How did I prepare my first set?

How did I prepare my first set?

Part of the job as a Dj is preparing a set, of course, there is the option of improvising but it’s always better being prepared for an event or a contest. Although it is not necessary to ignore the merit of improvising is not as easy as many think and it often requires more skills to improvise live than to bring a set prepared, is always better (and more professional) prepare it previously.

Now I’m going to tell you a little bit of my experience at preparing my first set, I had to be autodidact to do it because you won’t find a step by step to do that….until now. And that’s exactly what I’m going to explain in this blog, plus saving the lives of many amateur Djs in this competitive world.

To clarify that this isn’t “word of God” or a “manual to prepare your set” because it depends of you and the way you feel more comfortable when doing it.

Step 1: Picking the genre

Like everybody, there is always a favorite genre and it’s recommendable that your first set is mixing this genre because you will feel more comfortable with the options you will have, also you are going to learn more about that genre. For example, my favorite genres are Future House, Deep House, Dubstep, Trap and EDM but the genre I used for my first set was Future House but why do I like it? Because it’s very calmed, you don’t feel rushed when doing the mix, you can see the cycles easily on the graph and it’s a genre I recommend to begin.

Step 2: Picking the BPM (Beats Per Minute)

This is like a karma when creating the set because there are many songs that we like but if that song doesn’t have the same BPM of the rest of the songs or it’s too different you have or choose if either change everything to fit a song or choosing another song that fits in the line. Of course, if you want to fit a song so bad you have to keep in mind that ideally the BPM of the song that you want to fit won’t vary more than 5 points from the previous song.

To clarify: The BPM can change during the set as long as doesn’t increase or decrease up to 1 or 2 points per song, so the difference won’t be noticed.

Step 3: Picking the songs

We have got to the most important and difficult part, because creating a set is not just picking pretty songs randomly, you have to keep in mind that not everybody likes the songs you chose and that’s why to choose a song you first need the BPM of the songs to have a continuity, that is, if you started at 124bpm your next song has to be either 124bpm or 124,10bpm, also, when the set is at its highest point won’t drop drastically, or the up too fast, it has to be gradual.

Step 4: Creating the playlist

Now we have the songs picked I need to clarify this: A folder full of songs is not a playlist, it’s not like the music folder in your laptop or you list on Spotify, a playlist is the songs you’re going to use for the set and you can’t change this songs, each song is unique and has a specific function in the set.

Step 5: Interest points in the song

After choosing the songs you consider ideal for the set, here is where we’ll know what songs will stay and what songs will be out. The interest points could be Hot Cue points, Loops that you set by default in the song and Tags, notes to remind us if we need an effect or make a loop. With this points of interest you make the mixes, mash-ups, scratches, or whatever you want. They are basically the ones that make the mix.

Step 6: Try the set

Here is when you do the first try and when you will know if what we’ve done sounds good or not and if you change your mind about a song, effect, etc. I recommend you to try this step alone because it’s very likely that you won’t do it good at first, because it’s not the same planning than actually doing it live.

Step 7: Correct mistakes

In this step we’re going to polish the set, you will have to repeat this and the previous step over and over until you do it perfect, because as we’ve seen it never going to be perfect at first.

Step 8: Practice

When you have finished the steps 6 and 7 it’s time to practice the set that is going to be recorded until you do it perfect. Also it’s good to have a second opinion but don’t let them know that you did it. The last thing you want is a subjective opinion just because that person is your friend, teacher, etc.

Step 9: Record

Done! After hours, or days of practice it’s time to record. I recommend you to don’t get nervous, remember you’ve been practicing many times and let it flow, being organic, don’t think about what you have to do or that you’re going to fail at any moment.

Congratulations! You’ve created your first set! Now it’s time to let the world listen to it, there are currently many platforms for that, for example SoundCloud, that lets you upload your sets without Copyright problems.

Comment below your opinion or your questions.

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