Your song choice is as important as your mixing technique.
As a DJ, your technique and choice of songs have a direct influence over other people's enjoyment. Whether at a party, a club or a festival, your responsibility is to play music that helps people have a good time. Poor technique, such as sloppy mixing or poor song choice, can interrupt people as they are dancing. Your success as a DJ relies on your ability to keep the tempo flowing, seamlessly and tastefully.
Practice Beat Matching
Beat matching is a technique where you manipulated the playback speed of two records so that they are at the same tempo. This lets you mix one into the other without a sudden increase or reduction in tempo. To beat match, cue up a song in the your headphones so only you can hear it. Count along to it and then remove one headphone so you can hear the front of house mix. Determine which track has the fastest tempo by counting along. If the song currently playing has the faster tempo, gradually slow it down by touching the turntable as it spins, until the tempo of the song matches the tempo of the song in your headphones. This technique is essential for smooth transitions between songs.
Include Surprises in Your Set
A thoroughly planned out and regimented set list can feel stale. Part of your song choice inspiration should come from the mood of the room, and you must also be prepared to take requests. However, keep approximately six songs on hand that you plan to include at crucial points in the set. The presence of these songs will therefore influence your other choice of songs, resulting in a more cohesive set. Without a handful of "milestone" songs--for example, one for the start, one at midnight and one at the end--your set might lack structure.
Pre-Select Transition Songs
Some songs are perfect to bridge the gap between disparate genres. Songs that fuse two or more styles--for example, "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails, which is simultaneously funky and heavy--are useful for anchoring your set list. Pick these songs in advance so that you have a method of changing genres without simply dropping a new track that doesn't match the mood of the room. If the atmosphere is beginning to drag and you want to make the music more upbeat, use one of your transition songs to go from rock to funk or disco. Many early Prince songs, such as "Controversy" and "Dirty Mind," fuse rock and funk and bridge the genre gap seamlessly.
Watch the Audience
Fat Boy Slim makes a point of communicating with his audience.
You can learn a lot from the body language of your audience. If nobody is dancing or they're looking uncomfortable, take this to mean that the last song you chose didn't go down well. Don't suddenly pull the song, but choose something different for the next record. Similarly if your audience are really getting into the funk or disco songs, postpone your scheduled foray into ambient house and let the mood of the crowd dictate.
