Club DJ - Mix lesson

   Talk about gear, music, shows or anything you'd like.
Forum rules
Click here to join Mixvibes on DISCORD https://discord.gg/gMdQJ2cJqa

Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby jiel on 05 Sep 2008, 17:56

This is a really interessant topic, i found it in another DJ forum.


Here’s a very brief overview for 5 hours of basic Club Mixing. If anybody has some additional suggestions or would like to share past experiences (good or bad) please post them. Here we go:

Visit the club before your first performance so you can do some research. When you go, make sure the DJ is playing the same kind of music you are expected to play—some clubs play different music on certain nights. Introduce yourself to the staff and let them know that you will be DJing on a particular night. Try to get as much useful information (about the type of music to play, the crowd, etc...) as you can from them. While you’re there, evaluate the DJ, music played, how the crowd reacted to certain songs and mixing techniques, the club’s equipment, etc….

After you’ve done your research and properly prepared yourself, you’re now ready to perform. Don’t over prepare by thinking you are only going to play what you’ve prepared in advance. Your set is only a musical map that’s used to take the crowd in certain directions. Therefore, make sure you are ready to react to the crowd and go in different directions with your set. Get to the club earlier and test the equipment. Go through a set while you are testing the equipment.

During the first hour and a half, create a social mood in the club. The people there are socializing with each other and people are still arriving at the club. Rarely will you find people willing to run straight to the floor after walking through the door. Keep this in mind and save your dance music and mixing skills for later in the evening.

For the next half hour, you are still playing music that will not interrupt conversations. Furthermore, people are still arriving at the club. However, you eventually introduce some songs that may interrupt a few conversations by drawing some people to the floor. During this time, you are reading the crowd to see if what you researched is what they like on this particular night. You have to read the crowd because you are not going to get the same group of people every week. See if the music makes their heads and feet move to the beat.

You’ve got your read from the crowd; now it’s time to react. During the next half hour, you will make the transition from social time to dance time. You gradually speed up the tempo like a plane taking off from a runway. The destination you want to be at by the end of this half hour is a full floor.

This is a very important rule to remember, especially if you are probing the crowd with different music to see what the people like. Women will usually hit an empty dance floor faster than men. As a matter of fact, they will drag the men out there even if the men are hesitant or they will dance with each other in some situations. Consequently, look for energetic women who seem to be in the dancing mood.

Once you’ve arrived at your destination—a full floor—it’s now time to unleash your DJ skills and dance music on the crowd. For the next two hours, you will take them on an audio adventure that has the expected and the unexpected. If the club has a recording device (tape deck, cd burner, etc...), record yourself mixing during this two-hour period. If the club doesn’t have one, bring your own recording device. This will allow you to evaluate your performance later.

Consider giving the crowd and yourself a breather (a break) or two so you don’t wear them out and yourself (especially if you are the only DJ) by varying the tempo. This takes them on an emotional roller coaster and makes the audio adventure more suspenseful. You can also use this time to play some request, get the recording device ready for your next set, and go over mentally what songs you plan on playing in your next set. However, be flexible so you can easily react to the crowd.

For the last half hour, you start to prepare the crowd for the end of the audio adventure. You start your descent back to reality by gradually slowing down the tempo. Finally, the adventure is over; reality begins to set in mentally and the crowd realizes its time to go. Hopefully you learned something from the crowd that will make their next adventure even better.

There are many more concepts that this very limited guide doesn’t cover. Consequently, do as much research and preparation as you. Learn from your mistakes and from the crowd. With each audio adventure you take the crowd on, you will broaden the realm of adventures you can take them to. In short, you will become a better Club DJ.

Thanks to the author : Double O.
Don't hesitate to share your experiences with us !!
Image
User avatar
jiel
 
Posts: 1007
Joined: 14 Apr 2008, 09:55
Location: 92


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby polocorp on 07 Sep 2008, 20:07

sounds like the crowd this DJ tends to is on E everyday :lol:
MixVibes PRO DJ TEAM

MixVibes Cross 2
MacBook PRO
CDJ-2000
DJM-800

http://polocorp.blogspot.com
http://Facebook.com/polocorp.music
User avatar
polocorp
 
Posts: 2141
Joined: 04 Sep 2006, 17:29
Location: Paris


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby phadedvision on 08 Sep 2008, 14:34

polocorp wrote:sounds like the crowd this DJ tends to is on E everyday :lol:


LOL! :lol:
User avatar
phadedvision
 
Posts: 1388
Joined: 11 Dec 2007, 01:25


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby polocorp on 08 Sep 2008, 16:55

i'll take you on an 'audio adventure'

http://myspace.com/supermayer
MixVibes PRO DJ TEAM

MixVibes Cross 2
MacBook PRO
CDJ-2000
DJM-800

http://polocorp.blogspot.com
http://Facebook.com/polocorp.music
User avatar
polocorp
 
Posts: 2141
Joined: 04 Sep 2006, 17:29
Location: Paris


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby phadedvision on 09 Sep 2008, 03:26

I meant to thank you for sharing that on MSN, Supermayer is dope as hell!
User avatar
phadedvision
 
Posts: 1388
Joined: 11 Dec 2007, 01:25


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby polocorp on 10 Sep 2008, 11:19

thanks for sharing TTC's Crunk de Gaulle ;)
MixVibes PRO DJ TEAM

MixVibes Cross 2
MacBook PRO
CDJ-2000
DJM-800

http://polocorp.blogspot.com
http://Facebook.com/polocorp.music
User avatar
polocorp
 
Posts: 2141
Joined: 04 Sep 2006, 17:29
Location: Paris


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby phadedvision on 10 Sep 2008, 20:19

polocorp wrote:thanks for sharing TTC's Crunk de Gaulle ;)


No problem man, it's pretty intense huh? The glitches are nicely done and even though I can't understand French, it still sounds awesome. :cool:
User avatar
phadedvision
 
Posts: 1388
Joined: 11 Dec 2007, 01:25


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby polocorp on 12 Sep 2008, 10:50

sure thaaang. you play "une bande de mec sympa' from TTC ? it's badass.
MixVibes PRO DJ TEAM

MixVibes Cross 2
MacBook PRO
CDJ-2000
DJM-800

http://polocorp.blogspot.com
http://Facebook.com/polocorp.music
User avatar
polocorp
 
Posts: 2141
Joined: 04 Sep 2006, 17:29
Location: Paris


Re: Club DJ - Mix lesson

Postby phadedvision on 12 Sep 2008, 11:04

****in' LOVE that song. I play it when I drive to work all the time. :cool:
User avatar
phadedvision
 
Posts: 1388
Joined: 11 Dec 2007, 01:25



Return to General Chat




Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 87 guests

Board index

 
 
   
 
© 2014 Mixvibes