Dj tips 24

Fall back on previous sets
What worked once will probably work again. Use
the history feature of your software to remind
yourself what has worked well for you in the past,
and revert to a previously planned set or sets for
a while. Continuity is one of the big plus points of
playing regularly somewhere, and so this works
especially well if you have, say, a weekly booking
– there’s nothing wrong with letting your weekly
sets slowly evolve rather than trying to reinvent
the wheel by playing something completely
different every time.

Dj tips 23

Use key, genre and BPM sorting to make
instant “planned” playlists
Playing music in a similar key can help you to
make transitions smoother and thus appear
planned when they’re not. Sorting by BPM can
give you a choice of records to play next,
removing panic and paralysis and suggesting just
a few tunes meaning you now only have to pick
the best one for a quick mix.
If you play a wildcard tune that goes down really
well and suddenly think that actually, the crowd
would like to hear half an hour of indie, or hip
hop, or whatever style that tune is in, sorting by
genre can give you an instant mini-set –
especially when you then apply key and BPM
sorts within that mini-set to further reinforce the
illusion of careful pre-planning.
Using your software’s “prepare” functionality can
allow you to make such mini-sets on the fly more
easily.

Dj tips 22

Use loops, effects, EQ and volume to add a
spontaneity to planned sets
If the crowd are loving a break, loop it and double
its length before dropping back to the beat. If
they’re grooving to the start of a house track
quite happily, loop it and let it run for a few
minutes before you break the loop and let the
melody or bassline finally drop.
If they’re tiring after a few full-on tunes, next time
your planned set takes a natural dip, drop the
volume by a quarter and let the dancefloor
regroup for five or ten minutes before building the
volume back. Slowly drop the bass out before
throwing it back in at a big point in the track. Use
a little judiciously applied echo or other effect to
add something unusual to a well-known track.
All of these techniques and many more can add
DJing spontaneity to any set, even if it is
otherwise 100% pre-planned.