The best books to help you become an expert DJ

Definitely dated, UK-centric, and undeniably highly opinionated, this is nonetheless essential. It is a fascinating read, a historical document of the height of the 90s dance scene, and it's both honest and humorous to boot. If you want a pile of hints and tips about how to DJ well while at the same time finding yourself falling in love with how special dance music can be and what it can mean to those who dedicate their lives to it, add this one to your list.

Not one to leave lying around, though, as it is pretty honest about the underbelly of the dance scene in places—as is another book we're getting to later in this list.

I have to declare an interest here as I was John's technical editor for the most recent edition of this book (which isn't that recent, to be honest—but trust me, a lot of this advice is timeless). Therefore, this book remains a great guide to DJing if you're more interested in learning how it was done before laptops, subscription music services, sharing your mixes online, and all the other bells and whistles that digital has brought to the table.

One of the central skills of DJing is being able to "beatmix" tunes effectively, and John is particularly good at teaching systematically how to do this without using any of the aids modern DJing affords the beginner. Dated, then, but still undeniably useful.

As a DJ tutor who's been in this game for 30+ years, I'm amazed at how often students really want me to tell them a bit about what it was like to DJ on the club scene "back in the day." When they do, I send them to this book.

Written by an anonymous DJ who toured the world playing in the best clubs for long enough to experience many highs and some considerable lows, it is part memoir, part Spinal Tap, as it lifts the lid on the hedonism, stupidity, and craziness of the club/rave scene at its height. Certainly harrowing in parts, but it is also laugh-out-loud funny - and is nothing if not brutally honest.

Rick has been the go-to expert in print on how to make dance music for many years, and while techniques and practices in music production change all the time, this book remains an invaluable reference on how to make music for yourself.

Nowadays, if you want success outside of your own town or city, it is practically essential that you make music as well as play it, so if being a "DJ/producer" rather than just a "DJ" is what you're gunning for, this is one you should definitely add to your bookshelf, which will give you the theory and background behind the skills that courses and videos can teach you when it comes to making music the modern way.

It's a good book to own alongside the same authors' "how-to" guide listed above. I always recommend this one for my students when they want to understand a bit more about what it is actually like to DJ professionally and why people dedicate their lives to it.

The book is in the form of a series of interviews with DJs, many of whom are well known (or at least, were at the time it was written—it is quite old), but many of whom certainly weren't ever famous, and historically it covers a large timespan. Success in DJing means something very different depending upon your outlook, where you are in the world, and so on, and this book empowers the learning DJ to have confidence in their dreams by sharing a wide range of stories and experiences of the life of the DJ.