Preparing for your first DJ gig can be a daunting task. You might be nervous and anxious or maybe you’re wondering what tracks you should play and how to prepare adequately. Worry no more, because I’m here to help you make your first DJ gig a success. I’ve outlined the 5 P’s which are crucial to preparing for your first DJ gig. If you follow these steps correctly your first DJ gig will undoubtedly be a success. Bust out your mixer, controller, laptop or whatever odds and ends you use to DJ and let’s get started.
1. Practice Makes Perfect
When learning a new skill of any kind, the best way to improve is practice. If you want your first DJ gig to be a success, you’re going to need to dedicate time to practicing. One practice technique that I’ve found useful is picking two songs at random and attempting to transition from one to the other. This forces you to learn how to make drastic BPM shifts, transition between genres and creatively move between songs that you might not normally play next to each other.
Another similar practice technique is DJing back to back with a friend. This employs the same technique mentioned before, however it’s more enjoyable since you’ve added a social element to practicing. Your friend will most likely choose different songs than you and you’ll be forced to mix in and out of their various song choices. Additionally, you may learn new techniques from your friend, which you can utilize to make your first DJ gig a success.
During your practice sessions, don’t be afraid to get weird. Experiment with unorthodox effects and tempo changes, because by doing this you learn what works well and may discover mixing techniques that you can use during your first DJ gig.
2. Pick – Select Your Tracks Wisely
Before your first DJ gig, you’re obviously going to want to prepare. One element of preparation is practice, which we already discussed, however there are a few other things that you need to do before your first DJ gig. One crucial aspect of preparation is organizing your music library. If you drop Dr. Dre’s ‘The Next Episode’ and see the crowd getting into it, you’ll probably want to find another Hip Hop song or possibly a Trap song to follow that up. The easiest way to prepare for this scenario is by keeping your music library organized by genre in separate playlists. If you want to go into even more detail, add key phrases into the playlists. For example, words like ‘Bangers’, ‘Down Tempo’, or ‘For Girls’. These will help you choose what song to play next more quickly.
During this process, it’s important to understand who your audience is so you can pick your playlists appropriately for your first DJ gig. DJing at a wedding reception is going to be completely different from playing a packed nightclub, so pick your playlists accordingly.
Sometimes it becomes tempting to pre-plan your entire set. You may have tracks that you like mixing into one another, and you may create the playlist for your first DJ gig based on this due to the ease and security it seems to offer. This is NOT a good way to prepare and it could jeopardize the success of your first DJ gig. If you pre-plan your set, you render yourself unable to read the crowd and unless you’re playing to an easy to please crowd, you will most likely lose their attention which will in turn cause them to leave the dance floor. No one wants to play to an empty audience, so be sure to avoid this. If you have a few must play tracks or transitions that you really like using, then by all means use them if appropriate, but DO NOT base your whole set around this. I cannot stress this enough.
3. Promote
As I mentioned before, no one wants to play to an empty dance floor. Especially if it’s your first DJ gig. An easy way to prevent this is to promote whatever event you’re performing at. If it’s a birthday party, a wedding, or any sort of an event with a built in audience, you won’t have to worry about this. However, if your first DJ gig isn’t this kind of function, promotion is a crucial aspect of making your first DJ gig a success.
The easiest way to promote is via social media platforms. Facebook is your best friend when it comes to promoting. Posting on Facebook about your first gig and asking your friends to support you is a good way to spread awareness about your first DJ gig and create a buzz. If you’re an active Instagram user and there’s a flyer for your gig, be sure to post the flyer on Instagram and ask your friends to come out and catch your set.
Another more time consuming, but generally more effective way to promote is through directly reaching out to friends via phone calls or text messages. This might take longer, however sending a personalized message to each of your friends makes it more likely that they will attend. You can also use social media like Facebook to send these messages to friends or even acquaintances.
4. Prepare
Being prepared for your first DJ gig is an extremely important and often overlooked aspect of making your first DJ gig a success. This involves making sure your DJ bag is packed properly and that you have all the necessary equipment for your first DJ gig. If you use a laptop when DJing, showing up to your first DJ gig without your charger would ruin your chances of success. Always make sure you have everything you need and if you can, bring two of everything. Make a checklist for your DJ bag and double check that everything is in the bag before you leave for your gig.
5. Perform – Don’t Get Lazy!
If you’ve followed the first four steps, this should be the easiest step of all in making your first DJ gig successful. Remember to actually mix, read the crowd and actively DJ. Don’t drink too much or fall into lazy DJ habits. This is when it really counts, so don’t slack off!
Remember, if you follow all of the 5 P’s correctly, you will ensure that your first DJ gig will be a great success.
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