You gotta get out there and play. But, sometimes that can be the most nerve-racking part of this whole DJ business. And the most exhilarating at the same time. So, how do you rock it out without freaking out? The key is a seven simple tips that will help your set go smooth.
#1 – Plan, Plan, Plan
Planning ahead will take you a long way. I spend a lot of time thinking about my audience. What will they like, and what do I like to play? Where is the overlap? What’s new on the charts that they will demand, and what haven’t they heard that they will love anyway?
Starting with requests from your client is always best. Even if some of these are WAY off the mood of the event, find a way to work them in. I love client requests because I know I’ll have at least one person dancing to that song. I’ve had times where the music they were into wasn’t a great fit for the event (too mellow, too slow, just not danceable). I will talk to them about it in advance, and make some suggestions of similar songs that will be more appealing to a larger crowd. And there are usually a handful of songs in anybody’s request list that will work. Just use your excellent DJ judgement to make it work. Remember that they are paying you, so you need to make them happy!
#2 – Follow your event sheet
My Event Planner Worksheet is my bible for every event. I always have it on a clipboard right next to my DJ controller with a pen handy to mark things off as I go. It’s got all my contacts, people’s names, the entire event flow, requests, special notes and everything else all in one place.
Pro tip that I just realized while typing this: Write down names that you don’t already have so you don’t forget them. I’m absolute garbage at remembering names, but I find that I can remember them if I write them down. So, the next time I introduce myself to the caterer, coordinator, mother of the bride, or anyone else, it’s going on the worksheet! When my worthless brain fails me I can just look at the sheet.
I’m using my worksheet to plan the whole event at a high-level. Example: I need ceremony music here, dinner music here, dancing music here, this song for cake cutting, etc. Now, my 6 hour event is really just a few 30 to 60 minute sets.
#3 – Program and plan ahead
Once you’re playing the event, you need to plan ahead and program your set. Now, I don’t get too in my head about this and go crazy with the planning. Most of my work is already done with what music I pack. I’m making separate playlists in my DJ software for each event that I do, and I’ll have about 50% more music than I need in there. That way, I’m not frantically searching my entire library for the next song.
And I make a playlist for each “chunk” of activities. For a wedding, I’ll have a ceremony playlist, a cocktail hour/dinner playlist, a playlist of first dances/cake cutting/garter/bouquet toss music, a playlist of client requests, and a playlist of music for open dancing that I compiled. Everything is easy to find so I am never scrambling for that song I need to play RIGHT NOW.
This is sooooo critical, because when you are well organized, you free your brain for creativity. You can come up with those great mixes and focus on beat and/or key matching, because you don’t spend all your time finding the next song.
#4 – Mix appropriately
Speaking of mixing, it’s critically important to pay attention to your overall flow. You may be the most skilled DJ in the world. You may have a scratch routine that could win the Red Bull 3Style finals. You may be able to remix on the fly, or build a mashup in your head. But guess what? Your average guest has no clue about any of that stuff. They probably won’t even notice. A lot of them think you just push a button on your laptop or controller and it does it for you. I know that’s insane and probably makes you want to scream right now but that’s reality.
You know what they will notice? Two things: if they like the music you play, and if you kill their vibe. Hopefully, your client has given you a good idea of what music their guests will like. Most of your job will be putting it together in a way that flows with the mood.
My mental model here is the album. You know that favorite album that you’ve listed to a million times where you just know what song should come next? That’s what you are going for.
While a song is playing, I’m looking at a few options in my event playlists that are close in BPM, key and mood. Once I have 3 or 4 options, I pick one by thinking “Which song comes next on the album?” Do this 3 to 5 times in a row and you’ll have a nice little mini-set going.
Art is all about making and breaking rules, so once you’ve got a nice little pattern going, find a way to mix it up. It could be a big shift in tempo or genre. It could be going from the hot new banger to an old-school classic. Find a way to surprise your crowd and see what happens. If they love it, lather, rinse, repeat. If they scatter, learn the lesson and find a way to bring them back. Don’t let the risks scare you, this is the good stuff. The biggest DJ rush you’ll ever get is when you take a big risk and the crowd loves it.
Now, you may kill the vibe for a bit. That’s okay. Just like in life, failure is only failure if you don’t learn from it. You can totally trainwreck a mix, or kill your dance floor, and if you find a way to bring ’em back, no one will remember.
You will only get yourself in trouble if you ignore your crowd. You’ve seen this before, when a DJ is so wrapped up in his or her own ego that they can’t even see that people don’t like what they are doing. Unless you are truly doing a concert where you are the headliner, your job is to get people to dance. You’re not there to prove how awesome your skills are, or how much better your music tastes are than the crowds. If you are not at least trying to get them to dance, you are failing. Swallow your ego and fix it!
This applies to both your song selection and your DJ tricks. Don’t overdo it with effects. A little bit goes a long way. Don’t stop the dance floor to show off your scratching or controllerist skills. Those skills are the awesome sauce that you throw on top, the herbs and spices of your mix. Nobody wants to eat all sauce, they want a meal. Feed them the music, sprinkle with awesome sauce. DJ, don’t kill my vibe! (maybe I need that on a T-shirt…)
#5 – Watch your volume
This is a critical aspect. I’ve already mentioned it in my Wedding Etiquette post, but it’s worth mentioning again. You need to make sure your volume is appropriate for each phase of the event, and the overall event itself. If we’re talking about a birthday party, or a school dance, you can almost go full out the whole time. I say almost because at the very beginning of your event, when people are first arriving, you should not be blowing them away. Start at 50-75% volume and raise it as people arrive and start dancing.
For an event with more activities, like a dinner or a wedding, you have distinct phases of volume. For ceremonies or introductions, your music is a part of the show, but your won’t have to compete with people talking, so you can go with a nice medium volume that gets attention but doesn’t shake the walls. Keep things at background music level for arrivals, cocktail hours and dinners. Bring your volume up for dancing. You are actually going to use your higher volume as a cue to your crowd that now it’s time to start dancing, along with an announcement inviting them to the dance floor if appropriate. Weddings usually need this because guests don’t want to interrupt the bride and groom.
Critical safety tip: You are in control of the volume, so you are responsible for protecting everyone’s hearing. Both yours and your crowd’s. Start by setting your speakers a safe distance from both you and the crowd. You don’t want anyone standing right next to the speakers if you can help it. Next, watch your levels during the event. Make sure you don’t get dangerously loud as you pump up the excitement. I keep a decibel level app on my phone and check it from time to time just to make sure I’m staying safe. Your ears are critical instruments to your success and your life. Treat them like your favorite piece of gear and don’t abuse them!
#6 – Watch your energy levels
Your music is setting the mood. Not just for the event as a whole, but for the individual activities on the timeline. You need to select music that will match the mood of the specific activity.
Most of the time this is pretty straight forward, but I’ve seen DJs make mistakes. Heck, I’ve done it myself. I’ve played what I thought would be a chill oldie or jazz tune during dinner and had guests bouncing in their seats, itching to dance. Again, it’s only a mistake if you don’t take the feedback. I make a note of the song and ones like it, and save that to break open the dance floor. Then, I downshift to something even more mellow.
I just saw a DJ make this mistake at a family wedding. He was playing really good old-school funk and soul tunes during dinner. At least half of the crowd was over 50. Several people at my table were saying, “This is a great song,” over and over. When he got to open dancing, he played very few oldies, and stuck with mostly hip-hop. Two great lessons here: First, play to the whole room. You can have cycles where you rotate through older and newer music, and have different parts of your crowd dancing. Second, your crowd’s opinion trumps yours every time. I’m sure this DJ thought he was playing really mellow stuff that no one would dance to. If he had looked around, he’d have realized his mistake AND had a huge arsenal of floor-fillers that he didn’t even plan on!
If you have any club experience, you can see how this is similar to being an opening DJ. You are your own opening DJ. Don’t burn all of your killer tunes at the beginning of the night, and have nowhere to build up to. And, realize you don’t truly know which tunes are killer until you get to know your audience. Like they say in the military, no plan survives first contact.
#7 – Have fun, don’t stress
These events can be very stressful. Especially if you are working a wedding. Weddings always make me nervous, even after 20 years as a DJ. You only get one shot at them, no second chances. And there’s so much you are responsible for as a DJ and MC.
So, tell yourself what I tell every bride I talk to. Something is gonna go wrong, just expect it. But, also expect that you have a team of professionals that will help you fix it. And, you my DJ friend, are one of those fine professionals. You got this!
The best way I found to get over my anxiety going into a big event is to over-prepare and get there early. By preparing for almost everything that could happen, I’m confident I can deal with whatever will happen. Being over-prepared calms me down immensely.
Getting to the venue early gives me time to clear up almost all of the unknowns and settle myself down. I can set up all of my gear in about 30 minutes now, but I will still get to an event at least 1.5 to 2 hours early. That gives me plenty of time to figure out where I’m going, unload, set up, meet the rest of the vendors, get the updated schedule, and deal with anything else anybody forgot to tell me.
Once you are calm and worry-free, now it’s time to have fun. Isn’t that why you became a DJ in the first place? You love music and throwing a great party. Dance and sing along. Interact with your guests. Pick out great songs and drop them in with skill. Rock the party.
If something goes wrong that you didn’t expect, take a deep breath and fix it. You know your music, you know your gear. There is no one more capable of solving the problem in that moment than you. Stay calm, fix it quick, and get back to partying.
In summary…
Events can be stressful and make you nervous. The secret is to prepare for what you can, and deal with the things you can’t. If you go in with a solid game plan, show up early, work one section of the event at a time, and have fun, you will be light years ahead of the typical DJ. Follow these 7 tips and you will be well on your way!
