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 DJing Discussion
How do you Prep for a set?
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How do you Prep for a set?

Robbie O 4:16 PM - 21 May, 2012
Wondering how others prep for a gig? Alot of my close friends are now getting married, and luckily most have choose me to DJ. But its the same group of friends and I want to sound different of each of these events/weddings.

Typically I have a loose playlist and freestyle and adjust on the fly by reading the crowd. But when times get rough I rely more on my playlist...Any thoughts, tips and proven methods on programming/creating a playlist effectively
Dj-M.Bezzle 4:24 PM - 21 May, 2012
Shots of rumple
ced_so_thoed 6:05 PM - 21 May, 2012
ay
get there early, not ontime. By being set up before people start to come inside, you'll think of new songs to play and when to play them.
yep
str8nger 7:10 PM - 21 May, 2012
I learn that prep is very important, I use to freestyle it and play what ever , now I prep som of the songs that I want to play that night. I always forget to play some good jams so now I make crates with the music I want and yes some sets here and there that sound good
DJ Reflex 5:52 AM - 22 May, 2012
Quote:
I learn that prep is very important, I use to freestyle it and play what ever , now I prep som of the songs that I want to play that night. I always forget to play some good jams so now I make crates with the music I want and yes some sets here and there that sound good


Prepping for weddings is a good idea. You are constantly bombarded by guests and requests. There is little time to plan out your song list "on-the-fly" at weddings. I have a couple crates with all my "wedding style" music tagged (BPM, genre, cue points. etc).

Start with a few good mixes/transitions and go from there. If you can at least get a 3-4 song set rolling, that will save you some thought when you get hit with a ton of people wanting to chat your ear off (especially brides)!

Music (Madonna) - Funkytown (Lipps Inc) - Now That We Found Love (Heavy D) - You Should Be Dancing (Bee Gees) - Wild Thing (Ton Loc)

All within the 120 to 128 range. Feel free to throw some newer Pink or Katy Perry in the mix . Usually gets the crowd of all ages up and moving.

Good luck to ya - My toughest decisions are slow songs... :)
Bridge 9:54 AM - 22 May, 2012
Prepping for a wedding is super important! Although don't be worried about not sounding different enough for your group of friends. Each of them I'm sure has slightly different tastes in music, and different requests for the style you'll play - enough so that your sets will be varied.

Club DJing, that's another thing. I prepare a little, find the new tunes that I've got that are super heaters and make sure I put them together in a crate - and that's it. I can't plan too much for clubs, because quite often I'll turn up and everyone will be feeling deep house, and not the R'n'B that I wanted to play.

I'll play good mixes again in different sets, but never the same set twice. But that's just me - everyone does it differently.
DJ Tecniq 1:10 PM - 22 May, 2012
Quote:
Wondering how others prep for a gig? Alot of my close friends are now getting married, and luckily most have choose me to DJ. But its the same group of friends and I want to sound different of each of these events/weddings.

Typically I have a loose playlist and freestyle and adjust on the fly by reading the crowd. But when times get rough I rely more on my playlist...Any thoughts, tips and proven methods on programming/creating a playlist effectively
if it's a "serious" wedding the groom will usually create a list of what they want you to play. Afterall it is their wedding. However not all weddings are like that. Mix Factor remix service had some pretty good wedding mixes that used to be on strictlyhits.com