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pre planned or live
Hey i got a question, do ya'll pre plan your sets or do you just go out there and mix live? when you pre plan your set according to stucture doesnt it all flow more smoothly? how do you all when mixing live, follow according to stucture, as in drop the beat exactly after the 16th bar? if you pre plan you've already placed cue points and markers so you know what exactly to do when for a perfect mix..?
*bedroom dj here so my mixes are really internet or if I'm very lucky friends only
I usually spend a while thinking of a general idea of what to put in a set like the first 3 tracks or so before I get started as well as maybe 1/2 at the end. I usually then just get the idea of what to listen to next after I've gone through the starting songs and it usually ends up sounding much better then I'd expected and I end up scrapping the last few songs. i.e. I suppose I pre plan... but after the first few tracks I usually just listen in wmp whatever sounds great next. After that I just do a little more planning (like what bpms I'm gonna play stuff at) and beatmatch and record all the stuff I've written down. Even then I sometimes change a song or two.
Mixing live and bedroom DJ'ing are two different worlds. When mixing live, you can go with a general idea of what you want to play, but you better be ready to switch your set in a heartbeat. What you think the crowd might go nuts with, might not even work at all. It takes practice.
As far as dropping the song on the correct beat, after a while, it becomes natural and you really stop thinking about it. You just do it.
Mixing live (even for a house party) which is as far as my experience goes is very different from messing around in my bedroom.
I play what i want to play and what i think will go well.
When i play at house parties i have to think of the girls. The guys who like it slightly harder. The queer who wants some Take That, and back again to the girls.
trying to mix it all up while keeping everyone happy is tough sometimes. But when you get it right the reward is great!
pre-planning for a live dj set is an awful lot of work. It also stiffles any kind of creative response to the crowd's behaviour. Best bet is to simply know your tracks and their sounds and have a general idea of what goes with what.
practicepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticeprac
ticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepracticepractice.
You have to be able to switch it up live, like woody said, so if you only ever pre-plan your sets and realise the plan is not working your going to be screwed.
Also, you don't need to know the exact mixing points for each possible combination of tracks. Just learn your tracks well enough so you know the breakdown is there, or the intro is x long before the bassline comes in, or I know I have 2 mins of just percussion at the end of this track to mix out of etc. By learning the tracks in your crate well you'll have a better idea of what will go and what won't.
Having said that, some DJ's do completely pre-plan their sets. I thought (not sure) I heard that PVD did/does this. I think he can get away with it becuase if need be he can wing it easily, and also the crowd knows what they are going to get from him and are into his music anyway.
I personally will just mix what fits in a live situation, but like to have a have a few set pieces (a mix of two or more tracks that go very well), of a particular type (progressive/trance/funky) so at least if I have to just freestyle it to be able to change flow of music type, I can still rely on some mixes that know will work.
used to plan, now i fuck it and do it live
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| Originally posted by nefardec used to plan, now i fuck it and do it live |
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| Originally posted by DjWoody Mixing live and bedroom DJ'ing are two different worlds. When mixing live, you can go with a general idea of what you want to play, but you better be ready to switch your set in a heartbeat. What you think the crowd might go nuts with, might not even work at all. It takes practice. As far as dropping the song on the correct beat, after a while, it becomes natural and you really stop thinking about it. You just do it. |
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| Originally posted by Darkarbiter Well I've seen a few people label their sets live despite the fact that its in their bedroom |
i usually have a general idea of how i hope to see the crowd react, but clearly that changes sometimes so you have to adjust basically go with the flow.
I have to strongly agree with N3lly because i do the same thing. But mostly spin for the girls. If girls are dancing guys are dancing if u sping for guys girls might think it's too hard, boring or whatever may be so they woun't go dance just because a guy is dancing.
and yes bedroom and club/party/bar is completely different all of which take experience and time to get to understand and master
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| Originally posted by Gen3r4l1ty |
Taken from a similar discussion on a different forum...
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| Originally posted by idoru It all depends. At home when recording a demo I'll plan it out and mix it maybe two times before I record it. Or if I'm spinning randomly at home and have had an idea or two for some transitions during the day, then I'll do that. Spinning out is different. I'll play what works in that club at that time. Once in a while, if I have a certain flow going I might say to myself, "Hey, these next two or three tracks sounded great when I spun them the other night, let's try that!" and I've found that, as long as they fit with the flow I'd had going, then it will work. Outside of that, planning out an entire set for a club setting and praying to God that everybody likes it doesn't really work. |
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| Originally posted by Stu Cox Yeah "live" is one of the most ambiguous terms in DJing. Does it mean: Recorded in a club? Done on decks rather than arranged on PC software? Done on Ableton Live? Played on live instruments? (possibly in conjunction with Ableton, but not necessarily) Happening out at this very moment? (e.g. live radio) Or, as the original poster has used it to mean: Arranged on-the-fly as opposed to being pre-planned. |
Re: pre planned or live
Yes, LIVE is pretty vague, but in this particular case, I think the poster was asking about mixing live at a party or infront of a crowd.
I think he says that because he says GO OUT THERE AND MIX LIVE. Meaning, actually playing somewhere infront of a crowd.
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| Originally posted by Dj.neelzo Hey i got a question, do ya'll pre plan your sets or do you just go out there and mix live? |
yeah as some1 put it, playing on-the-fly.. thts what i meant by live
Usually only do preplanned when I'm recording a demo otherwise do it on the fly
The best way is to know a general outline of how your set will go but other than that you just need to know your collection and be able to mix in any song that fits and that will get a good response from the crowd. Practice mixing with your entire collection and you'll have a dangerous arsenal.
if you wing it, not only will you enjoy yourself more (imo) but the likelihood that the set sounds stagnant will be less. Sometimes big shifts and chances pay big rewards and add character to a set. If you can mix on the fly successfully, you can play anywhere. As someone mentioned, it is always good to have track combos you know work for the big moments when pulling off that insane mix/mash are appropriate but work the people up for that slowly instead of just pounding them out left and right. A dancefloor will not constantly give you big pops, but if you spread them out over the night it will make your set more memorable without tiring out the floor.
IMO
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| Originally posted by elFreak if you wing it, not only will you enjoy yourself more (imo) but the likelihood that the set sounds stagnant will be less. Sometimes big shifts and chances pay big rewards and add character to a set. If you can mix on the fly successfully, you can play anywhere. As someone mentioned, it is always good to have track combos you know work for the big moments when pulling off that insane mix/mash are appropriate but work the people up for that slowly instead of just pounding them out left and right. A dancefloor will not constantly give you big pops, but if you spread them out over the night it will make your set more memorable without tiring out the floor. IMO |
And those knobs playing huge festivals can play the exact same set for 4 months before anyone starts to notice...
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| Originally posted by Clovis Depends what crowd you're playing dude. This advice works wonders for somewhere like Weekend Club I bet...but Clovis probably wants big electro drops every 5 minutes and a 6 minute breakdown here and there for the punters. And those knobs playing huge festivals can play the exact same set for 4 months before anyone starts to notice... |
yeah but i'm talking about a smart audience that never uses the words bro.
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| Originally posted by elFreak yeah but i'm talking about a smart audience that never uses the words bro. |
Fringe dance music for fringe folks played by fringe DJs...elitist cliques...so hot right now
you are stepping on my scarf man...watch out. 
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