So, I’ve got my basic mixing down - I can work some nice transitions.
But, What do I do when I’m not working a transition? I mean, to me, when you count off the mix-in and the mix-out of your everyday house-song, the remaining 4(ish) minutes can get a little bit boring, if you don’t work it.
But I dont wanne overdo it, by using the beatmasher over and over again (even though i think it’s FUN! ) So, my question is, what do you guys do when you’re not exactly focused on making everything fit together during the transition?
I usually try to figure out my next track, jump through it to make sure it’s the one I thought it was, make sure I know the structure, adjust it by semitones to make it fit harmonically…every now and then I goof off with effects, but…not all that much.
IMHO, always doing something is annoying…at least, from the floor it is. And as long as you’re having a good time, there’s not actually anything wrong with just standing there or pretending you can dance or something.
Give dance floor lovers some preview of some extremely famous dance song, with just vocal part or recognizable beat part, then forget about that song for next 15-20 mins and them hit em hard!!!
dance, cop numbers, get a drink, pee, monkey with the Fx but dont get stupid, look three records down the line, try to score some mota, make sure you are getting paid…
i am three or four records down the road…change the next record if i’m not feeling it…
man…get busy…
hopefully your record selection speaks for itself and you don’t have to rely on trickery to make your music shine…
If you find yourself with loads of time between transitions that tells me your playing of a set playlist. If you are try maybe starting with your first five songs picked out then wing it. I think you’ll find yourself with a little less time on your hands.
What exactly do you mean with set playlist? For my regular gigs I have a playlist of 300 songs that completely changes and gets renewed. If I don’t use a pre-organisation technique I feel quite nervous about finding quickly the track I want as my mbp has so many songs, and that makes me really nervous on my gig. But that’s just me.
Are you spinning tracks you actually like, or tracks that you hate? Because when I’m spinning a nice track I’m partying in the booth. If I’m spinning a not so awesome track I’m already looking for the next one, and preparing it to mix it in.
I never play an organized list. I may set aside some song for a party I know that crowd will want to hear, but I never prepare and if I’m not feeling a song and the crowd isn’t either I’m digging for the next track and it can be anywhere!!
(and regarding too many tracks to choose from I do two things - organise my tunes using some of the clever smart playlist tricks from DJTT, and before each gig I’ll dump 3 or 4 times the number of tracks I’ll need into a playlist and wing it from there …)
I mean if you know your going to play for an hour you select enough songs that mix well and will last an hour and not deviate from that list. Nothing wrong with the way you do it and having large playlists tailored to specific gigs. It’s the not deviating from a list that I was referring to.
This is a good question actually…because this guy…who is now Digitally DJing and has most of the HARD stuff out the way…wants to know what MORE he can do …instead of standing back and letting the Computer do it all!
Awesome!
This shows me that when guys start DJ Digitally, they not just gonna stand back and do fuckall!
Nice one bro! THIS is how the new comers to the DJ scene should be. The guys that do fuckall give us a bad name!
Well…for me…there is no free time in the box.
Once I have the track cued and and ready to go…I drop it and mash!
If not mashing…then popping loops and making the set interesting…making it my own.
Once you have been doing this for a while…you will get to understand how to set the Cues in your tracks to be able to RMX on the fly…re arrange on the fly.
I like to play 2 tracks together…almost ALL the time. You need to know what you doing tho!
) So, my question is, what do you guys do when you’re not exactly focused on making everything fit together during the transition?
lol