Posted by Muxx in Tutorials | 2 Comments
How To DJ: Knowing Your Tracks
Unless you want to mix as if your head was cut off, it’s important to know your tracks if you want to learn how to DJ.
Blind mixing is often very difficult, you can never quite know what you’re getting yourself into when you don’t know your tracks.
It’s much easier than you think, think of this as a ‘research and development’ session as you learn how to DJ.
1. Listen to it without judgement
One you first hear a track, you usually make an immediate good/bad comparison. It’s in all of us, judging music on the first round but as a DJ you need to dig deeper, to find the real soul behind the music.
Your first pass listening to your new track should be a general, “will this work?”.
Obviously if the track doesn’t matches your genre, it probably won’t make the cut but that isn’t to say you couldn’t drop it in to make everyone go crazy as hell.
If a track snares you the first time listening through, it’s probably a keeper. It’s hard to find songs you like on the first listen but they always turn out to be the ones you love most.
2. Listen to it again – for subtly
Now it’s getting a little technical, I recommend listening to your new track a second or third time to pick out some of the effects and sounds.
At this point, I’d suggest listening for sounds and effects you didn’t catch on the first pass. You know those tracks, the ones that have subtle instruments that when listening to gives it a whole different dimension.
3. Will people like it?
Okay, so you think you have a track selected but one very important thing to remember is wither people will love it or hate it.
Just because you have a particular fondness of the track doesn’t mean that others will.
As a DJ, your musical taste may be deeper and more extensive compared to the average clubber or party-goer. Sometimes dropping that unreleased track may not go over so well because some people just aren’t familiar with the artist or sound.
Now, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t be there to open up people’s musical taste with your mixing, but it does say that you should throw in some tracks that people will really enjoy and get them into it.
4. Try it out in your mix
Before you decide to drop the new track into your set, try it out a few times in a mix at home.
Is it fitting well? Does it clash too much?
You can fix it with mixing but remember that a set built with a “story” are ones that are really great, something that takes the listening from one point to the next without breaking that mindset.
Ah hell, just dig through crates
Knowing your music is very important.
It gives you:
- Better understanding
- Ability to match it with your set
- Stops you from mixing blindly
- Allows you to throw it in at any time
You’re already listening to music most of the day, so you might as well get a firm grip on the ins and outs of each track. This will allow you to mix it in at any time, really blowing peoples minds.
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3.Will people like it?
Yea i totally get this, I mean everytime I play Vengaboys, the floor just empties, what gives?!?!
Seriously though I have a tip or suggestion and this is from personal experience. I use to dj a weekly called 'Britpop', which was a rock night and variety, basically indie rock, classic rock, a lil bit of electronica. Well my second passion of music is rock but I like alot of bands that havent hit the mainstream so alot of the crowd wasnt too familiar with them, but the songs are great! so what I would do was play a song from a familiar band, unfamiliar band, then a familiar band. but the way i would do it is that i would try and pick band that had the same or similiar type of sound. This is way the crowd wold recognized the first song and get hyped and then follow up with an equal yet unknown song, then a familiar one again that would be something they would recognize immediately again. My purpose was to slowly introduce new bands, but by not losing them with song they do not know at all.
I think this can apply to electronic music in the sense that since some songs sample other ones or share similiar elements, you could play the less likely known one then the recognized more commercial version type. if that makes any sense. If you play a new tune that you know is an instant hit, and the crowd is going off, then follow it up with a known banger for a double wham! to the crowd, the only issue there is that you need to follow up with some equally good or do some kind of change up and so that it doesnt seem like that was the best you got, sometimes when you drop your first banger or classic, you cant turn back and you better be equipped with more to follow up, cuz if not you'll like a chump!
Thanks a ton for sharing Oktave, I like your style.
It's like baiting them in with tunes they love and then introducing them to something new.
I think we all get to a point where we get caught up with a particular sound or band, we just want more and more of it but you eventually begin to pigeon hole yourself to that sound.
It's a bit like turning on the radio for the first time, you bounce around trying to find something until you hear something familiar and then settle. When a song comes on that you don't like, you turn the station.
You eventually block out things you don't want to hear which is really bad for DJs because a large part of your mix should solely be driven by the crowds reaction.
Throwing in that unknown/unreleased track is great because you already have their attention. It comes on and people give it a chance, instead of tuning it out, in the end it benefits everyone.