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How do you program your sets beyond 4+ hours?
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| DJ RJT |
This last weekend I did a few parties in town here, in particular one on Saturday night that was an absolute riot. A very large crowd of UWSP kids, most of whom were unfamiliar with EDM (Save for the one group of ravers who made it out, which in itself was awesome!) getting down for the end of the semester.
In any event, my friends asked me to spin this party, and tho I was bit apprehensive due to the fact that folks here are generally not into EDM, I will take any opportunity I can get to play out live, these guys wanted me to run from 10-1... Well, things went DAMN well and I ended up spinning until 2:30, which is incredible considering I'm in the middle of Wisconsin... It was the longest live set that I've ever spun out for a crowd that was with me the whole way, and even though I think it went very well, I think I may have made a few errors in how I chose to program my set.
Early on I began with some really progressive stuff, opened with "The Difference it Makes" by the MFA, followed by stuff along the lines of more prog house kind of stuff, including some Steve Porter and James Holden etc. All around 127-130BPM
About halfway through the night I started to bring it up a little faster, and worked around 135 for a little while, dropping some White Room and Way Out West tracks before the last hour to hour and a half where I pretty much headed into straight up trance territory... I ended at 141 BPM with Fire & Ice "Let there be Light..."
So my questions is, for those of you who've had long nights out before, how do you set up your sets? And does this straight ahead progression seem too "obvious" or amateur? I don't know, I'm just looking at playing out a bit more this summer, and I am really trying to concern myself with all aspects of my performance from set programming to crowd interaction... so any help/advice would be much appreciated.
Peace, Cheers,
RJT |
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| dinoXpress |
this is a good question, i think it depends on your mood, the crowd ect, usually the bpm rises, the energy goes up, but if the crwod isnt feeling it, you may have to chill, i guess it all depends..
i rarely play 4+ hours so i dunno really.
good question tho.. |
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| DJ Elf |
| Mostly you just need to go with what you like and hope the crowd will like it aswell, they usually do after a few drinks.. Not very experienced with many gig, only had 1 so far, but it sure was fun even thought I was working with WMP and winamp on a laptop, hard as hell to make it fade I tell you :happy2: Had to go halfway with the other player before I could rise the other one, think one time I accidently switched the song in the middle of one...:nervous: |
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| DJ RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by dinoXpress
i rarely play 4+ hours so i dunno really.
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Yeah, I know 4 hours is a long time, but I've been doing a couple shows here and there that have been at least 3+ hours, and I find myself moving in kind of the same progression each time, not tracklisting wise, but definitely start out real mellow and work up...
I've actually spun a 3 hour set where I didn't really move too much speed wise (Began around 124, moved up to a max of 130) which was a little different, but it was also a different kind of vibe, like lounge style almost...
Sometimes I just worry that I move between genres too much and it disrupts the continuity of my sets. In general I try to gauge what the crowd wants to hear, or at least what they seem to be enjoying, but it's definitely a long way to travel from the Timo Maas mix of "Enjoy the Silence" to Yves Deyruyters "Peace," you know? |
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| dinoXpress |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ RJT
Yeah, I know 4 hours is a long time, but I've been doing a couple shows here and there that have been at least 3+ hours, and I find myself moving in kind of the same progression each time, not tracklisting wise, but definitely start out real mellow and work up...
I've actually spun a 3 hour set where I didn't really move too much speed wise (Began around 124, moved up to a max of 130) which was a little different, but it was also a different kind of vibe, like lounge style almost...
Sometimes I just worry that I move between genres too much and it disrupts the continuity of my sets. In general I try to gauge what the crowd wants to hear, or at least what they seem to be enjoying, but it's definitely a long way to travel from the Timo Maas mix of "Enjoy the Silence" to Yves Deyruyters "Peace," you know? |
its all track selection
i find that i jump around a good bit when im not focused and really understanding my own track selection. but when you stay on the ball and really pick tracks i can put together a 4 hour set, i have the tunes, i have enough of the same type of tunes, but again, on eosme nights i feel like i jump around too much, and others im ok, i usually get good feedback on both types of nights
i guess the trick is to stay focused, when im a focused dj, im a better dj. |
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| Synbios |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Elf
Mostly you just need to go with what you like and hope the crowd will like it aswell, they usually do after a few drinks.. Not very experienced with many gig, only had 1 so far, but it sure was fun even thought I was working with WMP and winamp on a laptop, hard as hell to make it fade I tell you :happy2: Had to go halfway with the other player before I could rise the other one, think one time I accidently switched the song in the middle of one...:nervous: |
Are you freaking serious? You mixed using WMP and Winamp?.. |
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| DJ RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by dinoXpress
its all track selection
i find that i jump around a good bit when im not focused and really understanding my own track selection. but when you stay on the ball and really pick tracks i can put together a 4 hour set, i have the tunes, i have enough of the same type of tunes, but again, on eosme nights i feel like i jump around too much, and others im ok, i usually get good feedback on both types of nights
i guess the trick is to stay focused, when im a focused dj, im a better dj. |
See, it's weird, b/c sometimes I feel like I can do a really solid hour and a half or two hours of prog that seems to work as a real solid intro into some of the harder, epic trance I like to spin late in sets, but other times it's like I'm throwing two completely different sets, like night and day...
And speaking of staying focused, funny story about Saturday Night. This girl who I have to admit, I'm moderately attracted too, decides to spend the last hour of my set behind the decks with me, and gets the idea that when I put down the headphones to dive into my discs she should just throw them on. So she's just jammin the out to the phones, and I realize "Holy , I've gotta mix now or I'm straight ed!" Luckily I had the track I was mixing into cued up right on point, and ended up just dropping the track in and mixing the bass in so slowly that I could hear the corrections I had to make in the monitor, but it was pretty close to begin with. The transition ended solid, and sounded great, but it was definitely one of those "Dammit, I should have been paying attention, I was DAMN luck that wasn't just a massive trainwreck!"
A little off topic, but meh ;) |
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| DJ Elf |
| quote: | Originally posted by Synbios
Are you freaking serious? You mixed using WMP and Winamp?.. |
Well, didn't mix, kinda beatmatched becouse you can't mix in WMP and winamp, so ye I did change between songs, my brothers g/f thought I used a program to do it :stongue: |
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| shades_of_gray |
4 hours!......nice one
use that 4 hours well.....
programming is about the developing a sensitive understanding of how people react to music.....and your dancefloor feedback is key.....watch how they recact to ur music
a records mood
Tempo
Style
Structure
musical association
never plan a set.....4 hours is a lot of time....you can play anything you like......dive into house, breaks, techno, prog, trance....u could ind tracks that you rarely play out and experiment
you could start out mello and then build it up gradually......or you could take the tempo up gradually until you reach a peak....then drop it down again and repeat.........or start out slow again....then shift up a few gears until you reach a peak, and then hold it there allowing a few breathers along the way
up 2u |
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| DJ RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by shades_of_gray
never plan a set.....4 hours is a lot of time....you can play anything you like......dive into house, breaks, techno, prog, trance....u could ind tracks that you rarely play out and experiment
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Yeha, i've definitely been getting a little more adventerous with my track selection when I play out... still have a lot of trouble with break beats, but I will keep working on it... I've definitely been pulling out some records I just haven't played much at all lately...
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you could start out mello and then build it up gradually......or you could take the tempo up gradually until you reach a peak....then drop it down again and repeat.........or start out slow again....then shift up a few gears until you reach a peak, and then hold it there allowing a few breathers along the way
up 2u |
This is exactly what I was getting at. I don't really feel comfortable with how to approach doing this yet though, you know? Like, it always sounds real awkward when I try to build up to a peak and then drop it back down, just doesn't sound real cohesive, which I think is easier to attain if you just go in one direction i.e. Just constantly building, but I don't necessarily think I want to be THAT DJ who just builds and builds, I would really like some pointers on how to work on the ebb and flow of my sets...
If anyone needs an idea of where I'm at and what I'm doing, here's a link to a recent set (Not trying to advertise it, it's just an example of where I'm at now, and the kind of "programming" I'm attempting, if you've got advice that doesn't need a listen, simply don't download!)
Right Click and Save As... if you want a Tracklist, shoot me a PM...
Thanks for all the help so far guys, I'm definitely interested to hear how any of you all work with extended sets...
Peace, Cheers,
RJT |
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| MERiDiAN5i2 |
long sets I try to break into subblocks of genres.. otherwise I get too tempted to mix between genres all too much. I'm good at it, but it makes the vibe too choppy. so usually i'll lay down 4 to 6 tracks of a similar genre and then switch up into something with a different feel.
watch the crowd. if they stop reacting the way you want, switch up the flavor.
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decides to spend the last hour of my set behind the decks with me, and gets the idea that when I put down the headphones to dive into my discs she should just throw them on
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geez.. no respect. she better have been getting naked. i'd have ejected her before she could get the first half of 'blowjob' out her mouth. |
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| djtrinity |
thats easy question........
u don't.....u let them program themselves |
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