any tips from other djs who have made the switch from non-preview djing, to preview djing, would be a great help.
Not so much a tip...
I've just started previewing as well (I've only been DJing about 18months). I started using headphones + external soundcard (+itunes and DJ1800) at an exchange a few months ago. First time I tried it I totally screwed up. Second time - muuuuch better. And things have only gotten improved.
I now always preview when I'm DJing.
It means that I don't make the 'oh crap, that's not the song I was thinking of' mistake. It doesn't necessarily make me any better a DJ. But I can hope, right?
Here are some things I've noticed:
cons:
- previewing means bringing more gear to gigs. I ride a bike or catch PT so this is getting to be a bit of a pain - I have to lug that gear on my back.
- I'm a bit worried about breaking my sennheiser headphones. But not that worried.
- I have noticed that it's a bit easy to get lost in my music playing the previewing game and too easy to get distracted from watching the floor. I'm so busy chasing the perfect song I forget to watch the floor. This doesn't happen often, but it has happened once or twice
- cord tangle city. I tend to play gigs at venues where the DJ set up is cramped and inconveniently close to high-trafic areas. Having a bunch of cords dangling off me and the laptop while adrenaline junkies scamper past is getting a bit scary.
pros:
- I like the hush of wearing headphones even when I'm not actually listening to music. I just like the quiet - it chills me out a bit and rests my ears. me = 100% dag
- I tend to play new songs - I don't rely on my standards so much. This is actually pretty exciting because I feel like I'm finally doing something new with my DJing, rather than just playing the same old Hamp/Basie mix. I'm actually using all my new stuff, not just my old faves.
- it saved my life doing a blues set recently. I hardly ever DJ blues any more, so I'm really out of touch with my music-for-blues-dancing. I listen to it, but I don't listen to it thinking 'would this be good for dancing?'. It helped me transition between styles (because I didn't have to rely on my memory of a song - I could listen and check the styles would mix), and it helped me play a wider range of styles (which was important for that particular crowd: hardcore party-hardy blues dancers into a range of tempos and with plenty of highenergy stuff - not just cuddling-and-grinding blues).
Something else I've done recently that helped me with playing new stuff: I accidently deleted my 'should play' shortlist. Which meant that I had to then go through all my music and select new stuff to short list. Stuff I hadn't played in ages or new stuff or just stuff that I
should play.
I'm the queen of shortlists (I also have playlists called things like 'lindy hop', 'blues', 'recent lindy', 'hi-fi old school', 'fun scratchy', 'safety songs') and it's been good to 'start from scratch' with a whole new set of old/new songs.
This also meant I had to do more previewing, rather than just relying on a memory of how a song went ages ago.
Prepping
Lawrence's comment about prepping is important for me.
I'm the queen of 'practicing'. If I don't spend a couple of hours playing 'pretend set' before I do a gig, I'm more likely to play 'safe songs' and do an ordinary gig. I take more risks and do more interesting stuff if I've practiced.
I prep even though I also preview. And I kind of like it - it's fun and nice to spend some time just sitting on the couch playing with my music and ignoring the things I
should be doing.
I don't get a chance to listen to music much during the day any more - I spend most of my time doing things where music isn't possible - working on lectures (ie preparing them, editing and previewing footage for screening, etc) and trotting around campus dealing with students.
I'm also having to watch a lot more telly and listen to a lot more non-swing radio because I'm teaching media and my jazz-obsession has kind of limited my exposure to mainstream media! Curse you for your addictive show, Mr Jesse!