Hey, I'm a amateur DJ, more of a hobbiest, I want to play the occasional house party or small local stuff.

I was wondering if there were any "golden rules" to DJing, like how many times you can bring back a song before the crowd turns into a mob..
or when to play a slow song, and how many to play in a row?

anything you got would be helpful

Thanks in advance.

 

The crowd will provide all the answers you seek : ) People are generally pretty vocal to the extent that it can get really annoying having people trying to talk to you when yo are djing . Trust your judgement people are generally pretty happy that you are providing the tunes and don't worry about clearing the dancefloor , we have all done it a few times : )

 

Just as an addendum its probs ok to pull back a tune once, twice if the crowd is going craaaaazy but three or four times ? *no*

 

Haha okay thanks, I heard Kanye pulled back Niggas in Paris 8 times... though the crowd loved it..

 

what does that mean?

replay the song?

 

Yes exactly, just saying nobody wants to hear the dj replay the start of the same song 4 times (usually)

 

Check DJTT website guides

Dont fuck the other DJs off

Dont unplug the other Djs headphones

assume the other DJ is "having a moment" when he plays his last record.

start with a vocal tune (mix out quickly) ie play half of it

Build you set with varied tunes

listen to how the music sounds on the sound setup they have

look at people (even if its forced) left ....middle ...right ..... every 2 minutes

when you play your last record play it one before last (ie tell the other Dj you are playing 2 more, play your end record first..... then have your moment without him/her being up your arse.. or trying to plug shit in when you are having a glory moment.....then play your last record for him to mix out of.

find out who's kit it is they will have status and not think you are cool for redlining.

shit yourself and the crowd will it shit it with you

stand the decks on something to make them higher up (like flight cases)

ignore chicks that say "can you teach me to DJ"

theres more... but that will do for now

 

Haha thanks alot, will do.
that's alot of "don't"s any "Do"s?

 

Or going to a cue point "Whats gucci my nigga? Whats louis my killa? ....." x 8

 

end on a up\peak hard hitting,high energy song so the crowd is going wild when you finish and they know you have gone.they will remember you.

 

@ a club play bass heavy shit that the girls will gig to..

@ an underground, (IE warehouse or renegade like venue) make sure your music's fresh, edgey shit, no commercial stuff.
Don't make DJ mixes from beatport top 10 artists, if you dig the real popular tracks save those for the live club gigs.

always try to give the DJ before you extra time to finish before you go on, be humble to let him/her get that extra track in.
Also it helps to buy the DJ before you a drink sometimes if you don't know the venue well and are enjoying the guys mix.

But most importantly, DO NOT promote your mixes until your shit is 100% solid.
If you get booked and can't hold a mix you won't be booked again.. on top of that there will be industry asses who will remember
you trainwrecking from 10 years prior.

 

I started reading this thinking it'd resreash the laws & regulations we're ment to keep to.
ok I get now that its just the basic tips.

But other than you need public liability insurance of venues where people live/stay over night (hotels ect)
What else is there?

I remeber they tried to pass a law that you needed a certificate that said all you music was downloaded leagally a few years a go but didn't get the support in the uk to make it more than optional.

anyone know these things?

Just so that there's a do among them don't
Do what your being pay'd for. If your payed to play a style, play that style. If you want to keep getting work, the important thing is that the person paying gets what they want. Not that you enjoy yourself, that dosen't meen you can't enjoy yourself

 

sorry OT but i started a new post about finding a good site that has DJ tunes

anyone got any recommends?

topic here

 

it is ok to replay a track but not within the same hour
further- up the tempo next time you spin it

i start show slow, steadily build up bpm to peak, then drop and start over
but with different tracks, of course

 

this is the most important thing imho


also: any chicks that say "can you teach me to DJ" means they want to sleep with you, DO NOT IGNORE THEM... sleep with them then ignore them. bazinga.

 

Don't sleep with your groupie.
It's either :
a lost fan,
a psychotic chick who will stalk and harass you for months.

true storie.
I'm happy my gf hates both my bands and my electronic music productions.

I saw Kill Paris a while ago (not sure it counts as a DJ)... The first half of his set (1/2h). Was

build-up
chorus of his main hit
build-up
(1)
big-hit or remix of one of his stuff
chorus of his main hit (city light thingie (with a like of M83))
build-up
goto (1) 4 or 5 times.
after that was a slow number. and his singles built-into each other. a jackson five remix. more singles. A more 'classic' set.

 

So true!