Practice Sets? I am guessing this has been asked/answered before, but I am having a hard time confirming such -
I am wondering about good "practice sets" - I can find a lot of good information on the importance of practice, how to practice, techniques, etc. But no practice set lists to work from!
I recognize that an very important part of DJing is song selection, but that is just one skill that actually needs to build as a set with the technical tools, so having a prebuilt setlist from a knoweldgable DJ to practice other skills would help understand how songs work together, and then thus build the song selection skill?
I guess I am looking for a bit of a kickstart tool - do any such lists exist? Or would experienced DJs here be willing to contribute such?
I would also see it as valuable if there were some sets that were all freely avaliable tunes (free demos/soundcloud/etc) as well as purchasable tune lists. (myself, I would probably take advantage of both) |
Amira Gotcher
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music.
That's not correct - there were several that i knew about doing it in Manchester in the UK from 1988/89. Jon Da Silva at the Ha |
Amira Gotcher
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music.
That's not correct - there were several that i knew about doing it in Manchester in the UK from 1988/89. Jon Da Silva at the Ha |
Amira Gotcher
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music.
That's not correct - there were several that i knew about doing it in Manchester in the UK from 1988/89. Jon Da Silva at the Ha |
Amira Gotcher
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music.
That's not correct - there were several that i knew about doing it in Manchester in the UK from 1988/89. Jon Da Silva at the Ha |
Amira Gotcher
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music.
That's not correct - there were several that i knew about doing it in Manchester in the UK from 1988/89. Jon Da Silva at the Ha |
Tawna Ulmen
11.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by P4ULSON
yea thats a pretty nice setup. yea i found it really cramped inside some of the booths. probably not even enough room for a x1. you have a stand for the launchpad?
nope it just about balances on the platter of a 1210. Im gona buy a bit of sturdy foam to make a nice seat for it that fits over the platter. |
Arnulfo Morten
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
Im pretty sure thats not the case. I have a Saffire Pro 14. Its fucking awesome. I downloaded vdj7 last evening
to test it and it still sounds shit next to traktor. Apparently they have upgraded the audio engine in v8 so it should sound better. Only time will tell.
All the other djs at my regular club use Serato coz they found traktor to hard to setup/use. As long as there some cdj2000s in the club im happy. Traktors hid mode rules. I take my macbook, launchpad (for FX n shiz) and two usb cables. Never fails to impress other djs. I believe its the shinny lights on the launchpad.
yea thats a pretty nice setup. yea i found it really cramped inside some of the booths. probably not even enough room for a x1. you have a stand for the launchpad? |
Tawna Ulmen
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by P4ULSON
sound quality depends on your hardware.
Im pretty sure thats not the case. I have a Saffire Pro 14. Its fucking awesome. I downloaded vdj7 last evening
to test it and it still sounds shit next to traktor. Apparently they have upgraded the audio engine in v8 so it should sound better. Only time will tell.
All the other djs at my regular club use Serato coz they found traktor to hard to setup/use. As long as there some cdj2000s in the club im happy. Traktors hid mode rules. I take my macbook, launchpad (for FX n shiz) and two usb cables. Never fails to impress other djs. I believe its the shinny lights on the launchpad. |
Arnulfo Morten
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
Really? Last time I used it it was rubbish. Sound quality was awful and it looked and felt like tomy my first dj.
yea the stock skin is kinda wack but you can get custom skins. sound quality depends on your hardware. but it's pretty damn powerful and does give traktor and serato a run for it's money. I'm pretty sure virtual dj effect's beat serato and traktors. i'm switching from traktor to serato right now though... i'm playing out alot more and the industry standard is Serato you wouldn't believe the software you use to dj with affects if you get a gig or not but it does.... and even though my skill hasn't changed for some reason people believe i'm a better dj cause i use serato.... but lately ive been just showing up with only 2 usb sticks and headphones love the look on the other dj's face when they see me patch in lol |
Nannette Doniger
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
My mum bought me a second hand set of KAM belt drives for Christmas 15 years ago.
me too altho I saved up from a milk round an bought my own, red dwarfs! god they were shit. |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Careful - VDJ7 is a great piece of software, and would EASILY give Serato & Traktor a run for it's money.
VDJ8 is gonna be an awesome piece of software...
Really? Last time I used it it was rubbish. Sound quality was awful and it looked and felt like tomy my first dj. |
Roseanna Signorini
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
I suppose it depends on what genres you play whether key is important or not. For house, techno etc key is important due to the length of the transitions. Two tracks that are out of key will almost always sound horrible to together. If your mixing only minimal techno most of your tunes will have the same structure, almost identical basslines and the same few synth patches used over and over again. The only things that separates one track from another is its key and energy levels. I put my tracks thought MiK listen to them once/twice in itunes and give them a star rating based on how bumping said track is. 5 stars for destroy the dance floor, one star for its 6am and time for you people to fuck off home.
If you mix hip hop, funk, soul kinda stuff then key is not as important coz you dont have the epic transitions between tracks. Most of the time you just slam the x-fader over at the correct moment. Job done old track gone new one playing, half of the time you dont even need to beat match or play tracks that are the same bmp.
I will have to respectfully disagree and here is why. Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music. Either 2 tracks together sounded good or they sounded like crap, in key or out of key what is pleasing to the ear is pleasing to the ear. All the old rules and techniques still apply. Don't mix vocals over vocals. Learn proper phrase/beatmatching, the downbeat to the downbeat, the beginning of a phrase to the beginning of a phrase. Don't mix melody over melody because 9 times out of 10 its not going to sound good. Learn by practicing and knowing your music, what parts of the song can be mixed and what parts can't because if we don't know by now, going back to the 70s, that tracks were made with extended intros and outros and builds designed to be mixed then we need to do some more DJ research. All of those things have ZERO to do with key. It makes me laugh when I hear "music theory" brought into a DJ conversation. Knowing how to count beats and recognizing a phrase isn't music theory. If you want to "produce", and I use that term lightly around here, then yes, you need to learn music theory. If you are DJing, as in the average type of mixing and not adding your own instrumentation then you don't need music theory or to know the key. You need to learn proper mixing techniques and use your ears. It doesn't take an accomplished award winning composer to recognize a train wreck. |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Drmore - please don't believe I'm bundling you in with the "new wave" of wannabe DJ's, mate. Aspiring to do what Carl Cox does is noble. He is awe inspiring, and SHOULD be emulated.
But when people want to be like Pauly D, 'cos of teh bitchez and teh money - THEN I have a problem.
I'd bet my life, that Carl Cox didn't get into it for teh bitchez.
As for Fantazia - teh bitchez at Fantazia would be NO fun to fuck after 8hrs of sweaty ass dancing and gurning!!!
Haha dont worry I didn't. I was a different world when I started. I only knew one other dj. Now every fucker is a dj. The amount of twats that tell me I should be using virtual dj astounds me.
I remember seeing a vid of Carl Cox playing on 3 1200s and being amazed at his skills. At the time I was still struggling to keep two records in time (Fuck me those KAMs where shit)
Nothing better than a sweaty raver clundge. mmmmmmmm. ewwwww I was just a little sick in my mouth. |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Yes. People don't want to be a DJ - they want DJ gear. Nice, shiny toys with buttons and lights.
I bet there are hundreds of kids this year opening an S4, or an F1, that haven't even got any tunes yet to DJ with!
My mum bought me a second hand set of KAM belt drives for Christmas 15 years ago. At the time my music collection consisted of badly copied Fantazia tapes and MJs Bad album on vinyl. I lived in the back of beyond and had never been in a music shop let alone a dj vinyl shop. Fist time I walked into Catapult Records in Cardiff I nearly shat myself. I walked up to the counter and couldn't speak. Luckly the girl behind the counter was very nice and helped me pick out some records. I was the first house music I ever heard and I was totally blown away.
I had never even heard the word genre, it was all rave to me. All I knew was that I wanted to make my own mix tapes and be like Carl Cox. |
Latoria Kavulich
11.12.2012 | ^ yep. |
Amira Gotcher
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music.
That's not correct - there were several that i knew about doing it in Manchester in the UK from 1988/89. Jon Da Silva at the Ha |
Tawna Ulmen
11.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by P4ULSON
yea thats a pretty nice setup. yea i found it really cramped inside some of the booths. probably not even enough room for a x1. you have a stand for the launchpad?
nope it just about balances on the platter of a 1210. Im gona buy a bit of sturdy foam to make a nice seat for it that fits over the platter. |
Noble Toczylowski
10.12.2012 | here you have dj samples I used to practice on these |
Arnulfo Morten
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
Im pretty sure thats not the case. I have a Saffire Pro 14. Its fucking awesome. I downloaded vdj7 last evening
to test it and it still sounds shit next to traktor. Apparently they have upgraded the audio engine in v8 so it should sound better. Only time will tell.
All the other djs at my regular club use Serato coz they found traktor to hard to setup/use. As long as there some cdj2000s in the club im happy. Traktors hid mode rules. I take my macbook, launchpad (for FX n shiz) and two usb cables. Never fails to impress other djs. I believe its the shinny lights on the launchpad.
yea thats a pretty nice setup. yea i found it really cramped inside some of the booths. probably not even enough room for a x1. you have a stand for the launchpad? |
Tawna Ulmen
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by P4ULSON
sound quality depends on your hardware.
Im pretty sure thats not the case. I have a Saffire Pro 14. Its fucking awesome. I downloaded vdj7 last evening
to test it and it still sounds shit next to traktor. Apparently they have upgraded the audio engine in v8 so it should sound better. Only time will tell.
All the other djs at my regular club use Serato coz they found traktor to hard to setup/use. As long as there some cdj2000s in the club im happy. Traktors hid mode rules. I take my macbook, launchpad (for FX n shiz) and two usb cables. Never fails to impress other djs. I believe its the shinny lights on the launchpad. |
Arnulfo Morten
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
Really? Last time I used it it was rubbish. Sound quality was awful and it looked and felt like tomy my first dj.
yea the stock skin is kinda wack but you can get custom skins. sound quality depends on your hardware. but it's pretty damn powerful and does give traktor and serato a run for it's money. I'm pretty sure virtual dj effect's beat serato and traktors. i'm switching from traktor to serato right now though... i'm playing out alot more and the industry standard is Serato you wouldn't believe the software you use to dj with affects if you get a gig or not but it does.... and even though my skill hasn't changed for some reason people believe i'm a better dj cause i use serato.... but lately ive been just showing up with only 2 usb sticks and headphones love the look on the other dj's face when they see me patch in lol |
Nannette Doniger
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
My mum bought me a second hand set of KAM belt drives for Christmas 15 years ago.
me too altho I saved up from a milk round an bought my own, red dwarfs! god they were shit. |
Federico Vilas
09.12.2012 | BUY SOME VINYL AND YOU WILL GET A BUNCH OF INSTRUMENTALS....turntablelab.com is a great source... if you don't have a turntable then try to get on at digiwaxx.com... record pool but you have to apply for membership and it's not easy if you are just a bedroom dj |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Careful - VDJ7 is a great piece of software, and would EASILY give Serato & Traktor a run for it's money.
VDJ8 is gonna be an awesome piece of software...
Really? Last time I used it it was rubbish. Sound quality was awful and it looked and felt like tomy my first dj. |
Brunilda Kora
10.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Drmore
The amount of twats that tell me I should be using virtual dj astounds me.
Careful - VDJ7 is a great piece of software, and would EASILY give Serato & Traktor a run for it's money.
VDJ8 is gonna be an awesome piece of software... |
Laurence Calisto
09.12.2012 | Dunno if it's been said but I'm not gonna read all 5 pages. John Digweed is amazing at track selection, and if you buy his mix CDs on beatport they come with all the tracks used in 'em. If you wanted to do something like this I'd highly recommend it. |
Roseanna Signorini
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
I suppose it depends on what genres you play whether key is important or not. For house, techno etc key is important due to the length of the transitions. Two tracks that are out of key will almost always sound horrible to together. If your mixing only minimal techno most of your tunes will have the same structure, almost identical basslines and the same few synth patches used over and over again. The only things that separates one track from another is its key and energy levels. I put my tracks thought MiK listen to them once/twice in itunes and give them a star rating based on how bumping said track is. 5 stars for destroy the dance floor, one star for its 6am and time for you people to fuck off home.
If you mix hip hop, funk, soul kinda stuff then key is not as important coz you dont have the epic transitions between tracks. Most of the time you just slam the x-fader over at the correct moment. Job done old track gone new one playing, half of the time you dont even need to beat match or play tracks that are the same bmp.
I will have to respectfully disagree and here is why. Take MIK out of the equation and go back 15-20 years. No one was keying their music. Either 2 tracks together sounded good or they sounded like crap, in key or out of key what is pleasing to the ear is pleasing to the ear. All the old rules and techniques still apply. Don't mix vocals over vocals. Learn proper phrase/beatmatching, the downbeat to the downbeat, the beginning of a phrase to the beginning of a phrase. Don't mix melody over melody because 9 times out of 10 its not going to sound good. Learn by practicing and knowing your music, what parts of the song can be mixed and what parts can't because if we don't know by now, going back to the 70s, that tracks were made with extended intros and outros and builds designed to be mixed then we need to do some more DJ research. All of those things have ZERO to do with key. It makes me laugh when I hear "music theory" brought into a DJ conversation. Knowing how to count beats and recognizing a phrase isn't music theory. If you want to "produce", and I use that term lightly around here, then yes, you need to learn music theory. If you are DJing, as in the average type of mixing and not adding your own instrumentation then you don't need music theory or to know the key. You need to learn proper mixing techniques and use your ears. It doesn't take an accomplished award winning composer to recognize a train wreck. |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Drmore - please don't believe I'm bundling you in with the "new wave" of wannabe DJ's, mate. Aspiring to do what Carl Cox does is noble. He is awe inspiring, and SHOULD be emulated.
But when people want to be like Pauly D, 'cos of teh bitchez and teh money - THEN I have a problem.
I'd bet my life, that Carl Cox didn't get into it for teh bitchez.
As for Fantazia - teh bitchez at Fantazia would be NO fun to fuck after 8hrs of sweaty ass dancing and gurning!!!
Haha dont worry I didn't. I was a different world when I started. I only knew one other dj. Now every fucker is a dj. The amount of twats that tell me I should be using virtual dj astounds me.
I remember seeing a vid of Carl Cox playing on 3 1200s and being amazed at his skills. At the time I was still struggling to keep two records in time (Fuck me those KAMs where shit)
Nothing better than a sweaty raver clundge. mmmmmmmm. ewwwww I was just a little sick in my mouth. |
Brunilda Kora
09.12.2012 | Drmore - please don't believe I'm bundling you in with the "new wave" of wannabe DJ's, mate. Aspiring to do what Carl Cox does is noble. He is awe inspiring, and SHOULD be emulated.
But when people want to be like Pauly D, 'cos of teh bitchez and teh money - THEN I have a problem.
I'd bet my life, that Carl Cox didn't get into it for teh bitchez.
As for Fantazia - teh bitchez at Fantazia would be NO fun to fuck after 8hrs of sweaty ass dancing and gurning!!! |
Arnulfo Morten
09.12.2012 | hmmm mixing in key is not bad but thats later on. when your developing your style. If your mixing intro's over outro's you shouldn't be worried about mixing in key.... those parts of the song usually only have drums if your trying to mix 2 breaks together or your mix is clashing then try to mix with 1 track that has alot going on into a track with just drums. use proper eq'ing to fix clashes with melodies and rythms... example only have 1 bass running at a time if your dealing with 1 song with a straight 4 on the floor vs a swing 4 on floor. good luck man if your songs are really full use cue jumping to help rearrange the song for easier mixing. |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Yes. People don't want to be a DJ - they want DJ gear. Nice, shiny toys with buttons and lights.
I bet there are hundreds of kids this year opening an S4, or an F1, that haven't even got any tunes yet to DJ with!
My mum bought me a second hand set of KAM belt drives for Christmas 15 years ago. At the time my music collection consisted of badly copied Fantazia tapes and MJs Bad album on vinyl. I lived in the back of beyond and had never been in a music shop let alone a dj vinyl shop. Fist time I walked into Catapult Records in Cardiff I nearly shat myself. I walked up to the counter and couldn't speak. Luckly the girl behind the counter was very nice and helped me pick out some records. I was the first house music I ever heard and I was totally blown away.
I had never even heard the word genre, it was all rave to me. All I knew was that I wanted to make my own mix tapes and be like Carl Cox. |
Brunilda Kora
09.12.2012 |
Do people nowdays decide to become a DJ then pick a genre?
Yes. People don't want to be a DJ - they want DJ gear. Nice, shiny toys with buttons and lights.
I bet there are hundreds of kids this year opening an S4, or an F1, that haven't even got any tunes yet to DJ with! |
Tawna Ulmen
09.12.2012 | I suppose it depends on what genres you play whether key is important or not. For house, techno etc key is important due to the length of the transitions. Two tracks that are out of key will almost always sound horrible to together. If your mixing only minimal techno most of your tunes will have the same structure, almost identical basslines and the same few synth patches used over and over again. The only things that separates one track from another is its key and energy levels. I put my tracks thought MiK listen to them once/twice in itunes and give them a star rating based on how bumping said track is. 5 stars for destroy the dance floor, one star for its 6am and time for you people to fuck off home.
If you mix hip hop, funk, soul kinda stuff then key is not as important coz you dont have the epic transitions between tracks. Most of the time you just slam the x-fader over at the correct moment. Job done old track gone new one playing, half of the time you dont even need to beat match or play tracks that are the same bmp. |
William Muccio
09.12.2012 | Listen to any famous djs weekly sets such as armins asto, hardwell on air, afrojacks jacked, look at the tracklists, get the songs and try to recreate them |
Lina Rawie
08.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by DocFish
I recognize that an very important part of DJing is song selection, but that is just one skill that actually needs to build as a set with the technical tools, so having a prebuilt setlist from a knoweldgable DJ to practice other skills would help understand how songs work together, and then thus build the song selection skill?
I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive me if I'm just repeating what other folks have said, but I believe your initial post is based on a false premise.
Track selection comes down to 3 things - knowledge, instinct and experience.
Knowledge - Other DJs can help with this. If you said to me "I've just got into old school hip-hop and I love it! I've listened to artists A and B and I really like them. Can you recommend some other artists/albums I could check out?" I'd help you for sure. People need to see that spark of passion and that is entirely absent from your post.
Instinct - You can kind of learn this, because the more knowledge you have, the better your instinct becomes. By "instinct", I mean hearing a track and knowing whether it's likely to blow up the dancefloor, regardless of how well known it is.
Experience - This speaks for itself. Reading a crowd and learning to control one takes some experience.
But the issue is, you're asking to be spoon-fed, when you're not even saying what it is you want to be spoon-fed with. Your post is WAY too vague. |
Margie Pavell
08.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by backtothefront
I really cannot understand the fixation with key
x2 |
Lashawn Maycock
08.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by thepanache
Do people nowdays decide to become a DJ then pick a genre?
For me it was the other way round.. Mad about house for years, knew all the producers I was into.. Built up a collection of tracks.. Started to DJ.. Learnt to mix through trial and error.. Leart what sounds good..
Now DJ'ing is like second nature..
My advice - Learn your music, love your music and find your own style through trial and error.
A set list wont help, you'll get used to mixing those tracks in that order and in a specific way and probably start flapping if you tried to deviate. Good luck
Post of the thread so far, resonates my experience and views. |
Lashawn Maycock
08.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by dj matt blaze
I have to agree. Coming from someone who also has been playing a long time, I would never even consider using MIK. I can't imagine hindering myself to saying well I can't mix this with this because the keys don't match so I have to mix this first and then I can mix this. 2 tracks in the same key can still sound like crap in the same way 2 tracks in diffferent keys can sound like crap. I can see it being used as another tool and if some people feel it enhances their set to each his own but to ONLY mix in key is a little OCD IMO.
Grab your favorite tracks in the same genre, close in tempo, and practice mixing. Thats it. Every single song in your chosen genre can be used to practice.
Totally agree, I really cannot understand the fixation with key etc, yes it can be useful but why restrict? Play tunes, just that, nowt more. |
Margie Pavell
08.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by drmore
@keithace
I dont have time to sit and key every track I own. I use all the tools available to me to get the job done. I then leave said job with a pocket full of cash and a evening
club full of happy punters wanting more.
I feel sorry for you coz you clearly have fuck all better to do other than trolling internet community
s putting down people that are trying to help others.
The truth is the OP doesn't have 10000 tracks to sort through. He is new to all of this. The last thing he needs to worry about it whether things are in key or not.
And don't feel sorry for me. I've played long enough and don't need to sort through 10,000 songs by key and genre. I know my music. |
Syreeta Piela
08.12.2012 |
Originally Posted by Patch
Also - limitations are restrictions should be IGNORED when choosing a name, DJ BOB.
Bahahahaha |
