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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Practice Question? - Page: 1

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Ok.. so when you practice do you practice a set that you plan to use for a gig or do you practice just going live "freestylling"
Ex: myself when i practice i pick a starting song and i go from there song to song, sometimes i feel its good, sometimes i feel it could throw me off, im not a club dj im a private event so when i find a tight set, yeah ill write them down but whats some of your practice methods?
 
geposted Mon 26 Apr 10 @ 8:10 am
started off writing down tracks in order but now just "wing-it", after startin off with a pre-selected Intro... oh and a pre selected Outro as well for the end (this has my DJ name as the track title).

Seana

XXX
 
All i can say is just pratcice. Make sets. You dont wirite anything down. When you are dj iing live, you are playing acording to what you see in reaction of the crowd. Form the start point, just play songs from last year. You play the newer songs later. Any private partie i dj whether if its a wedding, sweet 16, baby shower etc. I dj like if im in a club and the crowd goes crazy.
 
I practice using music I want to hear :) unfortunately I do have to get the boring set list sorted first :(
 
Like others have said, don't write anything down. Being a good DJ means that you adjust to the crowds reaction. Do not stick to a set playlist. Yeah, you'll have your standards that you will always play but always be flexible with the extras. This is how you stand out from the rest. If you stick to a list, your style will become stale and people will get tired of you.

When I practice I typically have a starter song in mind. It's usually something that isn't popular but has a wow factor. From there, I let the music guide me. I do recommend that you record your mixes. You need to hear yourself when you're not DJing. Some things turn out better than you think and others not as good. There are some songs that may speed up or slow down (especially songs created before the drum machine). You need to know those sections of the song so you can adjust appropriately or avoid mixing there.

Bottom line...Have fun and be YOU! Because, "Nobody can be you but you"
 
Days beafore each partie or club. I am always constantly organizing folders buy adding or removing songs from the sets. I need to be on top of my game especially here in NYC where there is too many good djs.
 
Caliente123 wrote :
...I need to be on top of my game especially here in NYC where there is too many good djs.


I remember my NY DJing days. The competition is tough and plentiful.

Keep it fresh so people never know what song to expect but they will know if you play it, it will be good.
 
always both. never play a song you've never listened to and always try to know at least 2-3 songs you can mix out to if the new stuff tanks the floor.
 
23+ years of winging it baby! You gotta go with the flow kids! Feel the vibe & go with it!
 
The only time I ever "practiced" was when I first learned to DJ way back when. I was practicing to learn how to beatmatch and scratch. Nowadays I just show up with maybe a song or two in my head because I haven't played them in awhile, but for the most part I never pre-determine what I'm gonna play. You really gotta just go with the flow. Mind you, if you have a couple of mashup mix tricks you want to practice ahead of time, then for sure you should practice those ahead of time. To add what Caliente123 said, it's good to have all your folders organized and up to date, that way you can have a selection to choose from and work the crowd.

The downfall of 'over-practicing' ahead of time is when you perform it live it may not rock the crowd. My suggestion is to become knowledgeable of the song structure of all your tracks (and/or set cue points for mix-in and mix-out points). If you have the foundations of good mixing skills already in place you should be able to mix from one track to the next with no problems, no matter what the track. And even if I'm mixing a track that I've never even heard before, within 30 seconds I can easily determine the length of the mix-in point, double or half it depending on the other track's mix-out point, match my tempo, kill the bass, bring the crossfader over... voila, perfect mix every time.

Besides all that, I find nothing more boring than mixing at home by myself with no crowd. The only thing I can think of that's even more boring is watching a YouTube video of someone mixing in their bedroom by themselves with no crowd.
 
all good info.. and like dizzy said theres nothing worse or more boring than at home with no crowd or no motivation. my kids will come in when they hear the songs they like and stay till they dont wanna hear no more..then i know i have played the wrong song ... thanks all!!
 
pick a song to start with and run with it. its practice. the only time i have EVER practiced a set play list was for dj competitions. in real life at clubs you will or should be constantly reading your crowd.
 
I am a big fan of winging it, you really feel like the man (or woman) when you can tackle anything on a whim. But in the case of making a demo of your favorite style, if you have a good set, there is no reason to write it down. If you go into the "History" catagory (in browser window on left) you can see all the tracks you played, in the order that you played them, for that day. Then just save it as a playlist.

Technology is great, love VDJ. Can't imagine how much harder it was back in the day, but I am glad it is easier to stay organized now as I don't play very often (couple shows a year). Just makes it easier to make it sound like I play all the time, so I am better at the shows I do play.

Just don't use it all the time like everybody else recomends, plus it will get out dated and will no longer be relevent. Play live, read the crowd and be edgy. But for a demo, a well rehersed mix will showcase your style well.
 
I practice, but don't really call it practice. I just play. Whether it be for myself, a party or friends. One cool way to practice is to get a Ustream account and invite your friends. That way you can practice, play for them and get feedback all at the same time.

CRash
 
What's practice? LOL... gone are the days when I used to scratch in my bedroom for hours on end. I've got married, I'd be lucky to have that allocated time!

Only thing I ever do is organise my music on my home pc according to filter folders and update any new music for the month. I have a "current" folder which tends to change according to whats popular at the time.
 
lol maybe i used the wrong word haha...or maybe i didnt.. some may call it practice some may call it preparation..either way from what i gather alot of you just wing it.. i used to wing it on my weddings then i my music selection started getting bigger than my ear to wing. so i had to put my time in to listen to the music again..so practice prepartion.. either way. good info..but when i do a gig i dont go in with prepared set cuz theres no way i can just assume this will carry me thru the nite..
 
I don't "practice" as much as i should (basically i've been doing it too long, and can usually 'tell' what works just upon hearing the song..)

but I do try and set aside some time to 'try out' the new songs I get in..
It depends on the songs, most times they 'fit' in with a previous set no problems, others I have to keep testing until I find something I like..
 
This is what I do, I have my wife sit down and pick out about 20/25 songs and then I try to mix them the best I can. Its fun cause shes always picking out something I would never have thought to use. Also dont forget to record it so you can go back and listen to what you could of done better.
Just food for thought
Huey
 
Caliente123 wrote :
Days beafore each partie or club. I am always constantly organizing folders buy adding or removing songs from the sets. I need to be on top of my game especially here in NYC where there is too many good djs.


fa shizzle
 
What Up Kizzle, shizzle. You know how it is here.. Money is flying everywhere..... Djs are on high demand.

This is what i do.. After i organize my new songs. I play them and i set cue points. I want to when to throw them in. Some songs i will play from key points and others i will blend from the marked cue point. New songs blend different and you have to spend some time knowing where to throw in the songs. Not all songs start good from the beggining. This is why i saw to practice.... We all have to be on top of our game.



CalienteNYC. 25 years in the game.
 
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