Rusty1 Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 My best friends 18th is coming up and he has asked me to DJ. I really want to do it, I have been practising in my bed room for over a year. I've recorded mixes and chucked them on Soundcloud, a couple of my friends say that its actually pretty good. My problem and fear of DJing this party is not that I cant DJ or that I'm not that technically skilled enough to do basic mixes. Im super scared because I don't know how to read a crowd and I have almost no clue on what songs to play. Although this crowd is mostly my friends, their music selections at parties is so random and makes no sense. Some people will tell me how much they hate dubstep and then I would see them rage to it at a party. Sometimes very slow songs without a beat of any kind is played. I'm playing for a very weird group of teenagers. I know you guys on here can't tell me what songs to play, I'm trying really hard to sort that out now. I'm making different crates on Serato with songs I've heard go off at parties and some filler songs I can play when ever. I need some tips on how to actually play a house party. How do I play the music? How do I read the crowd? How do I deal with people that don't like the song I'm playing? I know this is the kind of question that everyone asks but I am playing for the weirdest crowd ever and I need some help. DJing and producing music has been my life for over a year and it's definitely something that I dream of doing as a career. This party is so important to me, I'm scared to death but it's something I'm going to have to do if I want to progress in this field and make a career out of it. So please I just need any kind of information, tips and general knowledge so that I can do well and impress my friends and play a good house party. Also I've narrowed most of my music selection to Hip hop & rap and some electronic music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 For an 18th I guess you'll likely want to have a variety of popular. The majority of people will just want songs they know + songs they grew up to + anything recent. Aria charts, some stuff from JJJ, etc. Reading the crowd is something that can be explained as a concept, but you'll only learn it from experience. The second part to this is having the right catalogue of music and organisation to cater, once you know what's working/what isn't. You'll make mistakes - we've all made heaps. What I can say is nobody will notice except for you, so just move on as if it's all going to plan and it will be fine. Confidence is key eggssell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Pretty much what Mitch said. Make sure you've got all bases covered with tunes. Have a lot of everything and play requests - that'll make your night so much easier haha it'll help to chat to your mate and a few people that are going to get a gauge on what they're expecting to hear as for reading a crowd Mitch is spot on. It can be explained but only really learnt by experiencing it. If you know your music you can feed off the vibe of the crowd. Being an 18th and your mates it shouldn't be too bad but they're still gonna have the same attitude as you would expect a crowd in a club to have so it's all about picking the right tunes in that moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 OK thanks for the tips. How do I go about mixing the music? Should I just be boring and let the whole song play and mix the beginning and ends of the songs or should I actually make it interesting and do some quick cuts that they wont be expecting? Also how many songs do you reckon I should have? The party will roughly be from 7-12. Should I play the whole time? So far I have about 150 songs (I know thats is definitly not enough tho) that I think I can play. About 10 of them are like songs that I probably wont play but could still possible play. I'm also gonna free trial that pulse locker thing and use that on the night so I can stream music that I may not have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Have a couple of podcasts or something to chuck on early in the night whilst you wait for a few people to get there. personally I'd mix quick(ish) because 18 year olds have the attention span of a goldfish at times. be prepared to play some super shit music, because that's what the people want. eggssell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 you can never have enough music so just keep compiling it until the night comes. you'll be surprised what you may have to play. depending on how they're reacting to the song is how long you'd play it out for. it's been a while since i played at any kind of birthday or private function but as long as the songs are familiar and they can sing-a-long to it they're usually the winners. i've never heard of pulse locker thing so let us know how it goes. the worst thing is getting requests from people to play tunes off youtube. trying to explain why that's not a good idea is next level shit haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Yeah, decent suggestion by @andyman. Given it's a party for a friend and you'll have people there to socialise with, I'd download some DJ mixes of chilled music for the first hour or two while people are arriving, so you can mingle early in the night rather than slaving behind the decks while you're doing nothing. Then jump on the decks when the host wants to ramp the party up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 9, 2016 Author Share Posted November 9, 2016 OK I'm starting to fear this less and less now. I'm just gonna keep getting music and I'm gonna ask around for songs that people like. I also like the idea of getting some mixes and playing them early in the night. With the mixing situation I'm probably gonna just play the full song if the crowd really like it otherwise I'll just do some mixing to keep it entertaining. I'm still not sure on how many songs I should have as just a minimum for a party. In my whole library I have about 400 songs but I've gone through and got 150 roughly that I could play. Is there a minimum amount you reckon I should have? And how do I calm myself before because thinking about it now is making me nervous! I think I'm more than capable of Djing this party (so does my friend) but I'm just so scared that people will dislike me. I'm scared that they would rather play music off of youtube than listen to me play music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dflux4 Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 In my experience from house parties no one is really paying attention enough to notice if you make small mistakes such as clipping or cutting the bass out on the wrong song. If for any reason you do start to make mistakes take a breath, think about what you need to do to fix the mix and continue. A good trick if you happen to stop playing the song coming through the speakers is to have a quick shout out and say that you would like to wish the birthday person a happy birthday and get the crowd in on it with you. No one is going to dislike you, provided you have the tunes to get the reactions from the crowd and a smile on your face you are going to have a great night!! When ever i do house parties i always have a set list to go to in my opinion of what the crowd will like, as well as other pre-prepared lists through genres or BPM. The more gigs and parties you play the more lists you will have and the better prepared you will be. Just remember you are there to DJ not to be a Jukebox and take every request under the sun if you dont have the song dont stress, improvise and smile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 Ok Im just gonna get heaps of music and keep practising before the night. Hopefully it goes well and I'll get back to you guys on how this pulselocker streaming thing goes, it shouldn't be too bad it's built right into Serato. Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Oh, what we should have mentioned (if it hasn't already). Set your equipment up in a manner that doesn't allow people to sit drinks near it. Keep drunk people, drinks, and cigarettes away from the equipment. Electronics, liquid, and ash don't mix. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 Thanks for the great tips guys. Still feeling very nervous, just tried to play a mix and I didn't know what song to choose and it kinda sucked. Any tips on song selection? Like how should I play? Chill ones first? I have a Serato crate of songs I think will go down really well, like songs I've heard go down really well, when should I play these? (obviously not straight away) What if no one dances? What if I play a song no one likes? How do I get people to start dancing? How do I calm myself down because I definitely think I've done this really bad mix because I was too worried about what track to drop next. I'm looking at getting around 200+ songs for about 4 hours? I'm trying to play like half or 3 quarters of each song and the full song if I think it will go down well. So sorry for asking all these questions but this night is really big deal for me and I am so scared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 I think you're overthinking it too much. We've all been in this situation so I won't take it away from you but a lot of that is out of your control. Firstly, don't do the maths of how many songs per hour you'll play because it never works out that way. Like we said earlier just keep collecting tunes. You may never play any of it but one day you'll need one of them. You obviously don't wanna play all your bangers straight away so you can do what Andy suggested and throw on a chill mix for an hour or just play chilled stuff. You need to build up to it. Use the time only as a reference. Don't switch styles completely because you assume by 9pm it's time to go harder. Keep the time in mind and look at everyone around you. Experiment with a few different tunes to test the vibe and go from there. Some nights I was playing bangers by 10 and other nights I couldn't get people going until midnight. Different crowds will react differently so that's something you need to see at the time. You'll know if you play a song no one likes because they'll let you know. Usually, everyone will stop dancing and stare at you. It's really awkward but that's usually the indicator. Don't feel disheartened by that because it happens to all of us. Like I said, different crowds react differently. Don't just cut that track into a new one. Try mix it out so it doesn't come across like you've made a mistake, because you definitely haven't. It just looks better when you mix the tunes and you look like you're in control of your crowd. I guess to summerise, don't freak out and don't overthink it. What you portray in you head usually never happens and you freak out for nothing lol I don't know what you could do to calm down but I use to chew gum. eggssell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Thanks so much for your help, It's my first time doing this and I guess I was overthinking it. I'm just going to have to accept that somethings are out of my control and all I can do is my best. After all this is only a learning experience, hopefully I improve and get a better feel for DJing for a crowd. I'm always going to be nervous but I think thats ok and I think its natural. I might try chewing gum to calm myself down. Thanks for all your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Yeah the first few are always nerve racking but they're always learning experiences. Even if you've been djing as long as some of us we still find ourselves in situations where we have to think quickly. We're just experienced enough to deal with it in a certain way and that all stems from doing these parties like you're doing now so it'll be good to get right in there and just enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OxyKon Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 This doesn't work for everybody but I recommend maybe try practicing while having a few drinks, being a party the drinks will definitely be flowing and it's a good idea to get a feeling of your decks while buzzed, and most of us can tell you straight away that we find ourselves more relaxed while in the mix. like the others said keep collecting music because you need the most you can get your hands on, dj mixes for the beginning of the night is always a good idea and yea as the night goes on you'll find the music will usually start to get heavier and heavier, and most importantly, HAVE FUN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 14, 2016 Author Share Posted November 14, 2016 Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated. I hope this goes well and Ill try not to overthink it aha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupe Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 I did a house party last weekend. Just be prepped with your tunes and if nobody is saying 'shit song' you're doing it right. If they do say 'shit song' tell them to fuck off and just play the next track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robooooo Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Practice practice practice. Be prepared with all the genres you think the crowd wants. Just remember the more times you do live gigs the better you will get in reading the crowd. Cupe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 I've been practising so hard and I've actually improved a lot. The fear of not performing well has actually driven me to become a lot better. I showed my friend some of my mixes and some of the music I'm gonna play, I showed him a mix and by my standards I thought it was really bad but he said it was actually quite nice and smooth and perfectly fine aha. I'm still compiling tunes for the night, hopefully I've got the right ones. I found it very helpful to get the tunes that are popular this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupe Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Reading the crowd isn't so important at a house party. People are just getting shit faced and trying to work out who they want to fuck later. As long as you don't bump the music off accidentally, or utterly trainwreck it bad enough to make a baby cry, you'll do better than you expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 Any tips on organising the music Im going to play. Like right now I only have one big crate, should I separate them into like chilled and hard or something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 38 minutes ago, Rusty1 said: Any tips on organising the music Im going to play. Like right now I only have one big crate, should I separate them into like chilled and hard or something like that? This is a personal thing I would say. I have mine sorted by genre but some people like to organise by different times of the night or by how busy the night is. for example, Brooklyn has her USB's organised by venue size, the amount of people are in the and what time she's playing. It's fucking weird but whatever makes your job easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty1 Posted November 17, 2016 Author Share Posted November 17, 2016 Ok I'm pretty sure I'm going to organise it like chilled then hip hop and dance and then another crate with the bangers that everyone likes. Doing it like that I should be able to just play the chill crate at the start then move onto hip hop and then onto dance as the night goes on and mix in some bangers where I feel its appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 Yeah mate. Do whatever will make your workflow easy. Don't be surprised if you change it a million times either lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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