I actually quite enjoy not having anything to do on the decks while I wait for the part to mix out. It's a good opportunity to look up and connect with the crowd, dance and show that you are having a good time and enjoying the music, which helps spread the good energy. At house parties if I know I have a minute I sometimes will run away from the decks and go dance for the drop to help bring the energy before rushing back hahaha
Half way through your intermediate course phil and I just wanna say thankyou! I can finally beat match by ear after months on end of trying and giving up, you taught me and in 2 days I learnt to get it spot on!
Easy solution to feeling awkward behind the decks; play tunes that you personally, absolutely CANNOT help but dance to! Choose music you love and SHOW it! Your audience will love you if you love your tunes.
so we should play music for ourselves to entertain a crowd and paying client and if i show that i love what I'm playing for me, the crowd will love the dance show im putting on but not neccssarily the music I'm playing? *face palm* .. that dj didn't play anything i liked for the whole 4 hours i was there, but it was great watching him dance. he has some great moves. we came here to see you dance. lol
I'm about to buy some equipment for the first time, but I've been watching DJ's live and in video for over 2 decades, and I have learned more from you in the last few days than in all that time! Thank you!
This is a great tip. I’m a hip hop DJ and recently found myself lost in the world of EDM music. I feel like such a beginner which is kind of cool actually but I was getting tripped up on where/how to mix in and out. This helps clear things up big time.
Rashod B Hey there, my name is Sebastian and I’m a fourteen year old DJ and EDM Producer. I recommend watching DJ Carlo Atendido’s video on how to prepare tracks. He covers where to put your hot cues. Hot cues are basically points that you set, so you can trigger them to go back or forward to the point at any time. You can use them to your advantage, by playing the next track when you get to the specific hot cue you want to mix out at. You press play on track A and you let it play. You press play on track B when track A gets to a hot cues position. You mix in the next track slowly with the volume faders or the cross fader. I usually take away the bass from the track I’m mixing in so that the speakers don’t start to distort because of both tracks bass playing at the same time. As I bring up the volume on my next track, I start to add some bass gradually and take away some bass from the track that is being mixed out of. Hope this helps.
Thank you for bringing up that awkward feeling of messing around with knobs during normal playback. One thing that I do during these times is scratching, especially if I am in a corporate/retail environment. People will walk by and film me, and I'm like I better do something! The only problem is that is not always the best time to scratch. It could be during vocals, or since I am left side dominant, I end up doing instant doubles really quick so I can put on a show lol. I have to work on my right side. :) Great video, It is the first time I have come across your channel... good stuff!
I do the same with Cue points. I have Intro, 1st Drop, 2nd Drop, Vocal, Climax, Outro set on every single track. Using the same colours. So i can hit Green for example and hit the 2nd drop on any track, no matter what track im playing. Everytime i import a new track, just spend 3mins setting the Que points. Then its done and easy to keep on top of.
I do this quite often, BUT some second drops just won´t fit the buildup of the first drop, just sounds way off, before you do that be sure that they fit, and when using quantize, be aware that some songs dont have a grid that fits from the beginning to the end because there are slower or faster parts in the track. i don´t use quantize for drop switching, a decent feeling for the rhythm is pretty much enough, and the biggest thing: experience over the years. As a dj you NEED a good sense of rhythm so it has to be there already ^^
I tend to do a 1-chorus-and-out mixing, so when making custom dj-friendly edits of songs (both EDM and other genres) after the dj-friendly intro I use the 3rd pre-chorus and 3rd chorus to thereafter shift into the first verse. The benefit of this approach is in using the harder and more climatic drop/chorus sooner in the mix, and/or to use a signature bridge or prechorus as a way to strongly introduce a signature moment to the crowd of the next song. There are exceptions to this, of course, where the first verse is more memorable in pop culture than the pre-chorus in which case you'll just want to play from the first verse; but I've personally found this style of bringing the 3rd drop in sooner makes the overall energy and flow of the mix stronger.
Great tip, sometimes I mix after the first drop to the build-up of the 2nd drop of the next song (only if the build-up is relatively short), its as easy as it gets to do but sounds pretty good
During awkward times, you should be looking for something to do. The job of the dj is to participate and provide a service to the dance floor. If they see you sitting back, they might do the same. That's not to say you should never have a pause of activity; but you should always be looking for ways to add your signature to the mix. Look for samples from upcoming or previous tracks, to create a memory recall for the audience of parts where the excitement was high. Make them pay attention by adding little treats for those with good ears to hear. The best, most requested dance floor djays are the ones who are always into it. Sure, when you're a millionaire producer, you can sit back and just click play like digweed or something. But until then, you have to earn their respect. If you have free time, that means you have time to be creative. Don't be afraid to express yourself. You're not just a robot.
Nice idea, for the cue points. Yes I've definitely had moments where I feel I should be doing something and had a TWIDDLE of a few knobs lol "not that kind of knob!" As I've gone on I now interact more with the crown and dance my heart out, I often watch videos of other DJays and see that they are pretending to twist knobs and press buttons and I think it's a nervous thing. love your vids!!
I've felt like I've not been doing a lot during my dj set so I just pretend that I'm listening to the music 😂 One of the biggest problems is getting over my anxiety with DJing as it's one of my biggest push backs
6:41 As someone who started dj'ing in the late 80's with vinyl and now using all the new tech junk, I feel that all the knob fiddling, unnecessary perpetual eq'ing and whatnot has got completely out of hand within the the past few years. I've observed djs who are constantly pushing buttons, turning knobs, etc and all those dj theatrics don't make a damn difference on the dancefloor when the crowd is dancing. Many times the crowd just thinks what the dj is doing is already a part of the song. I hope I don't ruffle too many feathers by saying this but all that knob fiddling is usually just for show and the thrill of looking like a dj. In my opinion, all (rather most of) "the tricks" can simply be done by playing good music and knowing how to line up the sounds in each song through pure mixing and having excellent musicality.
100% agree. Glad someone else said the same. Sometimes if I'm not doing anything while mixing I feel guilty as if I should be constantly adding effects and filters
@@Samdo99 I completely see where you're coming from. I think (and this is just a theory ; might not be the case for you) that the sense of feeling guilty about not constantly doing stuff when you're dj'ing comes from the fact that everybody is looking at you. Nowadays the crowd, particularly younger ones and at festivals, practically everyone is dancing in the direction of the dj. Back in the day (yes, I'm older, LOL), there would be pockets of groups of people on the dancefloor, facing various directions and the location of the dj wasn't important to the dancers and clubgoers NOW, everyone seems to be facing the direction of the dj as if it were a concert. When it's all on eyes on you like that, you can't help but feel like you need to be doing something all the time. Personally, I can't stand this new "everybody dancing in the direction of the dj", but that's just me :)
The Knob Fiddling Syndrom (KFS) is more of a product of being bored while mixing than putting up a show. Not bored as "I don't want to do this", but as in technology involving DJ'ing has evolved in such ways that 80% of the work a DJ would do while mixing vinyl is non existent. For example, I can easily mix on my DDJ 400 RekordBox with no headphones. Just by looking at the wave forms I know where the drops are, when the song is loudest and what frequencies are dominating a portion of the song. By seeing the BPM's the software clocks on a song, I don't even need to manually match them.I just press play and line up the beats with the jog wheel. Hell, I don't even need to count beats anymore cos the software will tell me how many beats and bars has gone by. With less of that workload to do, I find myself with extra time to perfect EQ. Good EQ is essential to a good mix. You need to know when to lower the hi's, how to blend in the mids, etc. Different EQs for different portions of the song also improve the song and the mix. Playing in different venues, different sound rigs and setups, I find a lack of consistency which forces me to constantly twitch EQ cos it sounds different from what I am used to. Played on this venue that my bass knob couldn't be at the default middle position cos it would distort everything, I had to put the bass EQ really really low. Not saying there aren't DJ's with KFS because of showmanship .*cough* Steve Aoki *cough*, but just saying there's more reasons to it than showing off.
@@GPS08 Ok, yeah, I totally see what you are talking about and I agree with you. I should have specified in my post that there is more than reason for KFS. Your post makes a lot of sense (PS: I love that term, "knob fiddling syndrome". Never heard it before. It's perfect! )
Thanks Phil,, love your channel, new to the DJ scene, started off as a hobby but your courses are very helpful, allowing me to be that much more comfortable behind the decks, who know where it will go from here..!
You have to go to any Indian party where there is a dj present 99% of the time the song is pre mixed and edited and they just fake their hand movement 😂
I can relate to the feeling of having nothing to do. I usually use the time to look through some of my songs and think about cool transitions and mashups, but I definitely had to do the knob-twisting thingy a few times haha
Another good reason is if it's a super popular song everyone has heard Djs play over and over again, skipping to the second drop that sounds different can be surprising and unexpected for listeners who are used to the first one.
It's a bit different however if a club DJ is stuck using older gear that lacks hot cues. Yeah you can create a double and set it up later in the track to flip but then its wasting time preparing your next track
The 1st time i DJ'd for my friends I put on a Daft Punk song. I already knew what song i was going into nect and had it loaded so I was just standing there dancing a little bit. One of my friends was like, is that it? Is that all DJs do? Lol
When I saw Deadmau5 live, he had a couch on the stage. He started a 7 minute song, walked away from the decks, sat on the couch and smoked a cigarette LOL
Since i perform some parts of my songs live, i find the opposote is true. I run out of time and miss cueing the next song, hehe. Its actually why i picked up traktor. I can mix in and out the intros and outros of my songs without much hassle and it gives me time to reset my instrumenys for the next track.
I actually can't say I can remember ever feeling that way about wanting to turn knobs. I'm usually scanning through the next track looking for a different way to mix into it than typical or if the next track is already picked I throw it in the prepared list and start scanning for the following track after that one. Or if I really feel like I have time look for a vocal to put over an Instrumental
What do you do at parts of the song where there's a really long break without any beat playing whatsoever, (usually its just etherial keyboards playing). Sets i have usually done people actually stop dancing and walk away. And I find it hard to make them come back to the dance floor. They might not be really into breaks without beats. Thanks for your time sir!
I'm not a DJ but my experience on the dancefloor is that beyond a couple of bars it gets tiring (even embarrassing) to keep an imaginary beat going. Usually you get your energy from the music and all of a sudden you have to be the energy source. If I was a DJ I'd either skip that section or overlay a beat.
I learned from Martin Garrix to start the build up of the next drop of your next song at the end of the drop of your current song, aka the breakdown where it gets quiet and boring. That way when the drop ends, the next one is already on the way
Great video Phil. You sure do know how to make them. As mainly a wedding DJ I don't play the amount of house you do. Don't find I have much spare time between transitions. Im usually selecting best next track, preparing the transition, fielding requests, working the ideal lighting scene, selecting a quirky drop and so on. Am I overdoing it?
Before this video I was mixing everything by ear from my cue points but it’s so nice to have the cue points automatically transition between each other so I just push the button and it snaps in.
Hey there... I would like to hear from you about a the little technique. Pioneer vs. Denon vs. ?? Recordbox vs. Serrato vs. ?? Stand Alone products vs. Controller vs. ??? Sincerely M. T. Gleerup
Michael T. Gleerup / DJ GrayBeard I see using a good controller(I use pioneer sz2, very perfect for me) is for getting creative with your mixes, practicing cool tricks and mixing in general. A stand alone product is better for mobility, taking yourself around with your music on usbs, or just being prepared for club equipment especially if you’re using cdjs. Also using a controller with serato gives you the opportunity to record remixes on the fly without needing to go into ableton
It doesn't always have to be the 2nd drop but it usually is. You can instead skip to the drop that you like the most, or to a different part of the track that you think is dope. it could be a vocal verse or an instrumental. Keep in mind, you cannot always just jump around from part to part seamlessly. Sometimes, it won't be a good cut and people can tell that something is off.
@@DJPhilHarris modern technology has taken DJing to another level. There is so much more I can do when I don't have to worry about beat sync, like instantly blasting a second track at full volume. Furthermore, matching bpm on REKORDBOX is impossible. I just mash that beat sync button and rock.
My question to those that say beat-sync is the baddest thing ever is if they still drive a car with a manual gearbox without a syncro-mesh. Cause real drivers don't use an automatic. :D I say use the tools you have, but DO learn to beat-sync because it should always be a part of the DJ craftsmanship.
I just thought this for myself. I dont ever like to use sync or look at the visual ques for beat matching out of choice , but I always have quantize on....it wouldnt be hard without it since I know to use my ear but then when I thinj of how annoying looping would be I think I'd prefer just to keep it on...thoughts?
During the downtime is a perfect time to interact with your crowd, if the venue is conducive to that. I guess I don't feel the need to twiddle knobs because, in my day, we didn't really have many knobs to play with. It was usually 4 channel sliders and a crossfader. No EQ on the mixer.
Naaa... too cool for school :) Ive been DJing for a long time so I dont feel akward... even so, when I have time its to talk with the guests, friends, etc...
I just got a controller mostly messing around at this point but yes if i don’t skip to the second drop or change songs at the drop i feel like I should be doing something with the knobs 😂
Thanks, Phil, for these great tips. I wonder if this tip (use the second drop) fits also with many trance tracks, as the break between drops may be a very important part of the track. Any other way to shorten those long tracks, but still using intro and outro for mixing?
if i get bored behind the decks I'll play a looped 4/4 kick snare drum on ch. 4 and popped it on the first one or two respectively of every fourth bar with a bit of flanger, reverb or echo effect. Most producers have already done a fine job gain staging their tracks. Constantly messing with the eq's can lead to unwanted results.
How or where do I turn on Q in the algorithm software.. ?? If it's not already on maybe ? Btw thanks for the best videos online. Packed with down to earth tips. 🙏🏼
When I still used vinyl records and simply cd-players I never felt any need for playing with nobs, because I had my hands and ears full with beatmachting. But when I played around with traktor and used sync I also ran into that problem. lol
Oh shoot didnt know quantize could work that far out, always used it for essentially rounding errors with my timing but never thought to do it even a beat in advance. Definitely will help out with the timing of resetting eq's or fx when jumping so I dont have to do 3 things at the same time right on beat 1
as a new VC ( I call us vibe controllers, VCs, not djs) I thought part of the set was not doing anything after you transition to the next song. I'd do a dance, interact with the crowd and check to see the vibe of the crowd because if the vibe has went down I'll transition to the next song sooner and get the crowd into again... I might throw a lil echo and brake, ufo noise or other fx on the song while I'm doing nothing. I make sure none of the fx are on the next platter so I don't transition to silence or an effected song. I've watched mainstage djs fiddle with knobs while the song is playing and said to myself.. he's not doing anything. lol.. it has to be brain wrecking to have premixed your set and stand there touching knobs that aren't doing anything for an hour set in front of 10,000 ppl. That's when it's time incorporate and show off some new dance moves. lol
I had a big issue last night with Quantise, in that it didnt seem to be working. Im on the latest 2.3.2 running a MC7000 on latest firmware. After much research is seems Serato may have messed up all the beat grids if tracks were analysed in earlier versions. Which they would have been. Some would have been done way over 1yr ago. So last night i set it re-scanning my entire library, giving the CPU a good workout. Have you seen this before ?. The dangers of upgrading serato ?.
Can try adding live elements to your sets. Ever watch one of Giuseppe Ottaviani's sets? You'd never be standing around waiting for several minutes with nothing to do and fiddling with knobs for no reason. ;)
i didnt get it, so when it plays, with quantize set as 4, say it arrives 3rd beat of the bar, i clicked hotcue A ( 1st beat of a bar), instead jump to A, it jump to A - 1beat? i tried, whenever i clicked A, it jumped to A sharp, no matter what quantize i set... frustrating...yes i tried set 4
I do use this technique with the cue points, also it allows me to mix out faster if I don’t see the crowd reacting to a certain song. If the reaction isn’t isn’t there on that first phrase then I drop the 2nd drop instead of allowing the 1st drop to play. This allows me to shorten the song and mix in another song
Ha! I only stream sets on the net, but had to come up with a few 'brb' screens for those extended songs so I can grab a drink, pee, scratch my butt... whatever. It's also a good time to interact with peeps in the chat. But no twiddling. I have a zero twiddle rule. It it doesn't need to be twisted, don't twist it.
There are times during my set wherein, I "Pretend" to do something on my equipment when it was unnecessary. I just do it for the sake of just doing something.😄
You can start connecting with the crowd, start dancing jumping or whatever. Even talking thrue the mic helps to connect and you have something to do. Try it out it is lot’s of fun.
By playing house or techno tracks, you have more room for creativity as a dj. EDM by it's nature is packed with harmonies, vocals etc. and adding an extra effect is way too much. If your target audience are common party goers, they're don't care about the artistic part in the first place. If you want to look busy, just grab the mic and SAY HEEY, SAY HOOO!
I have a question and hope you can help me with me deciding on which controller to get.. this weekend I'm buying me a DJ controller I need help deciding and hoped you could give me a good suggestion it's going to be between the Pioneer DDJ 400 and the DDJ 300 Gold Edition which one will be a better buy
Never heard of the DDJ 300. Do you mean DDJ SB3?? I don't have the DDJ 400 but it has full Rekordbox software and Spotify support if you prefer using Algoriddim's DJay (like I do) but it would mean paying extra for a full version when you already have a full DJ software included in Rekordbox.
3rd reason because of controll is not so valid.. 3rd reason could be: may be cause of bad music choice and you want next record ASAP. How else would you mix faster? There could also be reason not to skip any parts of currently playing record, because the dance floor enjoys a good selection.
Better tip: turn quantise off, if you fuck it up then people will know you are actually doing it live and respect you as a dj. Plus you will get better by making the mistake. Depends on what's more important to you?
If you are waiting 2 min. To mix you are just playing song's. DJ,s getting paid should always be in the mix. At least loop something or put 4 bars in or effects or something....this would maybe be ok 30 years ago with vinyl waiting 32 counts. Today no excuses with the technology.
Rocky Butler Dont need to over do the mixing. As a DJ playing 4 hr sets I would never in want to inject myself into every song all the time.. if ur making a 30 min dj mix mabey its ok, but not live at a 4hr gig.
The track is the star, not the DJ. Sometimes simply playing the song is much more effective than anything you can do and by forcing the issue just to be "busy," the DJ detracts from the listening/dancing experience. If you were a guitar player and always wanted to be front and center with solos, effects, etc. instead of just playing the song...your band would suck, even if you shred.
Gone be honest here, I absolutely hate DJ’s that are acting like they are turning knobs but in reality do nothing, it looks stupid. Start to use your third or fourth deck if you have nothing to do. It would be better to enhance the track and use some effects, use doubles that are offset half a beat and switch with your cross fader. Introduce the next song, or whatever but do not fake turning knobs it looks absolutely stupid and even a noob can see you faking it. Sorry if I step on someone’s toes but I think you could use your time better.
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I actually quite enjoy not having anything to do on the decks while I wait for the part to mix out. It's a good opportunity to look up and connect with the crowd, dance and show that you are having a good time and enjoying the music, which helps spread the good energy. At house parties if I know I have a minute I sometimes will run away from the decks and go dance for the drop to help bring the energy before rushing back hahaha
Just started DJ for a month, your video is the biggest help that I got from any online course or videos! Thank you for doing this for us 🙌
Half way through your intermediate course phil and I just wanna say thankyou! I can finally beat match by ear after months on end of trying and giving up, you taught me and in 2 days I learnt to get it spot on!
Matt Jackson so awesome. Glad I can help!
Lmfao
Pas Cal ?
Matt Jackson Months on end to learn beatmatching? I thought you were trolling.
Pas Cal yeah, I couldn’t get it just kept giving up
these videos are the reason why i started to dj and make my own music cause it has grabbed my attention which has pushed me further in my carer
This is so awesome. Hope you go all the way!
@@DJPhilHarris thanks phil i will be looking forward to joining you on DJ Titans along with many other dj's as well !!
Easy solution to feeling awkward behind the decks; play tunes that you personally, absolutely CANNOT help but dance to!
Choose music you love and SHOW it!
Your audience will love you if you love your tunes.
This right here. Along with so many aspects of djing being lost in this day and age, djs don’t present music anymore. They just play it
Rihanna says: Shut up and dri... dance!
so we should play music for ourselves to entertain a crowd and paying client and if i show that i love what I'm playing for me, the crowd will love the dance show im putting on but not neccssarily the music I'm playing? *face palm*
.. that dj didn't play anything i liked for the whole 4 hours i was there, but it was great watching him dance. he has some great moves. we came here to see you dance. lol
@@noramoss if you're lucky, and your DJ gig is a good fit for you, the songs you love and the songs your audience love might just be the same songs :)
This channel is awesome! Really helped me getting the fundamentals of DJing started, much love 🤘
I'm about to buy some equipment for the first time, but I've been watching DJ's live and in video for over 2 decades, and I have learned more from you in the last few days than in all that time! Thank you!
So awesome. Glad I can help man!
This is a great tip. I’m a hip hop DJ and recently found myself lost in the world of EDM music. I feel like such a beginner which is kind of cool actually but I was getting tripped up on where/how to mix in and out. This helps clear things up big time.
Rashod B Hey there, my name is Sebastian and I’m a fourteen year old DJ and EDM Producer. I recommend watching DJ Carlo Atendido’s video on how to prepare tracks. He covers where to put your hot cues. Hot cues are basically points that you set, so you can trigger them to go back or forward to the point at any time. You can use them to your advantage, by playing the next track when you get to the specific hot cue you want to mix out at. You press play on track A and you let it play. You press play on track B when track A gets to a hot cues position. You mix in the next track slowly with the volume faders or the cross fader. I usually take away the bass from the track I’m mixing in so that the speakers don’t start to distort because of both tracks bass playing at the same time. As I bring up the volume on my next track, I start to add some bass gradually and take away some bass from the track that is being mixed out of. Hope this helps.
Thank you for bringing up that awkward feeling of messing around with knobs during normal playback. One thing that I do during these times is scratching, especially if I am in a corporate/retail environment. People will walk by and film me, and I'm like I better do something! The only problem is that is not always the best time to scratch. It could be during vocals, or since I am left side dominant, I end up doing instant doubles really quick so I can put on a show lol. I have to work on my right side. :) Great video, It is the first time I have come across your channel... good stuff!
I do the “instant doubles; scratch” thing as well since I’m left-side dominant as well. Cheers ☺️
I do the same with Cue points. I have Intro, 1st Drop, 2nd Drop, Vocal, Climax, Outro set on every single track. Using the same colours. So i can hit Green for example and hit the 2nd drop on any track, no matter what track im playing. Everytime i import a new track, just spend 3mins setting the Que points. Then its done and easy to keep on top of.
*Newbie* here, so everytime you load a song up Cues are set?
@@CSigmaShow Yes, on every track in my collection.
@@dj_paultuk7052 thanks for the #ProTip!
I do this quite often, BUT some second drops just won´t fit the buildup of the first drop, just sounds way off, before you do that be sure that they fit, and when using quantize, be aware that some songs dont have a grid that fits from the beginning to the end because there are slower or faster parts in the track. i don´t use quantize for drop switching, a decent feeling for the rhythm is pretty much enough, and the biggest thing: experience over the years. As a dj you NEED a good sense of rhythm so it has to be there already ^^
yes i can relate. my issue is sometimes i forget to reset the EQ and the FX so i find myself triple checking all the knobs!
I tend to do a 1-chorus-and-out mixing, so when making custom dj-friendly edits of songs (both EDM and other genres) after the dj-friendly intro I use the 3rd pre-chorus and 3rd chorus to thereafter shift into the first verse. The benefit of this approach is in using the harder and more climatic drop/chorus sooner in the mix, and/or to use a signature bridge or prechorus as a way to strongly introduce a signature moment to the crowd of the next song. There are exceptions to this, of course, where the first verse is more memorable in pop culture than the pre-chorus in which case you'll just want to play from the first verse; but I've personally found this style of bringing the 3rd drop in sooner makes the overall energy and flow of the mix stronger.
Great tip, sometimes I mix after the first drop to the build-up of the 2nd drop of the next song (only if the build-up is relatively short), its as easy as it gets to do but sounds pretty good
That’s a cool idea!
This was the exact question I was hoping to get answered. Love all your videos!! Appreciate the wisdom 🙏🏾
During awkward times, you should be looking for something to do. The job of the dj is to participate and provide a service to the dance floor. If they see you sitting back, they might do the same. That's not to say you should never have a pause of activity; but you should always be looking for ways to add your signature to the mix. Look for samples from upcoming or previous tracks, to create a memory recall for the audience of parts where the excitement was high. Make them pay attention by adding little treats for those with good ears to hear. The best, most requested dance floor djays are the ones who are always into it. Sure, when you're a millionaire producer, you can sit back and just click play like digweed or something. But until then, you have to earn their respect. If you have free time, that means you have time to be creative. Don't be afraid to express yourself. You're not just a robot.
Nice idea, for the cue points. Yes I've definitely had moments where I feel I should be doing something and had a TWIDDLE of a few knobs lol "not that kind of knob!" As I've gone on I now interact more with the crown and dance my heart out, I often watch videos of other DJays and see that they are pretending to twist knobs and press buttons and I think it's a nervous thing. love your vids!!
I've felt like I've not been doing a lot during my dj set so I just pretend that I'm listening to the music 😂 One of the biggest problems is getting over my anxiety with DJing as it's one of my biggest push backs
I hear you there. Im nearly 50 now and my Anxiety is worse than its ever been. It can be kinda scary at times.
just dance! the crowd loves a DJ who enjoys what he/she plays ;)
@@sashasol_mtl exactly. It is so much more powerful when the DJ is REALLY into what he's playing
6:41 As someone who started dj'ing in the late 80's with vinyl and now using all the new tech junk, I feel that all the knob fiddling, unnecessary perpetual eq'ing and whatnot has got completely out of hand within the the past few years. I've observed djs who are constantly pushing buttons, turning knobs, etc and all those dj theatrics don't make a damn difference on the dancefloor when the crowd is dancing. Many times the crowd just thinks what the dj is doing is already a part of the song. I hope I don't ruffle too many feathers by saying this but all that knob fiddling is usually just for show and the thrill of looking like a dj. In my opinion, all (rather most of) "the tricks" can simply be done by playing good music and knowing how to line up the sounds in each song through pure mixing and having excellent musicality.
100% agree. Glad someone else said the same. Sometimes if I'm not doing anything while mixing I feel guilty as if I should be constantly adding effects and filters
@@Samdo99 I completely see where you're coming from. I think (and this is just a theory ; might not be the case for you) that the sense of feeling guilty about not constantly doing stuff when you're dj'ing comes from the fact that everybody is looking at you. Nowadays the crowd, particularly younger ones and at festivals, practically everyone is dancing in the direction of the dj. Back in the day (yes, I'm older, LOL), there would be pockets of groups of people on the dancefloor, facing various directions and the location of the dj wasn't important to the dancers and clubgoers NOW, everyone seems to be facing the direction of the dj as if it were a concert. When it's all on eyes on you like that, you can't help but feel like you need to be doing something all the time. Personally, I can't stand this new "everybody dancing in the direction of the dj", but that's just me :)
The Knob Fiddling Syndrom (KFS) is more of a product of being bored while mixing than putting up a show. Not bored as "I don't want to do this", but as in technology involving DJ'ing has evolved in such ways that 80% of the work a DJ would do while mixing vinyl is non existent. For example, I can easily mix on my DDJ 400 RekordBox with no headphones. Just by looking at the wave forms I know where the drops are, when the song is loudest and what frequencies are dominating a portion of the song. By seeing the BPM's the software clocks on a song, I don't even need to manually match them.I just press play and line up the beats with the jog wheel. Hell, I don't even need to count beats anymore cos the software will tell me how many beats and bars has gone by. With less of that workload to do, I find myself with extra time to perfect EQ. Good EQ is essential to a good mix. You need to know when to lower the hi's, how to blend in the mids, etc. Different EQs for different portions of the song also improve the song and the mix. Playing in different venues, different sound rigs and setups, I find a lack of consistency which forces me to constantly twitch EQ cos it sounds different from what I am used to. Played on this venue that my bass knob couldn't be at the default middle position cos it would distort everything, I had to put the bass EQ really really low. Not saying there aren't DJ's with KFS because of showmanship .*cough* Steve Aoki *cough*, but just saying there's more reasons to it than showing off.
@@GPS08 Ok, yeah, I totally see what you are talking about and I agree with you. I should have specified in my post that there is more than reason for KFS. Your post makes a lot of sense (PS: I love that term, "knob fiddling syndrome". Never heard it before. It's perfect! )
@@christopherdieudonne Haha, I don't know if it's a thing, I just made that up. Sounded right :p
Thanks Phil,, love your channel, new to the DJ scene, started off as a hobby but your courses are very helpful, allowing me to be that much more comfortable behind the decks, who know where it will go from here..!
This is so simple and very very useful! Thank you Phil!
You have to go to any Indian party where there is a dj present 99% of the time the song is pre mixed and edited and they just fake their hand movement 😂
I can relate to the feeling of having nothing to do. I usually use the time to look through some of my songs and think about cool transitions and mashups, but I definitely had to do the knob-twisting thingy a few times haha
Another good reason is if it's a super popular song everyone has heard Djs play over and over again, skipping to the second drop that sounds different can be surprising and unexpected for listeners who are used to the first one.
Thanks for the tips, im watching from the Philippines hopefully more tips for me as an 18 years old teen who wants to be dj someday.
These were actually good tips and reasons! Well done! 🤙🏽
Learning how to DJ on a ddj ergo fining a few of your videos quite helpful, thanks
Very underrated tip. Powerful.
That’s a great idea. A lot of deejays forget they can skip parts of a song that don’t help their sets
It's a bit different however if a club DJ is stuck using older gear that lacks hot cues. Yeah you can create a double and set it up later in the track to flip but then its wasting time preparing your next track
The 1st time i DJ'd for my friends I put on a Daft Punk song. I already knew what song i was going into nect and had it loaded so I was just standing there dancing a little bit. One of my friends was like, is that it? Is that all DJs do? Lol
DJ BENNIE literally 😂😂
I feel that bro
When I saw Deadmau5 live, he had a couch on the stage. He started a 7 minute song, walked away from the decks, sat on the couch and smoked a cigarette LOL
Since i perform some parts of my songs live, i find the opposote is true. I run out of time and miss cueing the next song, hehe. Its actually why i picked up traktor. I can mix in and out the intros and outros of my songs without much hassle and it gives me time to reset my instrumenys for the next track.
I actually can't say I can remember ever feeling that way about wanting to turn knobs. I'm usually scanning through the next track looking for a different way to mix into it than typical or if the next track is already picked I throw it in the prepared list and start scanning for the following track after that one.
Or if I really feel like I have time look for a vocal to put over an Instrumental
What do you do at parts of the song where there's a really long break without any beat playing whatsoever, (usually its just etherial keyboards playing). Sets i have usually done people actually stop dancing and walk away. And I find it hard to make them come back to the dance floor. They might not be really into breaks without beats. Thanks for your time sir!
I'm not a DJ but my experience on the dancefloor is that beyond a couple of bars it gets tiring (even embarrassing) to keep an imaginary beat going. Usually you get your energy from the music and all of a sudden you have to be the energy source. If I was a DJ I'd either skip that section or overlay a beat.
I learned from Martin Garrix to start the build up of the next drop of your next song at the end of the drop of your current song, aka the breakdown where it gets quiet and boring.
That way when the drop ends, the next one is already on the way
love these videos man! always so useful
High key tho, dude reminds me of Cricket from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
😂 😂 😂 Dude always reminds me of Murray from flight of the Conchords
He kinda does remind me of cricket 😂
Great video Phil. You sure do know how to make them. As mainly a wedding DJ I don't play the amount of house you do. Don't find I have much spare time between transitions. Im usually selecting best next track, preparing the transition, fielding requests, working the ideal lighting scene, selecting a quirky drop and so on. Am I overdoing it?
Hi Mark, no 90% of the time I am exactly the same!
Thanks Phil! Great stuff.
Before this video I was mixing everything by ear from my cue points but it’s so nice to have the cue points automatically transition between each other so I just push the button and it snaps in.
It allows me to focus more on keeping my eyes on the crowd while taking requests and engaging them. Awesome
Hey there...
I would like to hear from you about a the little technique.
Pioneer vs. Denon vs. ??
Recordbox vs. Serrato vs. ??
Stand Alone products vs. Controller vs. ???
Sincerely M. T. Gleerup
Michael T. Gleerup / DJ GrayBeard I see using a good controller(I use pioneer sz2, very perfect for me) is for getting creative with your mixes, practicing cool tricks and mixing in general. A stand alone product is better for mobility, taking yourself around with your music on usbs, or just being prepared for club equipment especially if you’re using cdjs. Also using a controller with serato gives you the opportunity to record remixes on the fly without needing to go into ableton
This is very helpful
Whens the best time to release the 1st beat of your new track, would you say straight on the 2nd drop
I was waiting for something like this
It doesn't always have to be the 2nd drop but it usually is. You can instead skip to the drop that you like the most, or to a different part of the track that you think is dope. it could be a vocal verse or an instrumental. Keep in mind, you cannot always just jump around from part to part seamlessly. Sometimes, it won't be a good cut and people can tell that something is off.
Beat sync: forbidden
Quantize: no problem
Why???
It’s ridiculous! Do what works for you. You are DJing for the crowd. Not for other DJs!
@@DJPhilHarris modern technology has taken DJing to another level. There is so much more I can do when I don't have to worry about beat sync, like instantly blasting a second track at full volume. Furthermore, matching bpm on REKORDBOX is impossible. I just mash that beat sync button and rock.
My question to those that say beat-sync is the baddest thing ever is if they still drive a car with a manual gearbox without a syncro-mesh. Cause real drivers don't use an automatic. :D
I say use the tools you have, but DO learn to beat-sync because it should always be a part of the DJ craftsmanship.
I just thought this for myself. I dont ever like to use sync or look at the visual ques for beat matching out of choice , but I always have quantize on....it wouldnt be hard without it since I know to use my ear but then when I thinj of how annoying looping would be I think I'd prefer just to keep it on...thoughts?
@@FranksReactions I still drive manual gearbox and will always try to avoid automatic :p
So true 😂
During the downtime is a perfect time to interact with your crowd, if the venue is conducive to that. I guess I don't feel the need to twiddle knobs because, in my day, we didn't really have many knobs to play with. It was usually 4 channel sliders and a crossfader. No EQ on the mixer.
Like the idea. Quantize seems useful but if you can't be in time to hit the drop should the person be a dj? Hmmmm. Thx again for the tip
I really relate to that 7:10 😂
Naaa... too cool for school :) Ive been DJing for a long time so I dont feel akward... even so, when I have time its to talk with the guests, friends, etc...
I just got a controller mostly messing around at this point but yes if i don’t skip to the second drop or change songs at the drop i feel like I should be doing something with the knobs 😂
Thanks, Phil, for these great tips. I wonder if this tip (use the second drop) fits also with many trance tracks, as the break between drops may be a very important part of the track. Any other way to shorten those long tracks, but still using intro and outro for mixing?
Great video, makes a lot of sense. Funny, whenever I see DJs unnecessarily fiddling with knobs (lol) it makes me cringe.
Phil can you do a hardstyle or hardcore tutorial love all your vids it helps me out a lot
Love your vids m8 could u maybe do a vid about dancehall I find it soooo hard
if i get bored behind the decks I'll play a looped 4/4 kick snare drum on ch. 4 and popped it on the first one or two respectively of every fourth bar with a bit of flanger, reverb or echo effect. Most producers have already done a fine job gain staging their tracks. Constantly messing with the eq's can lead to unwanted results.
Amazing video!
I don't do the twisting stuff because I mainly DJ for fun so I enjoy having few minutes to chat when a song is playing most of the time.
If you have more minutes to wait until drop, etc.. just try fit the next songs by cue, or you can play the effect like reverb, echo but dont to much😜
Feels Like...they say: do Something.
I: but, but the Song is still playing.
Aha,hmhm,ok...but...Just do Something!
😀
How about tips on Hardstyle-ish 150-160bpm mixing?
How or where do I turn on Q in the algorithm software.. ?? If it's not already on maybe ?
Btw thanks for the best videos online. Packed with down to earth tips. 🙏🏼
I subscribed
Heeey Happy New Years
When I still used vinyl records and simply cd-players I never felt any need for playing with nobs, because I had my hands and ears full with beatmachting. But when I played around with traktor and used sync I also ran into that problem. lol
Oh shoot didnt know quantize could work that far out, always used it for essentially rounding errors with my timing but never thought to do it even a beat in advance. Definitely will help out with the timing of resetting eq's or fx when jumping so I dont have to do 3 things at the same time right on beat 1
as a new VC ( I call us vibe controllers, VCs, not djs) I thought part of the set was not doing anything after you transition to the next song. I'd do a dance, interact with the crowd and check to see the vibe of the crowd because if the vibe has went down I'll transition to the next song sooner and get the crowd into again... I might throw a lil echo and brake, ufo noise or other fx on the song while I'm doing nothing. I make sure none of the fx are on the next platter so I don't transition to silence or an effected song. I've watched mainstage djs fiddle with knobs while the song is playing and said to myself.. he's not doing anything. lol.. it has to be brain wrecking to have premixed your set and stand there touching knobs that aren't doing anything for an hour set in front of 10,000 ppl. That's when it's time incorporate and show off some new dance moves. lol
I had a big issue last night with Quantise, in that it didnt seem to be working. Im on the latest 2.3.2 running a MC7000 on latest firmware.
After much research is seems Serato may have messed up all the beat grids if tracks were analysed in earlier versions. Which they would have been. Some would have been done way over 1yr ago. So last night i set it re-scanning my entire library, giving the CPU a good workout.
Have you seen this before ?. The dangers of upgrading serato ?.
Can try adding live elements to your sets. Ever watch one of Giuseppe Ottaviani's sets? You'd never be standing around waiting for several minutes with nothing to do and fiddling with knobs for no reason. ;)
Thought it was Prince Harry for a minute.. Lool Messin wit ya! Hahaha
Yes
how do you quantize on rekordbox?
Dear Phil, more tank tops please!!
Pls make that video I need it soooo much
i didnt get it, so when it plays, with quantize set as 4, say it arrives 3rd beat of the bar, i clicked hotcue A ( 1st beat of a bar), instead jump to A, it jump to A - 1beat? i tried, whenever i clicked A, it jumped to A sharp, no matter what quantize i set... frustrating...yes i tried set 4
I do use this technique with the cue points, also it allows me to mix out faster if I don’t see the crowd reacting to a certain song. If the reaction isn’t isn’t there on that first phrase then I drop the 2nd drop instead of allowing the 1st drop to play. This allows me to shorten the song and mix in another song
Ha! I only stream sets on the net, but had to come up with a few 'brb' screens for those extended songs so I can grab a drink, pee, scratch my butt... whatever. It's also a good time to interact with peeps in the chat. But no twiddling. I have a zero twiddle rule. It it doesn't need to be twisted, don't twist it.
What song is used in this video?
There are times during my set wherein, I "Pretend" to do something on my equipment when it was unnecessary. I just do it for the sake of just doing something.😄
You can start connecting with the crowd, start dancing jumping or whatever. Even talking thrue the mic helps to connect and you have something to do. Try it out it is lot’s of fun.
@@hhaarmann will do. Thanks for the tip🙂👍
By playing house or techno tracks, you have more room for creativity as a dj. EDM by it's nature is packed with harmonies, vocals etc. and adding an extra effect is way too much. If your target audience are common party goers, they're don't care about the artistic part in the first place. If you want to look busy, just grab the mic and SAY HEEY, SAY HOOO!
Love intro vocals too much to be doing this but great tip
Can this guy mix or does he just know how to press samples and fxs
This is a good technique only If you want your song to play the second drop.Not all second drops are good !
duh
And smartsync was on ;)
Sounds like a plan but not if you’re skipping over the best part of the tune 😉
Adjusting the hi and mids for show. Hahaha
hey dj titans :D
F that
I make sure both drops are hype when I produce my music
i hate the idol time during the set. im learning scratching now to fill the void
the first drop is easier to double..... but the 2nd drop sounds better for soloing
imho
I have a question and hope you can help me with me deciding on which controller to get.. this weekend I'm buying me a DJ controller I need help deciding and hoped you could give me a good suggestion it's going to be between the Pioneer DDJ 400 and the DDJ 300 Gold Edition which one will be a better buy
I have ddj 400 and I am happy with it
Never heard of the DDJ 300. Do you mean DDJ SB3?? I don't have the DDJ 400 but it has full Rekordbox software and Spotify support if you prefer using Algoriddim's DJay (like I do) but it would mean paying extra for a full version when you already have a full DJ software included in Rekordbox.
DDJ-400 is the PERFECT beginner controller can’t stress it enough
❤❤
3rd reason because of controll is not so valid..
3rd reason could be: may be cause of bad music choice and you want next record ASAP. How else would you mix faster?
There could also be reason not to skip any parts of currently playing record, because the dance floor enjoys a good selection.
3rd reason once more, you can't be bored when you have to think about next record selection.
Awesome video and tips just one thing please don’t call that music house. Thx
Better tip: turn quantise off, if you fuck it up then people will know you are actually doing it live and respect you as a dj. Plus you will get better by making the mistake. Depends on what's more important to you?
I love skipping to the outro beats
Four beats walk into a bar .
If you are waiting 2 min. To mix you are just playing song's. DJ,s getting paid should always be in the mix. At least loop something or put 4 bars in or effects or something....this would maybe be ok 30 years ago with vinyl waiting 32 counts. Today no excuses with the technology.
Rocky Butler Dont need to over do the mixing. As a DJ playing 4 hr sets I would never in want to inject myself into every song all the time.. if ur making a 30 min dj mix mabey its ok, but not live at a 4hr gig.
The track is the star, not the DJ. Sometimes simply playing the song is much more effective than anything you can do and by forcing the issue just to be "busy," the DJ detracts from the listening/dancing experience. If you were a guitar player and always wanted to be front and center with solos, effects, etc. instead of just playing the song...your band would suck, even if you shred.
hi
is he breathing helium?
Gone be honest here, I absolutely hate DJ’s that are acting like they are turning knobs but in reality do nothing, it looks stupid.
Start to use your third or fourth deck if you have nothing to do.
It would be better to enhance the track and use some effects, use doubles that are offset half a beat and switch with your cross fader. Introduce the next song, or whatever but do not fake turning knobs it looks absolutely stupid and even a noob can see you faking it. Sorry if I step on someone’s toes but I think you could use your time better.