Programming / Song Choice / Set Planning, etc - how do you do it?

Zascar

You could be mixing at home, playing in a club, recording a promo mix, or just at a party. You are playing some tunes and you want to give it your best so you usually have some sort of plan for what sort of musical journey you have got for your listeners.

Tell us a bit about what choices you make and how you plan ahead etc.
What elements do you think matter most that differentiate good dj's from great dj's.. What are the important things you have learned and what are the pitfalls to avoid?

VinylJunkie

To plan a set I will usually select a vibe depending on the mood im in. Then I will start picking tunes to compliment this mood and vibe.

The most important thing ive learned is to know your music fully before attempting to bring it into a mix. One wrong tune can kill the flow.
This is an ongoing process I think the key is to buy music in small batches often.

Hectorjelly

There a few ways to do it, one process I sometimes use is to pick a start and end point. EG, I want to start with a 115bpm mostly ambient track, but end up with 150bpm hardcore. I think think about how I will get there without there being any large changes in pitch. Knowing the music is important

nonsense42

I NEVER plan a set.Worst thing you can do.If you've got 15 tracks that you're going to play one after the next and the crowd arent feeling it then you'll get panicked and knocked off course.

Better to learn all you're tunes and practice with them then just go by the vibe of the crowd.If they're feeling the deep stuff then keep playing it,if you need to up the tempo then do just that.It will improve you're sets no end.

joker77

nonsense42 wrote: »

I NEVER plan a set.Worst thing you can do.If you've got 15 tracks that you're going to play one after the next and the crowd arent feeling it then you'll get panicked and knocked off course.

Better to learn all you're tunes and practice with them then just go by the vibe of the crowd.If they're feeling the deep stuff then keep playing it,if you need to up the tempo then do just that.It will improve you're sets no end.

yea have to agree with this - if you're playing out you cannot really plan a set. You can have a vague idea about what you'd like to play, but the set should definitely evolve based on the crowd reaction. Knowing what to play and when is key.

At home it's a different matter entirely. If I was recording a mix for other people to listen to, I would plan it. I'd start with a large selection of tunes, whittle it down to what I wanted, make sure they vibe is right from tune to tune (even just mixing them in preparation to make sure) before recording.

VinylJunkie

nonsense42 wrote: »

I NEVER plan a set.Worst thing you can do.If you've got 15 tracks that you're going to play one after the next and the crowd arent feeling it then you'll get panicked and knocked off course.

Better to learn all you're tunes and practice with them then just go by the vibe of the crowd.If they're feeling the deep stuff then keep playing it,if you need to up the tempo then do just that.It will improve you're sets no end.

I agree to an extent I will never layout all the tunes im going to play in the order I will play them however I will organize all my tunes into a folder with the same feel and vibe and go from there.