quote:

Originally posted by Scolomon I realize this is an art, and may even be hard to articulate but any words of wisdom for someone who hasnt really played out that frequently and wants to learn a thing or two.... Any tips or tricks?

Good question, and one that doesn't get asked every other day. I look forward to responses.......

Well one thing that's pretty obvious is at least know the style played at the venue, or if it's a house party, what people likely are going to want to hear. That way, you wont be scrambling for tracks when you're already there. You can prepare your general group of tracks beforehand.

My 0.02

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basically i usually go out there and do my thing and i'm really active and jump around and try to get everyone pumped up, but that sometimes doesn't want to work, so in that case you just have to see what they want.
if you are not the opening dj then maybe u could just come a bit early to see the dj b4 you and how the crowd reacts to his style and you can decide if you should continue and grow on his/her crowd or try something else if you believe it would be better.

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it's not like the kind of thing where you look at at some people and then magically know what to play

it's more or less a combination of intuition and creativity. you're leading people on, suggesting a direction that you intuit from both what people are doing and from where you came.

it's rather common sense. if people aren't dancing and look like they want to leave, play something that will make them dance. if the night is just starting, it's not that people don't want to dance, but they just feel uncomfortable or that it's too early to dance, or they haven't had enough to drink.


i think just going to parties will help you too


it's not always about reading the crowd, which is usually fairly obvious anyways, but also about understanding crowd behavior and the patterns of parties, the types of people who go, the kind of music that is played, etc

Make sure you look like YOU enjoy the music. Kenneth Thomas does a great job of just being wacky behind the decks. (strumming along when theres a guitar part or singing when theres words) By just knowing that the DJ is loving it, it makes me feel better, instead of seeing a guy just standing still behind the decks or just bobbing his head.

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quote:

Originally posted by nefardec it's not like the kind of thing where you look at at some people and then magically know what to play it's more or less a combination of intuition and creativity. you're leading people on, suggesting a direction that you intuit from both what people are doing and from where you came. it's rather common sense. if people aren't dancing and look like they want to leave, play something that will make them dance. if the night is just starting, it's not that people don't want to dance, but they just feel uncomfortable or that it's too early to dance, or they haven't had enough to drink. i think just going to parties will help you too it's not always about reading the crowd, which is usually fairly obvious anyways, but also about understanding crowd behavior and the patterns of parties, the types of people who go, the kind of music that is played, etc

That's all there is to know really.

I know I'll probably get flamed by some folks for saying this, but don't start your set with trance unless you're the peak-hour DJ and the crowd is already pumped up. I know a lot of folks on this board prefer that sub-genre, but its usually faster and less bouncy than house, making it harder to dance to intuitively. If you want to play trance, I recommend playing some house with a good groove to get things going. Once the crowd is into it and everybody is dancing, they'll usually keep dancing no matter what. I know this might seem a bit off topic; however, if you clear the dance floor in the beginning of your set, it's much harder to get people back on. No matter how well you read the crowd after something like that, there's only so much you can do.

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quote:

Originally posted by jpisani By just knowing that the DJ is loving it, it makes me feel better, instead of seeing a guy just standing still behind the decks or just bobbing his head.

For example Paul Van Dyk

although i personally like him haha

show up early and observe.

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take a lot of drugs.

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quote:

Originally posted by elFreak show up early and observe.

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Originally posted by kadomony take a lot of drugs.

And +1 on nefardec, pretty much wraps this thread up.

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

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Originally posted by Clovis And +1 on nefardec, pretty much wraps this thread up.

seriously

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