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.

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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.

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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

+1


If there are people for me to work on then i don't need planning.

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quote:

Originally posted by ******** Seplling don't demonstrate intelligence and educatoin - knowing does.

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What?

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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.

Well I've seen a few people label their sets live despite the fact that its in their bedroom

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quote:

Originally posted by Darkarbiter Well I've seen a few people label their sets live despite the fact that its in their bedroom

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.

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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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