SwingDJs

KevinSchaper wrote:I don't buy the "more information is bad" argument.

True, it all depends on how you use the information. Although i'm really impressed that Peter knows the bpm for every song on his 1000+ collection. Kudos!!!

SirScratchAlot wrote:I used to label all my music with BPM's but I stopped. I decided to just learn what I have...

CafeSavoy wrote:Although i'm really impressed that Peter knows the bpm for every song on his 1000+ collection. Kudos!!!

He does?

I'm actually curious what people see as the bad way to use bpm info.

When I'm really inspired, the songs are just coming without thinking, but sometimes when I'm just not feelin it, I gotta dig, and at the worst, I definitely will use bpm as a crutch to sorta do it by the book until the inspiration kicks back in..

KevinSchaper wrote:I'm actually curious what people see as the bad way to use bpm info.

When I'm really inspired, the songs are just coming without thinking, but sometimes when I'm just not feelin it, I gotta dig, and at the worst, I definitely will use bpm as a crutch to sorta do it by the book until the inspiration kicks back in..

I do so, too, absolutely. But a "bad way to use BPM info" would be to completely rely exclusively on the BPM instead of the other things you have said you always consider, as well: the feeling of the room, the ability of the dancers, what you've already played, etc. Artificially upping the tempo merely for the purpose of increasing (or decreasing) your average BPM "rate" would be the "bad" way to use the info.

KevinSchaper wrote:I'm actually curious what people see as the bad way to use bpm info.

In extremely lazy moments int he past, I will actually just look for a BPM range I'm looking for, and play whatever song seems to match.

That's lazy, and it can be really bad. I have stopped doing such though.

GemZombie wrote:

KevinSchaper wrote:I'm actually curious what people see as the bad way to use bpm info.

In extremely lazy moments int he past, I will actually just look for a BPM range I'm looking for, and play whatever song seems to match.

That's lazy, and it can be really bad. I have stopped doing such though.

If the only criteria is BPM, then that is a problem. I look at BPM kind of the way I think of a tiitle. There are a lot of versions of the same song, so it's not enough to think"I'll play 'Don't get around much anymore'" ...I mean you have to really work hrd to figure out the perfect moment for that Willie Nelson version, so the choice goes beyound just the title. If I think to myself "I'd like to play something slower/faster" I might use BPM as a limitation to narrow my selection, but I wouldn't think "Oh here's a song that's ___BPM, I'll play it.

If I think of a bunch of songs that are "medium-fast", I might use BPMs to be sure I was playing in a 30 BPM range instead of a 10 BPM range. In the context of mini-sets, I would use BPMs to help match songs that might feel different, but are actually about the same tempo. Especially when changing genres.

If you won't flame me, I'll be entirely honest.

I have about 1200 tunes that I have burned and comprise my dj cds (ya- I do update them regularly). I have the music on them cataloged - and printed sheets that I drag along with me - by title, by artist and - hold on, hold on - by BPM. I find it useful to be able to scan the tunes in lets say the range between 150 and 175 in order to pick a mid tempo tune. This still gives me a huge collection to choose from, and I don't pick by the bpm, but as a way of helping build a set / keep the floor going I sometimes find it useful to narrow down by bpm. In this case (150-175), I still have nearly 300 wonderful classic swing era songs to choose from (most of my stuff is 175+), so I don't feel that this is terribly limiting, and like I said, it can work as one component of building a set.

And yes, if I am focusing on a particular artist, style, etc, I will generally ignore the bpm list and look at titles / artists. But I do use it fairly often.

Oh well.

GuruReuben wrote:

SirScratchAlot wrote:I used to label all my music with BPM's but I stopped. I decided to just learn what I have...

CafeSavoy wrote:Although i'm really impressed that Peter knows the bpm for every song on his 1000+ collection. Kudos!!!

He does?

Hell yea I do!!! and when I'm not sure, I pop it in and preview it, and then say to myself "yea, thats what I thought" and then push play.....hahahaha

it doesn't matter to me if it's 151 or 160 or 163.76 .....it's either has the feeling I want to play or it doesn't.

SirScratchAlot wrote:

GuruReuben wrote:

CafeSavoy wrote:Although i'm really impressed that Peter knows the bpm for every song on his 1000+ collection. Kudos!!!

He does?

Hell yea I do!!! and when I'm not sure, I pop it in and preview it, and then say to myself "yea, thats what I thought" and then push play.....hahahaha

Sounds like Peter took Hudson Hawk too seriously as a role model. Query whether he has started cat-burglaring on the side.

sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh people are reading this board....

I was able to get my start DJing only because of BPM charts. Without that it's just way too hard to remember how fast stuff is when flipping through a book. Of course there's more than that to DJing, but who says instinct and BPM lists are mutually exclusive? I also write down other info on the cards (i.e. "fast but feels slower," "hot boogie woogie," "tres bluesable," "beware the bass solo," smiley faces, hearts, etc.)

-yakv

well I still basically consider myself a novice DJ, and I'm playing mostly blues but even so I find that looking at BPM doesn't tell me a whole lot. Even labeling the tempo only (like "medium" or "fast") doesn't work for me. My background as a musician I think has affected my notes to myself (yes, I still need them for newer music!). If you look in my book you'll see things like "fast and sharp" "serious grind" "sweet, uptempo" "uptempo, happy" "sway" "plaintive" and stuff like that.

I like the idea of reviewing the entire playlist after a set, but I'm paying more attention to smooth changes in mood while still providing some variation, not just to tempos.

Doug wrote:I have the music on them cataloged - and printed sheets that I drag along with me - by title, by artist and - hold on, hold on - by BPM. I find it useful to be able to scan the tunes in lets say the range between 150 and 175 in order to pick a mid tempo tune. This still gives me a huge collection to choose from, and I don't pick by the bpm, but as a way of helping build a set / keep the floor going I sometimes find it useful to narrow down by bpm. In this case (150-175), I still have nearly 300 wonderful classic swing era songs to choose from (most of my stuff is 175+), so I don't feel that this is terribly limiting, and like I said, it can work as one component of building a set.

And yes, if I am focusing on a particular artist, style, etc, I will generally ignore the bpm list and look at titles / artists. But I do use it fairly often.

This is exactly what I do. Also, I use a highlighter to cross off songs that I've played (really annoys me when a DJ plays the same song twice (without reason)).

Now, then... I have 12 new CDs that need my BPM-counting skills...

Toon Town Dave wrote:BPM or approximate BPM might be useful for cataloging but I find it less useful for selecting a song. Take two songs of the exactly the same tempo. One may sound fast and the other slow (relatively speaking).

.

hope this helps;

I note this difference as "energy level" this is something that can't be tapped out on a Bpm counter, you just have to feel it.

G