Don't overthink.
Don't overthink. Posted on: 29.12.2012 by Audrey Pinda Seriously.Just as a public service notice. Don't over-believe spinning out. Do it from your soul; from your gut. I've spent a long time here. Learned the ropes from being an avid music listener to actually playing out and getting gigs. This is my advice to the person in my shoes, coming from loving the music, getting fed up with shitty DJ's you are seeing play out, and taking the next step in learning the trade yourself and having an absolute blast and loving sharing the tunes you love with people. Don't over-believe things. When creating a set, make a set that YOU yourself would want to listen to. Trust in yourself. Personally I use iTunes for my music management. When I'm playing any given gig, I sit down and go through my music downloading sites for whatever I may be playing. Put a huge bin together of all the stuff that suites my fancy. Then I go through and listen to it all individually. Oftentimes I'll look the full song up on youtube while checking my crate to make sure I like the full thing, not just like the little sample bit. I cut a LOT of tracks this way. The other trick? This is a LONG-TERM thing. BUY FULL ALBUMS NOT JUST SINGLES. That album the one track you LOVE is on? The other tracks on it most likely are perfect down the road. Buy the FULL album and even if you just use the one track NOW, the others will be there later. When going through my best sets, I often bring up a lot of stuff I've picked up recently. I'll either go through recent sets I've played out... but at least once a month or so I'll go through my WHOLE collection of a certain genre (I spin breaks primarily for instance) and listen through all the tracks I have. Build up and drop at least. Then I add EVERYTHING that fits the mood that I might spin. I use Serato personally, but I imagine the same with Traktor plus the added fact of gridding absolutely everything (BORING). But when I buy my music, I immediately run it through Serato to analyze it. Then I run it through Mixed in Key afterward. I have the BPM analyzed by Serato, and the Key with MiK. When planning sets I usually make sure I have 10 tracks at least to choose between of any given key. When I'm actually spinning, I play sort the playlist via the comment tag, where I have all the key's put in. I also make notes on specific tracks if they stand out to me. Such as: Adrum Drum (Original Mix) - Savage Skulls 4A **** HUGE BUILD UPS Twisted Metal (Keith Mackenzie vs Dj Fixx Remix) Baymont Bross, Ray'NPro 8A ***** Bass Heavy I usually go from like 1A then up until 12A, then back down to 1A. And just with that selection, and the notes I make, it allows me to limit what I want to play next and I have a good selection to what I'm feeling with the crowd. That's my advice for the evening . Take note, believe about it, and do what you feel works for you best | |
| Libbie Orion 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by M.Beijer
to the right of that post 11 i see a VOTE drop down |
| Audrey Pinda 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by spadenation
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| Audrey Pinda 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by deevey
Yeah as far as track analysis goes, I went from not using Mixed in Key at all, to really letting it run on my collection. I am working on learning to just know by ear, and sometimes things just work, but it was a suggestion given to me here on the community s, and then really given weight when a couple of the local DJ's whom I know highly recommended it. That was the kicker for me to try it out, as I really like their sets and they recommended it. I've actually found the constrictions that it puts on my choices for tracks honestly helpful, because it narrows things down. And I just like to analyze things in Serato before anything else (makes loading times and such instant basically). With the 70/100 tracks for a 2 hour set, I probably do about double that. So I'll have 100+ for a one hour set lined up, and 200+ for a two hour set. With the additional restrictions I use by mixing in key, it actually limits a good deal on the selection of what you'd want to play next, and giving that a bigger (overall) selection improves that. I always go back through and make sure I have a good selection of tunes (with different energy levels) in each key. So instead of just going off a pile of 100 tunes I'd want to play at any given moment, I limit myself to about 20 or so for my next track selection. The big thing that keeps me in the Serato camp rather than the Traktor camp is that I can basically set these two things up after I buy music, and just walk away. I really do like Traktor, but the whole gridding thing keeps me away from it. I want to move away from the computer all-together with CDJ's at some point, but until then, Serato is treating me right. And this is Serato Scratch Live. I also agree that when I posted this, "creating a set" is exactly how you said; misunderstood. It's comes back to the top section of "don't overbelieve it" and when you are actually playing to a crowd, you'll totally adapt to what you want to do. It's nice having some "combo moves" if you will. I'd equate that to playing video games almost, mortal kombat in particular. You're always going to have tracks that you work with that work really well together. And you just use those combinations at your own discretion. It's something the more time you have behind the decks, the more of these little things you're going to have. Doing a turntablism or controllerist routine is like getting the instant kill combo in MK. It's pretty cool, but you do it all the time, and you are really going to piss off the people around. It's nice to have combo's that you like to pull off, no matter what your level or how fancy you want to make it. Great thoughts and such so far folks. Would love to hear how other people differ in their methodology as well! |
| Valeri Millstein 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by deevey
|
| Audrey Pinda 29.12.2012 | Seriously. Just as a public service notice. Don't over-believe spinning out. Do it from your soul; from your gut. I've spent a long time here. Learned the ropes from being an avid music listener to actually playing out and getting gigs. This is my advice to the person in my shoes, coming from loving the music, getting fed up with shitty DJ's you are seeing play out, and taking the next step in learning the trade yourself and having an absolute blast and loving sharing the tunes you love with people. Don't over-believe things. When creating a set, make a set that YOU yourself would want to listen to. Trust in yourself. Personally I use iTunes for my music management. When I'm playing any given gig, I sit down and go through my music downloading sites for whatever I may be playing. Put a huge bin together of all the stuff that suites my fancy. Then I go through and listen to it all individually. Oftentimes I'll look the full song up on youtube while checking my crate to make sure I like the full thing, not just like the little sample bit. I cut a LOT of tracks this way. The other trick? This is a LONG-TERM thing. BUY FULL ALBUMS NOT JUST SINGLES. That album the one track you LOVE is on? The other tracks on it most likely are perfect down the road. Buy the FULL album and even if you just use the one track NOW, the others will be there later. When going through my best sets, I often bring up a lot of stuff I've picked up recently. I'll either go through recent sets I've played out... but at least once a month or so I'll go through my WHOLE collection of a certain genre (I spin breaks primarily for instance) and listen through all the tracks I have. Build up and drop at least. Then I add EVERYTHING that fits the mood that I might spin. I use Serato personally, but I imagine the same with Traktor plus the added fact of gridding absolutely everything (BORING). But when I buy my music, I immediately run it through Serato to analyze it. Then I run it through Mixed in Key afterward. I have the BPM analyzed by Serato, and the Key with MiK. When planning sets I usually make sure I have 10 tracks at least to choose between of any given key. When I'm actually spinning, I play sort the playlist via the comment tag, where I have all the key's put in. I also make notes on specific tracks if they stand out to me. Such as: Adrum Drum (Original Mix) - Savage Skulls 4A **** HUGE BUILD UPS Twisted Metal (Keith Mackenzie vs Dj Fixx Remix) Baymont Bross, Ray'NPro 8A ***** Bass Heavy I usually go from like 1A then up until 12A, then back down to 1A. And just with that selection, and the notes I make, it allows me to limit what I want to play next and I have a good selection to what I'm feeling with the crowd. That's my advice for the evening . Take note, believe about it, and do what you feel works for you best |
| Corie Murtagh 01.01.2013 | Ya like deevey was saying. Sure traktor and serato let you view your iTunes playlists and such. But this doesn't help as the actual graphical way of viewing them sucks when compared to iTunes and other softwares. I mean why is all the cover art half cropped and such? And then no cover flow or even browsing by album art? Dj software just has everything in list form. But I guess I just have a visual memory and this is how I remember stuff. Which is why I like actual records better. Easy song selection. Forget playlists. "Do it live" |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 31.12.2012 |
I'm not sure how well it works in Traktor, but in Serato iTunes integration works flawlessly. I just make all my playlists in iTunes and it loads up instantly in Serato. Don't even believe twice about setting things up in this manner
itunes Coverflow though is a much MUCH nicer way to browse a playlist with though as opposed to the textual based built in browser - more "record box" like, it SHOULD have been a feature built into Traktor instead of the half hearted album art effort. |
| Mimi Mahaffee 30.12.2012 | Ah, there, thanks! |
| Libbie Orion 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by M.Beijer
to the right of that post 11 i see a VOTE drop down |
| Audrey Pinda 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by spadenation
|
| Audrey Pinda 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by deevey
Yeah as far as track analysis goes, I went from not using Mixed in Key at all, to really letting it run on my collection. I am working on learning to just know by ear, and sometimes things just work, but it was a suggestion given to me here on the community s, and then really given weight when a couple of the local DJ's whom I know highly recommended it. That was the kicker for me to try it out, as I really like their sets and they recommended it. I've actually found the constrictions that it puts on my choices for tracks honestly helpful, because it narrows things down. And I just like to analyze things in Serato before anything else (makes loading times and such instant basically). With the 70/100 tracks for a 2 hour set, I probably do about double that. So I'll have 100+ for a one hour set lined up, and 200+ for a two hour set. With the additional restrictions I use by mixing in key, it actually limits a good deal on the selection of what you'd want to play next, and giving that a bigger (overall) selection improves that. I always go back through and make sure I have a good selection of tunes (with different energy levels) in each key. So instead of just going off a pile of 100 tunes I'd want to play at any given moment, I limit myself to about 20 or so for my next track selection. The big thing that keeps me in the Serato camp rather than the Traktor camp is that I can basically set these two things up after I buy music, and just walk away. I really do like Traktor, but the whole gridding thing keeps me away from it. I want to move away from the computer all-together with CDJ's at some point, but until then, Serato is treating me right. And this is Serato Scratch Live. I also agree that when I posted this, "creating a set" is exactly how you said; misunderstood. It's comes back to the top section of "don't overbelieve it" and when you are actually playing to a crowd, you'll totally adapt to what you want to do. It's nice having some "combo moves" if you will. I'd equate that to playing video games almost, mortal kombat in particular. You're always going to have tracks that you work with that work really well together. And you just use those combinations at your own discretion. It's something the more time you have behind the decks, the more of these little things you're going to have. Doing a turntablism or controllerist routine is like getting the instant kill combo in MK. It's pretty cool, but you do it all the time, and you are really going to piss off the people around. It's nice to have combo's that you like to pull off, no matter what your level or how fancy you want to make it. Great thoughts and such so far folks. Would love to hear how other people differ in their methodology as well! |
| Mimi Mahaffee 30.12.2012 | How do you vote? agree with you brine! People are so worried about what gear is mixer is best, what software is best, what computer you should use, what bag that will fit all your gear that you probably will change in 1 week cuz then you need to believe about what gear you might believe of buying so you can believe of what bag you thought you needed. I have been there, but im happier now with less gear focus and more focus on the really important thing, music! |
| Libbie Orion 30.12.2012 | CRAP!!! i went to vote on this thread (EXCELLENT) and i misclicked im sorry, i ended up voting it only 1 star instead |
| Corie Murtagh 30.12.2012 | ya i try to get the album sometimes. but only if its got at leased 75 % of stuff i like. if its less than that its not worth it. but anyways. about using iTunes or other software to manage your music.... lets face it Traktors, Abletons or Seratos music browsing sucks.... bad i mean really bad. its a freakin pain in the ass to get all your cover art and song titles right in the DJ software. and forget about organizing them. i hate it. when you browse through your library cover art, organizations by genre, artists, albums, bpm, are all essential to make sense of your music library. So in my opinion, forget it why use The DJ softwares browser when you can just drag and drop from your regular music browser (such as iTunes) right into Traktors or Seratos decks? i just move the DJ software to the bottom of my screen and then share the rest with iTunes on the top. plain and simple. |
| Freida Leash 30.12.2012 | I've become super choosy about purchasing, and currently only take the full release if it is a better or same deal as taking the full package. I like buying full albums if... it is a release were I actually like the songs even though they don't fit into my style or set, singles I skip the aside or bside if I believe one stinks and remixes I choose the one I want or pick up unless I just really want to listen to 35 minutes of the Mighty Dub Cats taking me on a magic carpet ride 5 ways. I've picked up a bunch of 140 breakbeat buying full albums that I finally have enough to do something with, but the other tracks are at least worth a listen while doing something else. |
| Tatiana Verdeja 30.12.2012 | well put, Big C. |
| Geri Jarra 30.12.2012 | I feel the same way about MIK. I only tend to use keys when planning a mix to record. When I play out I go by the mood, and cue up in my cans to make sure the next track sounds good. Its all personal, but I found to really appreciate the extra time saved from not worrying about key. Who knows, maybe next year I'll go back to harmonic mixing again. My favorite part about DJing is the unpredictability and the freedom. |
| Yevette Matatall 30.12.2012 | Ive moved away from using MIK, I find that my sets are more dynamic without using this tool. each to their own i guess, i just found it was closing of too many doors for me. |
| Valeri Millstein 30.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by deevey
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| Rolanda Clodfelder 30.12.2012 | I Agree with just about everything, with the exception of buying full albums, I have a bazillion albums that I have bought over the past 20 odd years with perhaps 2 good tracks on them and the rest total garbage (and that have not improved with age), On Occasion I'll buy an album but I'd preview about 10 times before deciding to buy the entire thing if its worthwhile e.g. on iTunes 13 tracks out of 20 that I for 100% sure will play at some point in the future. If its a digital single release I would perhaps buy 2 versions of a track, one more chilled for earlier in the evening and one stomper - definitely not the entire release. Also for me personally I believe there's a little over-preparation going on with your track analysis, but everyone has their own methodology.
Don't over-believe things. When creating a set, make a set that YOU yourself would want to listen to. Trust in yourself.
I try to narrow the list down as far as I can e.g. 70/100 tracks and allow for building up/down if its 2 hour gig. All the best gigs I've played have been based on letting the atmosphere choose the tracks for me once thats done |
| Valeri Millstein 30.12.2012 | Lovely advice. |
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