Music selection

E

New member
Just wanted to share this advice I got from DJ PD in Boston. Hope this is useful to you all! If this is helpfull, you can also check out his article on music programming at: http://dju.prodj.com/courses/club/c5.html

Keep sharing the knowledge!
E

Having said that, Music Programming as it relates to my article, is more
>about building a night full of music and keeping the sounds constant (as you
>would in a House Club). In a Top 40 Club, much of the music programming is
>taken out of your hands as you have so many different styles of music that
>you HAVE to play, it is harder to plan what you will be playing in an hour
>or two.
>
> > Can you give me an example of how you lower the energy level w/o having
> > everyone leave?
>OK, in my club I usualy start off with some vocal house (Wamdue Project,
>Madison Ave, Byron Stingley etc) and then work up through some Disco House.
>After about 30 minutes of so, I take it up a notch and start with some
>progressive house (Timo Maas, Trevor Rockliffe etc) and then take it even
>higher for a short time (up to some Hard House or Techno like Mario Piu,
>Mauro Picotto, Tall Paul etc.) After about 20 minutes of that, I start to
>bring them down a bit, into some funky repetitive stuff (like DJ Sneak,
>Armand Van Helden etc) and then hit them with a classic or two (Around the
>World, Spin Spin Sugar etc). I keep this lower level going for about 20
>minutes and then start to make another build....etc etc. Can you see what
>I
>am talking about ?
>
> > how much time do you spend preplanning sets? Also, how do you practice
>and
> > what sort of things do you personally look for in creating a set?
>I NEVER, EVER Pre-plan a set. Any good set has to be spontaneous, free
>flowing and able to change wiht the dynamics in the crowd. You will never
>know what you are going to have to play, so you have to be ready for
>anything. I mean, I know about 50% of what I am going to play, but I never
>know where and when I am going to insert it into the program. In creating
>a
>set you want to think about having sex with your crowd. You want to get
>them worked up at first, then tease them for a while, giving them what they
>want and then pulling back. In your final push towads the end of the night
>(or the end of your set) you want to pull out all the stops and just HAMMER
>THEM to a pulp. I sometimes have a problem at Raves because the DJs who
>play after me have a tough time getting the crowd back up again, as I
>usually leave them exhaused and ready to chill out of a while.
>
> > I think the biggest problem I have is finding transitions between where
>I
>am
> > and where I want to go, or to put it in your words, to think 5 songs
>ahead.
> > Do you have any more advice on that or on anything else?
>You have to feel where you are and where you are going. After a while,
>when
>you play a song, it will evoke ideas that remind you of another song and
>another song after that. It is an on going learning experience and it
>doesnt happen every night. There are many nights that I cant get into the
>flow and just have no clue where I want to go and how I got where I am.
>This usually results in me playing too hard too early and burning out the
>crowd after the first hour or so. This is very important, to PACE
>yourself.
>
>It is a constant learning experience and not somethign you ever really
>master. However, reading up on it and asking questions is the first step
>to
>improving.
>
>
 
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