The art of being a DJ really comes down to being able to read a crowd to control the movement of the dance floor and keep a nightclub running smoothly and successfully. It’s fair to say that over 9 years of being a DJ in Melbourne, I have had many bad, good and great experiences when it comes to DJing in a nightclub and reading the crowd in order to play the right music and keep them dancing all night. Still to this day I keep reminding myself of the following tips before the DJ gigs I play. This is what I know works and my aim is to help any DJs who want to improve on their music selection and crowd-reading ability for the clubs. Without a doubt, successful DJing can be an art form.
A successful DJ does their homework on the nightclub before they play at it. They know what the audience are into because they have gone out there and watched other DJs for many weeks prior to the gig. They have taken down mental notes such as:
* What music works in the club, like genre/sub genres?
* What music is popular?
* What music is not popular?
* How does the crowd adapt to change? How does the DJ react to the crowd?
* Is the DJ in control? Has the nightclub got structure?
* What elevates the crowd? What groove, rhythm and tempo works?
* What makes them go crazy - popular vocal tracks, dirty bass sounds or catchy melodies?
They know what they can do in order to stand out and learn from the nightclub and the other DJ before playing; this brings confidence when it comes to music selection.
Confidence comes from the feeling and knowing that the music you hold will work and your set will turn out well. As you have done your research your clarity comes from it, and the music selection process becomes a lot easier.
Music selection for the night can indeed be a very frustrating thing if you have not got a target to aim at. I aim not saying to program an entire set here and not play to an audience; I am simply saying that it pays to collect music that has the potential to work along with music that does work, and of course some hidden gems or even your own music.
What I do is make a playlist of 50 songs that I think will suit the night (this is if I have an hour time slot). It is quite a bit of music but I like to give myself a bit of space if things don’t turn out the way I would like them to. I select music based on the current crowd reaction and let the crowd’s energy help guide my decisions. However, I do not let them completely control me, or become a complete crowd pleaser, I educate them.
If one person starts to dance, more follow. This is so true, especially when it comes to playing to women first at the beginning of the night. People are often intimidated to be the first to dance because really they fear what other people may think of them in the beginning. But once the alcohol kicks in that fear and anxiety will wear off and people start to make a move, providing the music has a good groove and rhythm to dance to. Work on an individual and build from there.
Start by introducing music to that person and work off the energy that is being given, later expanding with music with a lot of great tension release and suspense. You don’t want to give away all the popular music just to give into demands too early; work on building energy instead.
A DJ is always looking up and scanning the dance floor, looking to see if the majority of the people are having a good time. It is always going to be hard to please everyone, so just concentrate on 75 percent. No matter what you do people will come and go, either to the toilets, to get a drink or to have a smoke. When I see people starting to lose interest I play a song I know will rock a crowd. Before you know it they all come rushing back in, and then I know I have them in the palm of my hand again.
A confident DJ will always look up, smile, move their body, perhaps jump up and down or even sing. A DJ that is not confident will always be looking down, scrolling through music, playing to themselves, ignoring the crowd or sometimes even panicking. Take note next time you’re out at the nightclubs.
Check out this video on How to read a crowd as a DJ -
It takes experience to control a crowd. A lot of younger or newer DJs I find these days can have trouble when it comes to being patient and introducing the right songs at the right time. They have a tendency to drop hit after hit, without any building up of anticipation and energy control. This is because I personally believe that DJ sets these days are a free for all, and we see all the superstar DJs of today with only one -our sets dropping hit after hit, so therefore it can be a case of monkey see monkey do. The music industry and DJ sets have changed drastically over the last 5 to 7 years.
DJ sets used to go for 2 or 3 hours on average and used to take you on a journey. Now it’s a case of ‘lets see how many superstar DJ internationals we can put on a line up in order to bring in more patrons’, which gives the international normally an hour to smash out a DJ set instead of build it for the next DJ. Anticipation and teasing the crowd is really all about the art of controlling a DJ set; it is where the fun and challenges lie.
It makes the people appreciate the music more by keeping them waiting on the edge of their seats, and makes the big tracks make even more of an impact when they get played. When you play hit after hit the crowd get used to the explosion of energy, then when you have played 3 or 4 tracks and they get used to it, you are left with nowhere to take it from there. You will then have to restart again; the only trouble is that you will completely kill the buzz and lose the crowd’s interest. Be patient and strategic; it’s not easy, but it pays off in the end.
I still have many bad and good nights, all DJs do. But do we learn from it? I think so. Some nights the crowd are not going to be up for it; you can do everything you can and still feel like you played average because you were not getting any crowd feedback. Basically, when the crowd have a good time you have a good time too, and that’s what makes DJing a fun experience. It is also how you get return DJ gigs at clubs and residencies, build a loyal following of raving fans and become a household name. Whatever happens, don’t beat yourself up and learn how you can improve on your performance. Music should always be fun - that’s why we do it.
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