SwingDJs

I tend to allow for a brief lull in between songs - about 5-6 seconds. I do this to allow people to thank their partners and find new ones. However, I have noticed that some DJs hit the next song immediately after the last end.

WWYD?

Kalman

I try to leave a tiny but definite gap.

Depends. If it's a live recording and has some audience applasuse at the end I'll fade the next song in. Other than that I'll try to live a little space, but nothing too big.

If I "switch gears" so to speak, meaning I'm making a major change in tempo or genre, then I leave a gap. Otherwise I fade from song to song.

Or at least try to.

Tina

I do both. Depends on my mood and the dancers.

I leave a tiny gap too. 2-3 seconds usually. If it's too long, it can break the flow sometimes.

I usually let a few seconds go by between songs. Wasn't there already a thread about this?

I've started leaving about 4-5 seconds between songs.

yedancer wrote:I usually let a few seconds go by between songs. Wasn't there already a thread about this?

Probably. I think we exhausted any originality in month two.

Kalman

Yeah, I remember this being one of the first threads when the site went up.

I found the link. Putting it in here since it is a bit informative and perhaps some of the original posters may have changed their opinions on the matter.

http://www.swingdjs.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=9

For me, every time is different.
I try to look out at the dance floor before I press play.
If people are still full of energy I will only leave about 1-2 seconds between tracks.
If the venue is very hot and the dancers look tired, I may leave up to 8-10 seconds between the songs.
If I've been lucky enough to get a jam going, and I want to continue it, I'll go from one track right into the next.
So I in other words, I let the dancers decide.

Brian

sometimes I watch people dip, and wait till they're both upright to start the next song.

If I play a short song that got a good resonse and I want to continue in that vein I shorten the gap between songs to a few seconds, if I am making a more significant cut between styles of tempo I may wait around 5 seconds.

I tend to keep it short - usually just a heartbeat or two. The main exception is when we're leaving "blues land." As I'm wrapping up a mini-set of blues or other, steamy stuff, I like to leave a longer pause to let people to "emerge from the steam." Then I like to play something that has a gentle intro.

One of my favorite things to do, if I've just played a mini-set of modern, bluesy stuff, is wait a few seconds, and then play Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl." The intro always seems to get people's attention and bring them willingly out of blues land. Also, it can be fun to bring the lights (back) up just before I play it.

It's difficult to describe a general rule. As I wrote before, 5-6 seconds is a rather long time for a pause, and I doubt ANYONE has actually paused that much intentionally. I tend to hit the next song immediately unless there is a reason to not do so (change of flow, allow the end of the song to "breathe", etc.). I also try to count out the rhythm of end of the previous song so that the first beat of the next song hits on a "1" from the presious song's rhythm.

The opening intro to most songs is often sufficient to find a new partner. Indeed, some of my favorite songs have awfully campy or "half-timed" rhythms (emphasis on the 1 & 3), such that the melody gives people time to choose a new partner and get into the flow of the next song.