How do you practice/what is your practice routine?

[xtianw]

i open up dj software, i load music into the player, i press play, and then I let the fail wash over me.

[nicolas]

Usually I sit down an try to put a clever mix together in Traktor. A few hours pass and I remember I haven't done shit I meant to do and forgot to press record.

yeah, and it was so good..

How many of you pre listen the incoming track?? I don't use it that much when I practice, not even when I'm recording, I know I should, you can adjust the gains,do some eq, maybe some effects, try different tunes...

[Nesquigs]

quick check to see where im at in the track and that im in teh right spot. the ill fade over to full headphone mix to see how its reacting as im bringing it in, maybe cue the track a bit more then bring it all the way in.

mapping the headphone mix was one of the best things i ever did. :P

[procks]

I find that it helps me to plan my practice time before I turn anything on. When Im still at work or on the way home I think about it. There are four or five questions I usually try to address;

what was my favorite moment during my last set and why

what was the most exciting drop during my last set

which track would i like to include but havent yet

what could i have done to make my last set go more smoothly

which parts of my set didnt fit well together and why

i dont always have answers for these questions, or end up focusing entirely on one answer for days at a time, it does make my practice time more productive though. I play thursday and friday nights each week and i consistently spend mon & tues working on music. taking the weekend off gives me fresh ears when i listen to things again, its much easier for me to hear what worked and what didnt. i dont have a set tracklist but i find about 30-40% stays the same.

[GPS]

Turn off phase meter and never hit the sync button. Eventually I'll have bpm reader off as well.

I like to challenge myself.

[Coldfuzion]

yeah, and it was so good..

How many of you pre listen the incoming track?? I don't use it that much when I practice, not even when I'm recording, I know I should, you can adjust the gains,do some eq, maybe some effects, try different tunes...

Nesquigs and Procks nailed it for me as well (I forgot to mention it :P).

I do the same thing (as Nesquigs), I think it's extremely important to listen to the incoming tracks and make sure it's in the best spot to drop it in next (although I like to use loop in the new song most of the time).

And as for Procks post, I do the same thing and it helps a TON. Not to mention whenever I am getting ready to mix, I go into iTunes and pick out the tracks i'm going to use and create a new playlist with a set of songs 15 - 20 and as I go through I just wing it, but then whichever (as I am playing) fit better than others I write down and then re-do that transition to the song until I figure out the happy medium. If you see my iTunes playlist you'll see a bunch of different playlists that are named "Remix One, Remix Two, etc."

I find it also helps after I create a playlist if I play it in my car the next morning (just the songs, not my mix) on the way to college (and in college) which helps me hear songs that will mix better - keep in mind though my drive to school is about an hour long, and I wait 2 hours in the college itself before my classes start. I just turn on shuffle and repeat and let it go.

[Johnv]

Generally practice for about an hour or less every other day. About 3-4 hours on the weekends.

Generally I just pick up a genre that I'm feeling that day. Whether It be some Soulfull/Disco house, Electro House, Deep House, Trance, Top 40, Hip-Hop/Rap and go with It.

I've come to find that I really dislike making a play list unless I'm making a mix. I've found that literally just winging it helps me find more constructive ways of mixing in/out of songs.

Also Pre listening to a track is a must for me. Cue up usually goes as follows. Beatmatch, gains, eq's if needed. Lately I've been trying to find more ways to constructively use loops and FX for transitions rather then just adding spice/ruining a good track.

[Coldfuzion]

Generally practice for about an hour or less every other day. About 3-4 hours on the weekends.

Generally I just pick up a genre that I'm feeling that day. Whether It be some Soulfull/Disco house, Electro House, Deep House, Trance, Top 40, Hip-Hop/Rap and go with It.

I've come to find that I really dislike making a play list unless I'm making a mix. I've found that literally just winging it helps me find more constructive ways of mixing in/out of songs.

Also Pre listening to a track is a must for me. Cue up usually goes as follows. Beatmatch, gains, eq's if needed. Lately I've been trying to find more ways to constructively use loops and FX for transitions rather then just adding spice/ruining a good track.

How do you sort through the million songs you have off each genre? Is it just like a spur of the moment thing? Like you know what song you would like to hear next? Or just pick randomly? Cause when I go through my playlists in my head I have to select the songs that I think would flow together in general or sound similar, hence the playlists.

[Johnv]

Sadly enough no millions of songs here yet =P. About 600 atm.

BPM and key first. I try to emulate a club setting the best that I can. Hence the no playlist thing I have going. Generally I try to do It all by memory. Its all 50/50 spur/randomness and memory. Usually I have a good idea of where I'm going next, but because I try to emulate a club I want/try to mix things up and go in a totally different direction. This idea on practicing is usually for top 40 though. For most other genres you aren't going to have many requests (at least from what I've seen).

With crowd requests and watching the flow of the crowd/crowd reading things can become a mess and chaotic.

I'm not picking up 30-40 songs a month. Usually its around 10-20 at the most. Gives me more time to memorize songs and such.

Not trying to bash on having a playlist. I just like to be prepared for anything.

[astromech]

A family with a young kid moved in downstairs and his bedroom is below my man-room. So selfish