How many yas' pre-compose your set.

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-- How many yas' pre-compose your set.

Posted by The Greener on Jan-12-2003 14:58:

How many yas' pre-compose your set.

How many of you guys pre-plan or pre- rehearse your sets and/or.... do/would you consider it cheating.

No Opinion Given.....

Posted by Niklas Harding on Jan-12-2003 15:32:

well... i always just picks a record that pops up my mind, no particular tracklist done before i do a set.. thats how it works out best for me!

and i want call it cheating... ppl are just different, when it comes to habits and what they feel most comfortable about.. so i would say its a matter of temperament

Posted by El~ZaPo on Jan-12-2003 15:58:

If I'm making a CD that I want to add to my collection, I will plan it beforehand and use sequencing software. However, when I mix live I always pick tracks on the fly.

Posted by Dj Flesch on Jan-12-2003 16:13:

I rip all of my music into mp3s first so that I can jump through tracks at warp speed with winamp. This way I can compare the begining of one track with the end of another very quickly and easily. I do this to see if two tracks will mix well together.

So to answer your question, I usually prepick my tracks for sets that I plan on buring on cd and giving away as promos or whatever. I'll set up a new folder and dump a bunch of tracks into it that I think will make a good set, I spend some time narrowing down my selections to what will fit onto an 80 min cd, then pick good intro and ending tracks and try to order the rest into the middle to have my set build up energy in the most effective way possible.

From there I will mix and record those tracks in the order that I put them in and record the set. I'll listen to the set to hear how well the transitions are made, if the tracks really do mix well together etc. Then I'll usually end up switching out a couple tracks, or rearranging the order a little bit and then I'll rerecord the set once or twice more. I'll ususally have an acceptable recording by then.

During my practice sessions, I don't preplan my sets though, and I've come up with some killer sets. Some of that tracks selection is used in my planned sets, but basically I just try to prepair myself to mix any way possible, because you never know what you're going to face when mixing live.

I do try to preplan my live sets to a degree though. I think that I can send the crowd through a much better journey if I spend some time to think about what tracks I'll be mixing and in what order. When spinning high energy and uplifting trance, I have to consider what the crowd's needs are, that including when they will need breaks from dancing. I also consider that if a crowd is really excited to see a dj, then they want to listen to some good hard tracks right from the begining, so that's what I have to give them--for several tracks, but then they need a break, so I design my sets to have preplanned breaks in the music.

etc etc

These are a few of the thoughts that I try to think about when planning my sets and what I'm going to mix. I always try to find out as much info as possible about the event and so far, the most important thing is the timeslot! This will let you know if you are going to have a warmed up crowd or if you have to warm them up for other djs etc.

I could go on, but I think that I'm starting to ramble a bit

Posted by Breeze on Jan-12-2003 16:56:

I use to do it for my first few gigs but now i just go with the flow,
alot of superstar djs do it as well. so dont be ashamed if u do it,it aint cheating either. i bet the big djs play the same set almost everytime when they do a tour of a country.

Posted by Walter Mindz on Jan-13-2003 18:59:

quote:
Originally posted by El~ZaPo
If I'm making a CD that I want to add to my collection, I will plan it beforehand and use sequencing software. However, when I mix live I always pick tracks on the fly.

I'm the same way... once you mix certain records for awhile, you tend to know which ones work great together.

Posted by Djstigma on Jan-14-2003 02:52:

I use to plan ahead, it was more like a safty net. It's always nice to know that you can make that mix, becuase you pratice it before hand. But now I play according to the people. Try to fallow the flow.

Posted by mettkea on Jan-15-2003 02:23:

Posted by DJ A.i on Jan-15-2003 14:51:

well, i just take all the music i want to play with me... most cases i will not be able to play all of them.... but i find it better to have a idea of what you want to play.

Posted by b|p|3m on Jan-15-2003 15:00:

I pre-compose my set only in special circumstances like the recording of a promo-mix where tracks selection and their order are very important. Usually i improvise my set also if i before start i have just a sort of idea of how make my set (Example start with progressive,then some of melodic-uplifting, and close with some hard-deep stuff). However during a set played in front of a crowd is much important to be able to read the crowd and choose the track to play of consequence. (Example if you are playing progressive stuff and crowd don't appreciate it's right try to change genre)
That's all folks...

Posted by Scorpio Rising on Jan-15-2003 19:18:

I think pre-composing your set is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a dj. You should have an idea of which tracks you're gonna play but not in which order.
A good dj looks at his crowd, tries to figger out what they like the most, and adjusts if needed.

Posted by Akito22 on Jan-16-2003 19:29:

Well... I kinda agree with a few of the others above... you need to balance knowing your records really well and know what records flow well with each other. However, once you plan a whole set, you become limited and confined. Though putting two records that rock with a pre planned transition is a great way to pump up the crowd.

Its kinda like starting off a set from nothing. You have to have some idea of a good opening number and transition from it.... so isn't that pre planning a little.

Posted by bachatu on Jan-16-2003 22:16:

I dont preplan my sets. Knowing your records is enough for me. I always try to remember the intro and outros, cause that is what you will be mixing, but also i can usually tell what type of song it is,(building, energy, bring down, etc), and it is easier to compose a set on the fly.

Even though i dont preplan my sets, I wouldnt call it cheating, cause its just a method of preperation for some people. I will tell you though, that sometimes it will sound a bit robotic if you preplan a set, in my opinion.

Its very important for me to get into a rhythm and groove. Once that happens, its very easy for me to come up with songs, even sometimes i already know what i will play 2-3 records ahead, cause its like instinctive.
In the long run, i feel its important to try to not preplan sets, cause you will have to adjust to crowd/or club conditions.

Posted by groove department on Jan-16-2003 23:24:

first i put all my favourite and famous records in my case. before that i listen to a few of them.. then i decide wich track to start with. sometimes the first 2 or three tracks but the other i pick up while my set.

Posted by basshound on Jan-17-2003 07:42:

quote:
Originally posted by bachatu
I dont preplan my sets. Knowing your records is enough for me. I always try to remember the intro and outros, cause that is what you will be mixing, but also i can usually tell what type of song it is,(building, energy, bring down, etc), and it is easier to compose a set on the fly.

Even though i dont preplan my sets, I wouldnt call it cheating, cause its just a method of preperation for some people. I will tell you though, that sometimes it will sound a bit robotic if you preplan a set, in my opinion.

Its very important for me to get into a rhythm and groove. Once that happens, its very easy for me to come up with songs, even sometimes i already know what i will play 2-3 records ahead, cause its like instinctive.
In the long run, i feel its important to try to not preplan sets, cause you will have to adjust to crowd/or club conditions.

exactly what i say

Posted by hapamoto on Jan-17-2003 07:58:

i also used to plan out my sets, but i usually have an idea of the kinda sound i want, i think everyone does or else what determines which tracks u bring in ur case right? i think when making a CD, almost everyone plans it, i do. however, sometimes u don't need to and it comes off nice. for example, the other night i just wanted to record a transition w/ me cueing in the next track at two different points to see which sounded better, and then instead of stopping i kept mixing for about an hour, and it turned out to be a really good set that ended up in my demo collection. i think its easier for u to pick 'em on the fly when u kno ur records better, like lets say u just go crazy and get a bunch of new tracks, it will be harder for u to pull of a good sounding set in that ur most likely not as familiar w/ how the songs start out and end and how their beats are, but this is also a confidence issue, the pre-planned set requires not much creativity while in action cuz u only have to concentrate on making the perfect mix and it becomes a very mechanical process often leading to dissapointment if its not perfect, and spinning watever trax at will requires more creative thinking and is more fun cuz u havn't really set a benchmark or expectiation that u need to hit. well, at least its like that for me.