Planning=cheating?

[kelsey7k]

yeah, i echo all the points made.

i think what the person was referring to is that a quality dj is able to read a crowd and know his/her tunes well enough to keep the energy going in the appropriate direction. and honestly, nothing teaches you this but experience.

that said, i think it's best to plan recorded mixes since there is typically no crowd for feedback. a recorded can also be thought of as more of a representation of a live set.

and like Bento pointed out, having some of those planned bits can come in handy for a lot of things. i tend to fall back on tracks i am super familiar with during technical difficulties (which are inevitable when playing out). monitor crapping out? bet that i'm going to be mixing in some tunes that i know like the back of my hand, and know how to fit them together like a glove. or if you're ever playing after someone who plays a style that is totally different than yours or at a BPM that is way different than yours...i've got some intro type bits to smoothly get into my stuff.

[Zac Kyoti]

I'd just like to offer that while I feel this discussion offers some good insight, the mere fact that we are pushed to discuss it at all drives me absolutely frikkin' batty. Let me explain. Having been a musician for 21 years and a dj for 12, and being of the type of mind to embrace all music and music creation as a completely limitless, fluid world of possibility, this ideology of having to catalog, judge, rate, and negatively compare one method of working with sound energy over another is an aggressive act of LIMITATION. I resent every word spoken that made a true sound explorer, humbly learning their craft, feel small, or like they had to doubt themselves or their own personal musical journey in any way. Respect to the explorer's own way, whether plucking strings or twisting knobs, is due. Time will always tell whether someone is or can become a great musician or dj. It's not for narrow minded, this is how it must be done, more righteous than thou set of naysayers to decide what is the right way to reach one's goals, or to explore one's craft.

I really don't like ranting, but being a positive dj in what sometimes feels like and endless sea of ego soaked, competition frenzied, negative f^(%holes, really tries my faith in the dj world sometimes. I know the start of this thread was not a huge deal, but maybe I've just needed to get this off my chest for a while. At my age I have zero tolerance for that kind of attitude, and it's always really sad for me when I hear friends of mine who don't run in dj circles say that they have gotten the overriding impression through the years that most dj's are a$$holes.

Exploring music by nature means there is no wrong way.
All due respect to the dj's that do what they do purely for the love of music and for creation of the Positive. You are my heroes.

[Fatlimey]

I really don't like ranting, but being a positive dj in what sometimes feels like and endless sea of ego soaked, competition frenzied, negative f^(%holes, really tries my faith in the dj world sometimes.

We may be Digital DJs but it is, and always will be, about the music.

[Jester]

Amen

[j1n]

Can I get a hallelujah

[sarasin]

well....being a DJ for ten years in a scene that is pretty much unforgiving....we have had this chat a lot.

I have always maintained that if you are getting paid top dollar and its a HUGE headlining gig.....do your freakin homework.
If you can deliver your set without fuckup and its well put together and the crowd enjoyed it.....then you done you job damn well.

If you just playing your weekly club gig, I am sure you can get away with winging it and just choosing trax on the fly. You should know your trax well enough to do that at least.

I just feel that if you gonna be professional (or act professional) then you gotta deliver the goods and I for one will not really be that impressed if you came to my gig unprepared with your bag of CD and cans etc.

Trax selection.....key.....harmony.....flow, can be much more utilized if you put a lil effort in before hand.

As a bare minimum for my Psytrance gigs, I will go through the latest trax I have and scan through them, listening for the type of phat bass sound I like.

I weed out all the trax that are not that potent and that i don;t like.

Then I have a bunch of tracks I know will be PHAT all the way through my set.

A simple playlist in WinAmp and a few minutes arranging the order...and there you go.

Done.

A bit of order in the chaos that is your music library does wonders.

[DJPhaidon]

We may be Digital DJs but it is, and always will be, about the music.

Hallelujah

But remember, a professional piano player doesn't get pro by looking at the music once. Practice, practice, scales, scales, more scales, practice, eat, rinse and repeat about 5k times, and you might be something. My point was all for the music, but a little homework and hard work never hurt anyone.

[sarasin]

Agreed!

And one also needs to be able to accept that you might NOT make it BIG!

You could have 50 years experience in the guitar.....built 5 of your own.....and can play any style flawlessly. This does not guarrantee you will be the TOP dog! Nor Jimi Hendrix!



I mean aim for it sure. Its the journey that counts...not the destination.

[Jester]

If i am playing for two hours i will definitey work out some tracks but if your crowd is demanding you to go harder and you wont because " its not in my playlist" then you need a slap. You can practise 20 tracks ten times but still clear the floor because you forgot to use you EYES as well as your ears. Peace

[AndySpence]

Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents a Piss Poor Performance.