Music

If You Plan Your DJ Set Ahead of Time, Are You Cheating?

This is actually a great question.  On one hand, I can understand wanting to set things up ahead of time so that your mixes and effects are ready to go.  On the other, isn’t it incumbent on the DJ to read the crowd and adjust the music mix accordingly?

From DJ Tech Tools (Thanks, Chris!)

Several people have asked me an important question in the past month. “How do you plan your DJ sets? Is planning my DJ sets cheating?” There’s a spectrum of DJ preparation that ranges from total improvisation in the moment to completely pre-defined and recorded sets. Most of you probably sit somewhere in the middle. Today we address the question: is planning cheating, and if not- how can I do it effectively?

We all know the magic moments when everything comes together perfectly. The crowd, the songs, and the moment all synchronize to create an unexpected result that gives everyone shivers. These are the moments that DJs chase after. But how many of them organically occur in a night? Not that many. Would it be better to engineer great moments and plan incredible mixes in advance or does that strip the moments of their unexpected charm?

With so many other grey areas in digital DJing, it’s really hard to say what is a technology shortcut and a quality compromise. Instead of offering a yes or no answer, I would ask you:  Will planning the set cheat you or your audience out of a magic night?

Read more here.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38003 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

One thought on “If You Plan Your DJ Set Ahead of Time, Are You Cheating?

  • There were tricks in tracks that ran well together that I used for those who were really listening, but to pre-format a night's music? That's worse than cheating…that's desperate and boring. Stay ahead.

    Reply

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