When you hear the word DJ, the image of someone rocking their head while jumping up in the air with headphones on, comes to mind.
Headphones are an important part of DJing, which is needless to say. DJ mixers come with a separate input point for headphones to allow the DJs to have a more comprehensive DJing experience.
DJs use headphones for a number of reasons:
- To block out the ambient noise coming in from the crowd.
- To block out the bass coming in from their music played from the speakers.
- To use for cuing up incoming music track with the track being played currently.
Are Headphones a Must For DJs?
Even though you must’ve always imagined DJs wearing headphones, it is not a mandate to use headphones for a DJ. As discussed above, DJs use headphones for primarily cueing up incoming music track with the track being currently played.
Most DJs which are experts may choose not to use headphones as their ears are already well-versed with the tracks which are upcoming and are currently playing.
Also, these days we have software that do the hard work of cuing up one’s music without having to manually do it themselves. Sometimes, the entire music session is prerecorded by the DJ, which eliminates the need for headphones, However, prerecorded music doesn’t really deliver on the DJ experience.
So, to conclude, even though headphones aren’t a must, they are highly recommended for DJs, both experts and beginners.
Why DJ Hold Headphones to One Side?
Coming to what started all this talk about DJs using headphones, let’s get right to the question that has baffled a lot of you. Why do DJs only hold one side of the headphones to their ears? As discussed already, headphones are essential for cuing up of music.
So, DJs often put one side of the headphones against their ear. The reason is incoming music track or the upcoming track being played in the headphones.
By putting just one side of the headphones next to their ears, they can listen to both the music being played out of the speaker and the music which is incoming. This makes the whole process of cuing up and mixing music much easier. This helps the DJ match-up the beats of the song playing and the song coming up on the playlist. DJ mixers come with a “Headphone Volume” knob which is an added tool for use by DJs.
It only adjusts the volume of the track playing in the headphones and not the main mixer, allowing a DJ to listen to the upcoming track only when they wish to. And, lastly, holding headphones on one side does not lead to hearing loss.
There you go!
Now you know the answer to the question which kept you thinking every time you had a DJ play music for you. If you have any questions, suggestions or queries, please feel free to let us know in the comments below!
