DJing Discussion

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 DJing Discussion
Planning a set.
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Planning a set.

k2board2003 11:50 AM - 4 May, 2012
So the story is I'm a new DJ ( 9 months) but I have been extremely lucky and have two residencies on a weekly basis and I generally do completely open format. I love mixing up genres and as I try to find out what the crowd is in the mood for that night. I work in a college town where the crowd changes out throughout the night and I really never know when which crowd is going to come in or if the two crowds will mix so it is very hard for me to plan a set especially because I field 20-30 requests a night which really messes up my rhythm. Well with cinco de mayo and graduation weekend going on I figured I would try to plan something out because I really like being random but on big events it seems to work better if there is a plan of action. I haven't really ever tried to plan out a set and am just wondering how other Djs go about this.
Capo Status 12:17 PM - 4 May, 2012
I can't stand Dj's who don't take any requests but you don't have to take every single one. Planning a set, typically if I do plan a set, I plan short ones that I can radnomly throw in throughout the night when in the right tempo, but as well if I'm planning a set using acapellas, voice loops etc, typically don't plan for easy mixing. Just choose songs you want to plan, place songs in seperate folder
bicedidit 12:22 PM - 4 May, 2012
Quote:
, I plan short ones that I can radnomly throw in throughout the night when in the right tempo


2.bp.blogspot.com
k2board2003 12:28 PM - 4 May, 2012
Awesome. What I started doing the last couple nights. Thanks for the input.
DjayRage 4:27 PM - 7 May, 2012
I wrote this a few years ago but it's still relevant..
www.djrage.net
Taipanic 6:03 PM - 7 May, 2012
Unless you are a Superstar DJ on tour (AM, Jazzy Jeff, Tiesto, Guetta, etc..) I don't how (or why) you would pre-program a set. Being a DJ is about reading the crowd throughout the night and playing the best music for that crowd at any particular moment. Personally, I don't see any difference between playing a pre-planned set and putting on Pandora. You should already know what tracks are hot - why would you want to remove the creativity out of your set?
Superstar DJs can play a programmed set - people are coming to see them perform more important than what they play. They are also not too worried about keeping a dancefloor full or rotating the floor to keep the bars busy - things that are vital to everyday DJs.
Aden 7:30 PM - 7 May, 2012
I think 3-6 track routines are ok but you always want to have flexibility.
phonze 8:01 PM - 7 May, 2012
just throw a bunch of songs you want to play that night into one folder and use it as a reference throughout the night. no need to actually plan it song for song.
mantronics 10:31 PM - 7 May, 2012
every set i planned,never worked out,i ALWAYS have to follow the flow and wing it so to speak. So i dont even bother anymore,to stressful planning and not using
popnwave 11:55 PM - 7 May, 2012
I sometimes go with a must play list of new tracks I want to air out on a given week, but I just work them into the set at a fitting time. Pre planning could be ok for a bar function, but if you have to command a dance floor that is asking for disaster, especially if a different crowd than normal appears.
Dj Shamann 12:11 AM - 8 May, 2012
What you can do instead of having a pre-planned set is make one crate for a bar, within that crate you have a bunch of subcrates for the different genres and in those crates you have 100-200 tracks that you know would work.

It gives you a lot of options while still keeping it fresh but not being lost in a library full of shit you would never play at that kind of event.

Basically the point of that is that you know that no matter the genre, you have enough tracks within a crate to cover a whole night regardless. I wouldn't recommend staying in any one crate all night, you gotta mix it up.

As mentioned by a number of people in this thread a whole night of a pre-planned set can be a disaster. Sucks the fun out of DJing too.