To make a great DJ set, you need skill, experience, talent and a sense of rhythm. By reading this article, you can learn the techniques used by the best DJs, you can learn how to choose the right structure for your sets, how to mix on the spot to make the audience dance and how to stand out from your peers.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Structuring the Set
Step 1. Start with a basic theme
Depending on the venue, your experience and your style, you may be forced to follow the owner's directions, or you may have more freedom and play whatever you like. Whatever the nature of your arrangement, you need to take the time to draft a basic theme for your set, deciding at least the first five tracks in advance.
- Will you limit your set to disco tunes or will you offer surprises to your audience? Do you want to insert some classics of the disc? Rock songs? Make sure you have everything ready, on your computer hard drive or in your record collection.
- You can always decide to change your plans, but thanks to this strategy, you will have a basis from which to evaluate the reaction of the public. If you play a bass-heavy trance song and no one dances, you need to change the theme of the set right away. If, on the other hand, the crowd starts to go wild, you've found the right style right away.
Step 2. Observe the audience
If you keep your head bent over your records and mixer all the time, you will lose contact with people. For a DJ, it is important to pay close attention to audience reactions and the energy level on the dance floor. It's not always easy to understand, but a good DJ is able to guess what a crowd wants even before the dancers know it.
- Pay attention to the most successful pieces. Some songs fill the floor with people dancing and you should have at least 2-4 similar songs follow them to keep the party going. Afterwards, you could slowly change the style, without creating too strong a contrast between the pieces, so as not to make the audience lose engagement.
- Watch out for times when the track empties. It is important to understand right away when a song does not elicit a positive reaction. If you play a sung piece and suddenly the audience seems to lose interest, it immediately goes back to the instrumental pieces. Find out what people who listen to you dislike.
Step 3. Check out the rankings
If a song is being played by all DJs, you might think the right choice is to avoid it. But often people want to hear the latest dance hits and if I don't play them, they won't be happy. Try to stay up to date on the most commercial dance songs people want to hear.
If you don't want to play the version of a song that you hear on the radio, you can propose a remix or a mash-up, or do a remix on the spot. You can prepare a couple of personal versions of the most famous songs before your set and play them
Step 4. Find out when to propose some classic pieces
Each audience is different and its composition can change even over the course of an evening or within an hour. Some people want to dance the night away to house tunes that take their breath away, while others want to hear Jackson 5. Be careful about which songs elicit positive reactions and which ones are badly received, always keeping some old classic on hand.
You might think that a more "mature" audience is perfect for inserting some classic, but that's not always the case. Whenever you play in a club where the atmosphere is not that of a typical club, because the crowd is not made up only of dance lovers, you will probably win everyone over with some classics
Step 5. Try to please and involve everyone
Club goers want to have fun, not reflect on your artistic and deep set of experimental electronic dance music. Give people what they want, make them dance and use their energy to produce exciting mixes. This is your job.
There are no "bad audiences", but there are incompetent DJs. The best DJs know how to interpret situations and are able to always offer an adequate soundtrack. People may dance or stand still, but your job is to do your best to interpret the mood of the venue and reflect it
Part 2 of 3: Giving the Right Rhythm to Your Set
Step 1. Make smooth transitions
If you tried to switch between an industrial remix of a Led Zeppelin song and the latest Katy Perry song, some of the audience probably wouldn't like it, even if BPM didn't change one iota. Try to make smooth transitions, combining styles, sounds, energy and bass.
Step 2. Mix discreetly
Don't make obvious passages between two tracks, where both songs can be heard clearly. Remove some of the sound from a song and gradually increase its volume. Cut the bass, leave the drums alone, then rewind the bass slowly.
Some tracks, like Mickey Slim's remix of "Jump Around", change dramatically and you can use them to your advantage. If a song slows down, put a couple of slow tracks into it, then play it back where it left off
Step 3. Maintain a steady pace, with small variations
If your set is fast, keep it fast and only slow down if you want people to rest for a few seconds. If you're accelerating, do it gradually, or suddenly, but avoid noticeably increasing the speed of a 90 bpm track just to mix it with a 125 bpm house song.
A good idea is to create a loop with a recognizable part of the song, then speed it up slowly before mixing it with the next song. Don't confuse the public; to change speed, remember that you will usually have to accelerate and do so gradually or surprisingly
Step 4. Stay sober
Everyone wants to have fun, including the DJ. If, however, I were not lucid, it would be too easy to lose track of the situation. Keep the complimentary drinks until the end of the set to celebrate your success. Don't get drunk, or you'll end up thinking you can offer a set made up entirely of weird mixes of Finnish TV tunes. If you were sober, you would know this is a mistake.
Part 3 of 3: Be Unique
Step 1. Use the effects to surprise the audience
If you use professional equipment and switch from track to track with only crossfading and bpm control, you are really lazy. All turntables and mixers offer at least some effects; even the simplest equipment has three. You have effects available, so use them.
- You can have echoes, buttons for loops and buttons for samples, so learn how to add them to your sets.
- All mixers have equalizer knobs, which you can use to cut bass or eliminate all sounds except the vocal track.
- Experiment with all the buttons on the mixer. Even the play / pause button can be used during your sets. It is the use of these effects that forms your DJ style.
Step 2. Don't just put discs
It's not enough to mix tracks. You have to participate with your whole body in the set, using hand gestures to lead the crowd. You can clap, swing your arms from side to side, move your fist, and make other moves to get the audience dancing.
Move. If a DJ seems to be enjoying himself, the people who listen to him won't be bored. If, on the other hand, you give the impression that you are a scientist who regulates sensors, the public would be intimidated by you. Let everyone know that you are having fun
Step 3. Talk to the audience
You are the master of ceremonies, so behave like one. Talk to people, welcome requests, chat with the cutest girls, scream that it's someone's birthday, ask if everyone is having a good time. Become the face of the party and spread positive feelings.
It is also important to learn when to shut up. Talking to the crowd can be a good idea, but you should avoid doing it more than once every hour. If you speak at the end of each song, it will ruin the atmosphere
Step 4. Study the work of the masters
Developing a unique style is important, but it's not the most crucial aspect of becoming a good DJ. To interpret the mood of the audience, you need experience. You can give your art a personal touch, but it's essential to get to know the great DJs of the past and learn as much as possible from them. In the future, this will allow you to become a more humble, talented and interesting DJ. If you want to make a great DJ set in a club, you need to know the following artists and listen to their style:
- Chemical Brothers
- Grandmaster Flash
- David Mancuso
- DJ Andy Smith
- Ram Jam Rodigan
- DJ Chuckie
- DJ Cash Money
- DJ Marky
- Carl Cox
- Jam Master Jay
- Cut Chemist
Advice
- Change speed gradually.
- Use your effects.
- Get to know the atmosphere of a venue by going there before your performance and checking out what pieces other DJs are playing.
- A couple of days before your set, practice.
- Don't be afraid to try new tracks or even pitch your own.
- Classic songs are almost always successful.
- Interpret the will of the public.
- Act like you are in control of all the people on the dance floor, because if you didn't realize it, you are.
- Add an element of surprise and suspense to your set.
- He mainly plays remix versions of the original songs.
Warnings
- Drinking alcohol doesn't help you become a better DJ.
- Don't do anything stupid that will annoy the audience.
- If a set hasn't been very successful, don't be discouraged and try to improve.
- Don't be too arrogant before, during and after the set. You may think you are the best, but you can't be sure.
- Always focus on the music, the audience and everything around you.
- Don't make forced transitions.
