On Tuesday, April 29th IAR hosted one of its ‘Do It Yourself’ events covering DJing. IAR alumnus and accomplished DJ, Nicholas Bivona aka DJ REACT, came back to IAR to provide students with the basics of DJing. Nicholas works at Sirius Satellite Radio as a board operator and has worked as a DJing teacher. He also DJs up and down the east coast at private events and clubs.

DJ REACT started the seminar with a demonstration of his talent spinning and scratching on turntables. He gave a brief history of his DJing career and advised students about working in the music industry. He then brought students up and had them surround him as he showed them different techniques. From the most basic steps to complex patterns and improvisation, students were shown visually and audibly how DJs create their art. Moves such as a baby scratch, tear, chops, hamster, chirps, flares and the crab were demonstrated and then IAR students stepped behind the mixer and turntables to try for themselves. Nick spoke about ‘beat mixing and trick mixing’ and the importance of counting bars to stay on time and tighten up overall technique, “You don’t have to use crazy techniques to sound good. Using the basics melodically will be crazy.” DJ REACT gave his opinion on different equipment and internet resources to use when building their libraries of music, “I have playlists for everything, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, Club Hits, Bad Boy Records. Organize it with iTunes and know everything.” For more information on DJ REACT visit myspace.com/deejayreact.