Music for mobile DJ

Typically, mobile DJs play for a wide variety of people of different ages, backgrounds and different musical tastes. This means that in most cases, you'll need A LOT of different types of music (big band, jazz, swing, top-40, country, oldies, R&B, rock, Motown, modern rock, old school, classic rock, alternative, disco, techno, rap, Spanish, etc...). 

How do you know what to buy? When you're first starting out, your best bet is to get all of the standards or "catch" songs. These are the most popular and recognizable hits that everyone knows and loves. If you don't have them, you'll be in trouble. These are songs like Old Time Rock and Roll, Twist and Shout, In the Mood, YMCA, Love Shack, Mony Mony, etc... Luckily, a lot of these can now be purchased on compilation CDs so you won't have to buy a CD for just one song which can get expensive quickly. Another nice thing about the hits from such styles as oldies, big band, classic rock, old school, disco and Motown is that once you have these songs, you'll rarely have to purchase another song from that style of music. Think about it, when was the last time you heard a new oldie but goodie? 

For the newer songs, there are services that you can subscribe to that provide the latest releases. In many cases, these songs are available about the same time you might start hearing them on the radio. This also means that they may or may not be hits.

Some DJs brag about how many CDs or songs they have with some collections being upwards of 50,000 songs which is really quite an impressive number. Seriously, though how many songs are they going to play in a night? Today, the average song is about 5 minutes. If you look at some of the older songs, they averaged 3 minutes in length. There are 60 minutes in an hour and the average party is about 4 hours. This means that the average DJ is playing 50 to 60 songs a night and that's if they don't stop the music to talk occasionally. Hopefully, these guys with the big collections have gone digital and have all of this music on a hard drive somewhere. Can you imagine dragging all of these CDs or record albums from gig to gig? 

More important than the number of songs in your collection is that you have the music that your audience wants to hear. This is where those standards come into play. Who cares if you have a bunch of songs that nobody has ever heard of or wants to hear? On the other hand, if you don't have the songs they want, you'll hear about it. The key is to have the right songs.

Do not rule out

Don’t Rule Out the Macarena, YMCA, Cha-Cha Slide or Other Participation Dances

We have all been there…doing those “cheesy” dance routines to songs that get played at nearly every wedding reception across America.  But before you reject those so-called “cheesy” group participation dances like the Chicken Dance, Love Shack, or the Hokey Pokey, I ask you to consider what is written in the rest of this article.  These dances may be the only opportunity some of your guests will have in order to get on the dance floor and have some fun; especially, those that are timid to dancing in public.

Most people are wary to get out on the dance floor when the dancing fun is starting. Only those that feel extremely confident (or don’t care what others think) will go out to get the dancing started. These participation dances might be the key to many of your guests remembering your wedding day as being one where they had a great evening of fun!

You don’t have to do the Hokey Pokey right after your first dance but let your DJ keep some options open. These group dance songs are frequently requested by your guests and often create reception high-lights and priceless photo opportunities for your photographer and videographer. People having even a little bit of fun for a few short dances will remember your reception as being a LOT of fun.

DJ hire pays off

If you want a great party you will most definitely need great music. You could be in to all sorts of music, or maybe a certain genre which might be Old Skool dance, R ‘n’ B, cheese or maybe just whatever is on the radio at the time. There are a lot of entertainment agencies out there that can help you out and specialise in DJ hire of any party or event. One of the best ways to entertain the guests is to hire a DJ who can play for anyone and any occasion whether it be a large or small event. 

A DJ will bring fun, good music and energy to the party and you can be sure that anyone who is there will be dancing to the beat. If you have a list of songs that you want to be played your DJ will be happy to take this from you. They should then be able to work out the best time to play the appropriate song and work out what song mixing well in to the next one on your play-list. In-between songs that you have asked for the DJ will be able to fill in the gaps by taking requests and looking and making good judgment as to what sort of music fits in well with the audience. If the party is themed the DJ needs to know about this before the party to get prepared. 

DJ’s are versatile can adapt to more than one occasion, from weddings to Birthdays or dinner balls to charity events and lots more. An Old Skool DJ before would have just needed a couple of speakers, some basic lights and a box full of records, however it is much more full on these days. Nowadays a professional DJ needs to have a good understanding about various lighting setups, internet marketing including social media, sound systems, various controllers, knowledge of computers and much more. The main job for the DJ is to set the right mood to ensure a good delivery. There must be a variety of good music for all to enjoy and of course, to get the dance-floor busy and rocking! Whilst guests are arriving low level music should be played, or maybe easy listening as people know it. Loud and floorfilla type music may annoy people early on if they’re trying to talk. 

You hire a DJ to read the crowd and play the right and best possible music to fit the mood. Very experienced DJ’s are experts in reading the dance-floor and can judge when the music should change and be more up-beat music. A DJ who loves their job and shows true passion will be moving around and really getting involved and engaging with the audience. A good party needs a professional DJ for it to take off and that is a fact.