Welcome to my first blog post regarding the In-Depth project. In this project I will discuss my In-Depth skill, roadmap to learn it, status of finding a mentor and the steps and support required going forward in a concise and informative manner. I hope by the end of this blog post you will have an idea of the full scope of my exciting In-Depth project.

The in-depth skill I have chosen to learn is live performance DJing. I have always loved listening to music and the experience of listening to live DJ sets with others. Additionally, as someone who produces music in his free time, DJing is an essential skill that will allow me to play shows in the future if I choose that as a career path. I currently produce and release music in my free time so if I decide to pursue that as a career DJing at live shows and events can become a much-needed second source of income. Listening to music has given me additional inspiration for DJ sets as well, I have many ideas I have always wanted to execute but have never been able to. I am primarily interested in DJing my personal favourite genres of dance music: dubstep, drum and bass, and bass house, but will also expand into working with popular music and mixing them into my sets.

I plan on learning this skill mainly through teaching by my mentor and from resources online. When I previously attempted and failed, at learning this skill I found that the main thing I lacked was feedback and someone to ask specific questions too, roles that would both be filled by an experienced mentor. Learning how to DJ is something that takes practice more than anything, but I believe that my path to success will be aided by the roadmap of my goals I have laid out prior to starting this project. Before when attempting to DJ I also did not have the necessary software, instead I relied on free options that often lacked necessary features. Additionally, many online resources are targeted towards specific brands of controllers and specific DJ software that I do not own making specific tutorials difficult to follow. I am planning on learning basic skills first and slowly transitioning into skills that are not essential to being able to DJ but rather make a DJ good. Finally, to end the project I plan on constructing then performing a completely original DJ set.  My full timeline of all of my goals as well as deadlines to accomplish them is below.

As you can see, I have a detailed process in mind for how I will conduct the study of my In-Depth skill however I am missing one of the main pieces of my project, a mentor. So far, I have contacted people I know online in EDM circles and have used family contacts, but my efforts have not yielded any significant results yet, partially due to some former perspective mentors being located overseas and thus being unable to complete a criminal record check. The main thing I am looking for is, of course, experience as a live DJ whether that is professionally or just for a hobby. Right now, I have one prospective mentor who is thankfully located in the lower mainland and has past experience as a live DJ.

Looking ahead, I do not foresee needing significant additional support to get started on my project. In the present, most support I would need is in finding a mentor, but I have already had significant support in this area from family members and other contacts I have. As previously mentioned, I would love the help of all those willing to listen to my set ideas and small performances so I can learn the live components of DJing. Feedback is the main thing I am looking for from other people throughout the project as well as support from those excited to hear my newfound skills in action.

To conclude, I am excited to go forward with my project. I have chosen something I am not only very passionate about but something that could help me in prospective careers down the line of life. I have a concrete roadmap for everything I plan to learn in my project with set deadlines. The main thing I am lacking in the present is a mentor, but I have many leads on the subject and have been given a lot of support in my search. Finally, I am looking for other people for practicing all the performative components of DJing. By the end of this project, I hope to be able to play original live DJ sets. I am looking to the future very excited to start my journey of learning live DJing