Why is it so different between playing in Club or home?

[khan.cross]

Guys I have not much experience playing in a club but every time I have a gig, I face problems with, buttons, transitions, volume, finding the right tracks...

At home, I can do everything with ease.

Would be interesting to read your experiences.

[peedot]

just sounds like nervous jitters to me. from experience i can tell you that the more you practice and the more you play out, the less you'll have that kind of nervousness. make it a goal to get to the point where every motion of djing becomes muscle memory, complete second nature. i would also suggest simplifying your djing until you "find your groove" during your set. stay away from effects, excessive looping, etc. keep it simple until you feel more comfortable then slowly add those kind of things in. and most importantly, have fun with it. the more you enjoy yourself the less you will be worrying about everything else going on in the room.

[Stazbumpa]

just sounds like nervous jitters to me.

^ This.

It's normal, maybe even desirable in a small way, and the only way to take control of it is to keep throwing yourself into the bear pit that is DJ'ing publically. Anyone who was ever any good at anything got to a point where what they were doing was second nature, that's what you shoot for. The nerves don't always disappear totally, but you can use them instead of surrender to them.

[Kulture]

I find that I'm also more aware and more thoughtful of my process, and critical of every little action I take. It's key to not be afraid of messing up a little bit. I mean, still focus on doing your best, but little hiccups will happen wether you want it or not. Being able to take them in stride without letting them throw you completely off track is the best way to deal with them. Chances are that all those little problems with buttons and volume levels are all similar to things you experience at practice, you just don't pay as much attention to them when you're at home!

[Deejaesnafu]

one thing throws me off is if there are no monitors. going from your cozy acoustics at home , to a bigger room with more reverb , and without speakers in your face to give you a true sound picture, can just ruin your abilities.

[SirReal]

one thing throws me off is if there are no monitors. going from your cozy acoustics at home , to a bigger room with more reverb , and without speakers in your face to give you a true sound picture, can just ruin your abilities.

THIS!!! I can't stand having to mix in headphones because there's no monitors.

[Mrbigtoe]

when in doubt add more flanger

[sliding down the banister]

THIS!!! I can't stand having to mix in headphones because there's no monitors.

Tel me about it. I did a warm-up set for a live band at an outdoor venue on Friday evening and they had run out of speakers; such that they could not give me a booth monitor. Add into the fact that another DJ had down the soundcheck and set things up with the sound engineer such that the master volume on the mixer was set at '2' meaning mixing with the 'master cue' was out of the question. So everything had to be done on headphones using only the 'channel cue'.

I lost count as to the number of times, I found myself triple checking, that I did not have the wrong faders open; as in the headphones, I could not instantly tell what was open and closed.

Bloody pain in the backside.

khan.cross - We have all been there.

1) Everything sounds so different + louder on a larger system, that initially the sensory overload has you reeling.
2) You are also having to manage adrenaline, which you will not have in the bedroom. This should never be under estimated. Almost any full-time athlete will tell you that they achieve there personal best in competitions, far beyond what they can achieve when training. But they also have to overcome technical challenges where the adrenaline punishes them [no jumps / false starts etc].

As others have stated, the more you put yourself in the strange environment the more comfortable you become with it.

[ImNoDJ]

Guys I have not much experience playing in a club but every time I have a gig, I face problems with, buttons, transitions, volume, finding the right tracks...

At home, I can do everything with ease.

Would be interesting to read your experiences.

You may not actually be doing any better at home, but you are just less stressed.

Record yourself mixing at home. Can you play a flawless one hour set with no audible mistakes? If not, then you arent really ready to play out and your lack of experience and lack of confidence in your own skills is causing stage anxiety.

Are you being honest with how you sound at home? Record every single set.

[Jester]

Keep it simple, stupid