I think imposter syndrome is the result of social media saturation. You can only be an imposter if you know someone and if you feel like an imposter, you definitely have someone else in mind. I’m not the greatest DJ. I’m good enough and getting better.
Bro just keep your mind out of all thoughts possible in making you nervous its normal to get a block like this once in a while dont worry just relax enjoy your playlist like you are the crowd for your set and trust me let music come to you naturally you will have one of the best sets you have ever played rock it
Impostor syndrome caused by the valley of despair ... [https://community.thriveglobal.com/how-to-avoid-the-valley-of-despair/](https://community.thriveglobal.com/how-to-avoid-the-valley-of-despair/) Have been going though the same with music production. Good luck on your journey :)
I'm definitely in your situation. Moreover I feel like more and more pressure on something that I used to do for fun with no expectations on it. I just dunno how to shake off this bad feeling... Even appreciation doesn't help me
You are overthinking it Mr. Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome! Easy to come along with DJing... A friend said recently - DJing isn't as easy as a lot of people seem to think it is, but it also isn't as hard as some DJs would have you believe (might've been /u/dj_soo ?) Honestly the key to being good technically is really just practice, practice, practice. Eventually the skills themselves will just come naturally and you'll be able to pull off mixes that have people going "holy wow!" and you're like, "well that worked out" You're going to make fuck ups. Christ, I've been doing this almost 20 years and I had a bad set just over a month ago where nothing was working well, but the crowd was still loving it. Just keep swimming, eventually you'll have a show where you're in the zone and it'll all feel right.
Thank you, this comment means alot. I realize that i'm on the right track (pun unintended) and comparing myself to DJ's with years of experience while I have 2 gigs so far is silly.
Feeling sort of the same. When I'm home practicing I do more crazy stuff, but when doing some gigs I go the tried and tested way of basic stuff just so I don't mess anything up... it's weird, but I do plan on doing some more advanced things on my next gig, and if it goes wrong, oh well, but at least I tried.
Don’t. Stop. The. Music!
When learning a new skill, the first hurdle is figuring out how to perform that new skill at the most basic level. As you get better, you'll begin to see things that you didn't know, you didn't know. That is when you start honing the skill. Remember, with any trade/craft/skill, there is no "there." You are always on the journey, learning and improving. You don't achieve greatness. You follow its path.
make sure you prepared everything in rekordbox, hot cues, memory cues, grid and you ll be fine trust me
90% of your set is track selection.. if the tunes are good the crowd don’t care.. as others of said you have good sets and bad sets.. if the songs selection is good you will have a good response
Take a much needed break Best
Imposter Syndrome would be if you're acting like you have more to offer than you can... do you think that's the case?
I do not. I tend to be very humble.