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-- Question for you DJ's

Question for you DJ's

When performing live, do you spin what you practice at home . . .as in, do you play two tracks that youve already practiced the transition? Or are you brave enough to mix two tracks that youve never practiced before?

Does anyone know if the big named DJs spin "on the fly" dropping whatever they feel or if they go into a set somewhat already knowing what they are spinning.

im pretty sure they do, i think most people just go in with a rough idea of the first few tracks and take it from there... i mean i guess one of the reasons they are the 'top djs' is they can improvise on the spot and i suppose if you know your tracks well enough....

umm..it depends..if its a residency i usually know the tracks i want to play..but i dont know the order..and i might not play them
if its a one off..like a party"rave" i just bring my records..and about 10 minutes before i go on..i think what im gonna play

I just put on a record that i think would be good to start off with and head from there. Playing planned sets is pretty boring. Sometimes I play 2 tracks that I know go really well with each other but that's about it.

I usually have the first two records downpat, because if you've practised your first mix to death then you're unlikely to stuff up which boosts your confidence immensely for the rest of the night. Other than that, I just watch the crowd and see what they like. For ages I didn't watch the crowd, I looked at the decks. Now I've learnt to do everything by touch so that I can read the crowd better.

I usually think of the first track I'll play and the second. The rest I just wing it. At home I practice more technical stuff.

I dont' think it matters. I mean, if it's a 4 hour set you can't plan that, just plan the progression.

Now if it's a 1-1.5 hour set, do you not think most big name DJ's have an idea of all 15 tracks they iwll play? Hell half of them are for promotion and or becasue they are paid to play those tracks. So no, I doubt most big namers wing it.

Ill have a rough idea of the kind of set that i want to play, if im playing one track and i know another track that mixes really well into it then ill have it planned ahead of time

other than that i just like to go and throw out tunes see how the crowd reacts then work from there

quote:

Originally posted by DJ-Kuza I dont' think it matters. I mean, if it's a 4 hour set you can't plan that, just plan the progression. Now if it's a 1-1.5 hour set, do you not think most big name DJ's have an idea of all 15 tracks they iwll play? Hell half of them are for promotion and or becasue they are paid to play those tracks. So no, I doubt most big namers wing it.

This is more likely . . . not only do these guys have their sets planned out, but they'll typically play very similar if not identical sets at different stops on their tour . . . especially in the US. It can be hard to get "practice time" while on the road, so you kind of have to go with what you already know.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Fin This is more likely . . . not only do these guys have their sets planned out, but they'll typically play very similar if not identical sets at different stops on their tour . . . especially in the US. It can be hard to get "practice time" while on the road, so you kind of have to go with what you already know.

Thats true, and I heard Oakenfold played the same set twice within the same weekend. I guess to most ppl that calls for flaming but it wouldnt matter unless you went to see him both times. . . .then Id be pissed.

I think a DJ who plays the same set twice is obviouslly lacking skill. I have played tunes that I only know what genre they are and a rough idea of how they sound when playing out. That is truly doing it on the fly, not having heard some of the tunes before mixing them (sort of feels like overtaking a car on a blind corner!).

But of course there are some tunes which can catch you out if you are not careful. Its a case of knowing these tunes, and indedd even going as far as to have a few tunes that "go well" with these tracks. But these are rare. Go with the crowd, create a flow from their reactions!

i usually take 2 or 3 records and get to know them good to start off my set

then i just go with the flow
i know what direction i want to go towards and what tracks i might want to finish off with, it's just a matter of piecing together the middle

sometimes i'll drop in a 2 tracks together that i know i can mix and i know they sound great together, but i don't know exactly my set is going to be

just know your records and watch the crowd

i just play

i have a bunch of tracks that i specifically use for intro's because they're good mood setters

so i usually know what my first track is going to be so im not rifling through my bin freaking out to what i should play when the previous dj is finishing

other than that...i just play at random...trying to keep a constant level of energy that rises and comes down...

i don't worry about what songs will mix together because i mean really when you think about it...you can mix any 2 songs (within reason) together...you just have to be creative
i worry more about the flow of the set

i'm with kid lax...

I never plan live sets - i simply start with a track I want to set an impression and go from there, reading the movement of the crowd to decide when to increase or decrease the energy of the set... and if people start really getting into a style of music (i tend to mix between hardtrace, hardhouse, nunrg, and fast techno) i'll stick with it.

-mer

I go in with a rough idea of what tracks to play, but I usually end up playing shit I never thought I would

quote:

Originally posted by Acid Circus I think a DJ who plays the same set twice is obviouslly lacking skill.

Normally... I might agree with you. I have witnessed many a great dj spin, and I can tell you for a fact most of them spin the saaaame set every show. I don't think its a skill issue, so much as a time issue. And no matter how you look at it, the crowd wants to hear certain songs from certain dj's... If oakey hadn't played bullet in the gun for a while there everyone would have screamed bloody murder.

Humpty Vission, Bad Boy Bill, Mars, Thee-o, Keoki, Donald Glaude, Christopher Lawrence, Taylor, Oakey, Dave Ralph, Thomas Trouble, Thomas Micheal, Doran, Dave Aude, Tall Paul... the list could go on for days -

Alot of these guys (especially when on tour) spin the EXACT same set. Mars, who I've seen spin a dozen times the past 3 years, has the same 10 songs in his set (just rearranged sometimes) along with 3-4 new ones each performance.

I guess thats just how you get your sound... everyone has to recognise you somehow...

Take care kids!

OBC

I myself do not practice a set. I have found that if you do this, when you actually get up to play, you end up screwing it up even if you had it down flawless.

I always have an idea of what I want to play and hear. However, there are sometimes where the crowd is just not into it, so I always read the crowd and play accordingly.

By not having your sets prepared in advance, you are not predictable and that keeps the crowd interested and wanting more. Granted there are some instances where two tracks are amazing together, I myself have a few like that, but I will not put the two together every set I play.

Something else, I always try to have a few new tracks in my box everytime I play out as it keeps my sets fresh.

Just my $0.02 worth

Darryl
aka Dj Heavy
www.djheavy.cjb.net
[email protected]

I design my sets, personally--for each event that I perform at or for each cd set that I mix.

For events, I get as much information about the event that I can, what time I'll be spinning, who the djs before and after me are, what genere they spin, the size of the venue, what room I'll be playing in etc. This information can give you a great idea of what to expect from the crowd. Now true, it's not the end all, but I can deliver MY personal best to the crowd if I practice, change and perfect the track order, the mixing and the effects.

Cd sets are particularly critical for this approach because if it's going to be something that someone can rewind and listen to again and again, I want it to be flawless--and because of the way I plan and perfect my sets, they usually come pretty close. My last cd set for example, I convert all of my music into mp3s (for back up and for designing sets). This way I can quickly flip through music with my ears instead of with my eyes and memory.

I make a new directory and throw a bunch of tracks into it that all go well together and fit the mood that I'm in/the genere of trance that I'm into at the moment, and then I cue them up in winamp and order them from start to finish. The first and last tracks are usually the easiest ones to pick out and from there I see which songs aren't going to fit into the set that I've made because those tracks don't fit. Then I either try to eliminate tracks because of time constrains or add tracks to fill up the cd to its capacity. Then I'll spin the set, make notes on the transitions, listen to it critically and spin it again. Usually, by the second time, I'm ready to switch out a couple of tracks that I thought I liked, but have become annoying after listening to them many times. I switch up the order of some, and then I spin it again. (recording and critically listening to the transitions and effect each time) Then I keep recording the mix until I get one that I'm happy with, or until I'm sick of mixing those tracks together and settle for the best one to date.

Anyway, I've learned that doing it this way--and becoming very familiar with those particular transitions, it has vastly given me the time to concentrate more on effects, teasers etc during the track instead of making sure the two tracks are perfectly beatmatched. I've learned techniques fairly quickly this way because I can go back and listen to them and hear what needs to be improved, if anything.

One more note is that I've got quite a lot of music, and I am always getting more. This leads to the problem of not knowing each of my tracks as well as maybe I should. I solve this by learning how to predict the tracks and counting beats--simple things that most djs here should know how to do, but use that knowledge to predict when the songs will end, break, or do whatever. This is something
that is not only valuble for djing, but for dancing too. It's great when you can jump up and spin in the air and land right on beat, or start your jump right when the break ends and the chorus starts slamming!

quote:

Originally posted by DjHeavy I myself do not practice a set. I have found that if you do this, when you actually get up to play, you end up screwing it up even if you had it down flawless. I always have an idea of what I want to play and hear. However, there are sometimes where the crowd is just not into it, so I always read the crowd and play accordingly. By not having your sets prepared in advance, you are not predictable and that keeps the crowd interested and wanting more. Granted there are some instances where two tracks are amazing together, I myself have a few like that, but I will not put the two together every set I play. Darryl aka Dj Heavy www.djheavy.cjb.net [email protected]

I don't agree with you here. Just because you prepare your sets in advance, first off doesn't mean that you play the same sets all the time. It just means that YOU know what you're going to play in advance. As far as being predictable, unless the crowd lives with you they won't know what your going to play and they won't know if you've prepared it in advance or not...unless it shows through in your mixing. This also doesn't mean that if you prepare a set, that you eliminate reading the crowd either. Obviously this is an important aspect of djing and so you have to be able to switch plans accoridingly, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared. What if you are dealing with eq that is really hard to mix on and the only thing that is saving you is the fact that you are familiar with the transitions? You may say, I'm good enough so that would never happen to me, but do you really wish to stake your reputation and/or future career as a dj on that if you do royally screw up?

In short, is there one way of djing? No, of course not. But in a lot of threads here in this forum, I notice that people are die hard about doing things one way or another and think that just because one person using one mixing technique or whatever, that it is all that they use. Being a dj is not only being a disc jockey, but is being a dynamic jockey too. Being able to adapt to each situation thrown at you is essenitial, but as for me, I like to be prepared for anything that may be thrown at me--and I prepare in such a way as described in the above posts.

I think a entire set repeated @ 2 seperat events is a show of you lacking skill, but I can understand if a dj spinz 2 of the same songs back to back in different set because they go together well...

all i gotta say is free style.

quote:

Originally posted by Dj Flesch I don't agree with you here. Just because you prepare your sets in advance, first off doesn't mean that you play the same sets all the time. It just means that YOU know what you're going to play in advance. As far as being predictable, unless the crowd lives with you they won't know what your going to play and they won't know if you've prepared it in advance or not...unless it shows through in your mixing. This also doesn't mean that if you prepare a set, that you eliminate reading the crowd either. Obviously this is an important aspect of djing and so you have to be able to switch plans accoridingly, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared. What if you are dealing with eq that is really hard to mix on and the only thing that is saving you is the fact that you are familiar with the transitions? You may say, I'm good enough so that would never happen to me, but do you really wish to stake your reputation and/or future career as a dj on that if you do royally screw up? In short, is there one way of djing? No, of course not. But in a lot of threads here in this forum, I notice that people are die hard about doing things one way or another and think that just because one person using one mixing technique or whatever, that it is all that they use. Being a dj is not only being a disc jockey, but is being a dynamic jockey too. Being able to adapt to each situation thrown at you is essenitial, but as for me, I like to be prepared for anything that may be thrown at me--and I prepare in such a way as described in the above posts.

I agree 100%! preach on my brotha

Someone in another thread mentioned that you can literally cut and paste Tiesto's set. Its one thing to be playing the set twice on two different occasions. Its a different thing when you keep playing the same tunes over and over again

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