As a newer DJ, I really appreciate this video Dude. It’s easy to get caught up in the noise out here. This is art and there is a time & place for everything AND so much depends on your audience & the type of music you play. The only rule to follow is to have fun while your audience has fun! Thank you
As a multi op owner, I get way more clients asking me to play songs all the way thru and not to mix in and out of songs then I get people that ask me for a DJ that is skilled at making cool remixes and quick mixing, we have DJs that can do that but I’ve noticed that when you actually look at the dance floor and peoples faces when you quick mix, it’s often a look of disappointment that you’re only playing 1 verse and chorus of their favourite song. Maybe the fast mix camp doesn’t notice cause they’re so busy quick mixing?
At times that's a failure of the dj, not the concept. I see guys jumping bpms quick mixing and it's just not cohesive, or they are mixing material they just don't know and have not put in the effort to learn when and where and what to mix or with.
I agree with this. I believe that quick mixing songs will work well with the younger crowd because their attention spans are generally short, and they really want that Hip Hop Night Club Feel. It can work well for high school and college aged dancers. The older crowd, especially over age 50/55 imo really want to hear full songs or MOST of the song to dance to before the next song starts playing. I will also say that quick mixing shouldn't be going on the entire event. Certain songs, especially if they are singing along to the song while on the dance floor should just be kept playing to near the end. Mr Bright Side by the Killers comes to mind as an example. Any nostalgic song that the crowd is really singing along to should be played until near the end.
Yea, that's for sure the reason. I'm in my own world trying to find next song. That's one thing I really like about the digital displays we have now. I organize my library by bpm and key so whatever I play next will match and I have fun skipping througb genre's that way. There's so many good songs and I gotta play them all! I'll mix in the middle of the verse if I have to damnit.
lol 2:35 I started audio editing with reel to reel tape, I did it for a college radio station host for a little bit of money, experience and to find people who might find my mobile DJ background valuable. A few years later the Soundblaster 16bit Stereo "Multimedia" soundcard was released...JOYGASM! I haven't been as excited since getting my brand new 1200MK2s. I loved digital editing! A total GAME CHANGER! But no, we used razor blades, special non tacky tape, and an aluminum splicing block with a few different angles. But I suppose if you've got nothing else, then any scissors and any tape and any angle of cuts will do.
I’ve been djing since 1980. I’ve never had anyone ask me to quick mix. Although I know how to do it. I learned how to mix from well known NYC DJ in 1978
My mom‘s cassette tape of stars on 45 definitely changed my life. One of my first memories of enjoying music was being blown away by the novelty of the medley… It’s definitely in my DNA as a DJ (as are my dad‘s tapes of Spike Jones)🤘👽
The way I learned was from the sbc radio dj crew in Oakland/SF in 1999 and it was on Technics 1200's. The consensus was to one verse old songs and 2 verse new songs and that kinda just stuck. When I started playing house music and drum and bass it was a different vibe and you would let the track rinse out based on the reaction you got. An interesting thing about drum and bass is the track lenght is about 3-4 minutes now vs the 6-8 minutes they used to be and I find myself barely catching the mix point on the really short tracks because of the way I mix. I like to double drop and use the low end eq to blend in and out of the bassline of the A and B... there's not enough time for that sometimes with the short length of these tunes. DJ tools were the shiznito bam snip snap sack. I liked the wicked mix records too because they always had interesting intro edits to popular songs.
I watched many videos of DJs that were doing Quick Mixing and the Camera Man was catching the Guest Dancing. They were into the song and the DJ did back to back to back quick mixing and the Guest looked at the DJ and you can read their faces and it said WTF is this guy doing
I agree that quick mixing has its time and place, I like to do it towards the last 30 minutes of the night. I find it funny when DJs say to always quick mix, thats like saying to always scratch in every song. Plus people here in South Texas like at least 2 verses.
Unfortunately it is a trend. Many young crowds are so used to social media, Tik-Tok etc...Where everything happens in seconds, now we put that expectation on the dance floor and we end up with djs cramming tunes one after another.
I do transitions after a out 2 choruses. So between 2 to 3 minutes. Most clients tell me they dont want to dance to the same song for r ro 5 minutes. Some songs (line dance or slow songs I will let play all the way). STEMS makes it easy to keep the transitions interesting. Playing the entire song all night... might as well play Spotify.
Agree in no absolutes. But will tell any DJ right now who is DJing school dances, you will need to quick mix 99%. These kids are all of the Tiktok generation and just want the part of the song they like and then want the next "dopamine" hit right away
I QM when it works, it's fun, a lot of times at the very end of the night to go out with some hype! Others comment "never" and that's just way to restrictive, like only having a crescent wrench in your tool box. Others have said no client ever ask for QMing, I agree but they do say please don't always play the songs all the way through. QM has its place, pro DJ just has to know when & where, use the right tool for the job
i was wondering how many fast songs in a row to how many slow songs in a row? do I need to play some semi slow or fast songs I call medium songs. i know not play fast, slow, fast, slow. how would you play songs? for a younger group ? and for older wedding? i figure younger more fast songs over slow. and older it be slower songs over fast. thank you ! DJ Billy G.
Quick Mixing is amazing, it's just evil for DJ's who don't or can't do it because make them look bad. I quick mix for my wedding dance parties and I ALWAYS get compliments. And for young zoomer bar goers it's a must because they get bored so quick.
The one who invented the quick mix theory was Grandmaster Flash in the 1980s he was talking about it in the movie documentary wild style check it out if you have it
I give all of my clients the option of what style of Deejaying they want me to do. The vast majority want what I consider "regular Deejaying" . I describe regular deejaying as playing 80% to 90% of every song that I play, and I will mix in either at the beginning of the song, or near the beginning, and I will usually mix out of the song in the last 30-45 seconds of the song (unless it's a real short song). I will play slow dance songs in their entirety which is maybe 2-3 songs in a wedding reception. SOME clients want "Club Style" which I describe as quick mixing which is 2 minutes or 2 choruses then mixing into the next high energy dance song. I get like 1 client per year that wants this. They are usually a couple that went to clubs often during college and after college, and are into EDM or and Hip Hop. SOME clients want FULL SONGS, and mixing out into the next song in the last 5 seconds of the song, and playing from the very beginning of the song. The clients who pick this option usually have a long list of song selections for me to play, and really want to hear the songs they have picked
@@Sheriffvlogs Perhaps, but most people throwing a wedding don't want the logistical night mare of figuring out who is setting up the equipment, and who is going to tear it down, and who is picking it up at the gear rental place, and taking it back. Also, most of my weddings have ceremonies where a lav mic, and wireless are involved. Someone who knows what they are doing needs to be the sound man for that. In the end, DIY and renting speakers might be the way to go for the DIY low budget client, BUT the client throwing their wedding at a $5,000+ venue and spending $10,000+ on the food is going to end up hiring a DJ.
I think it’s an age thing. Older people want to hear their requests without ‘messing about’! The modern generation with Tok Tok and the like have a very low attention span! Companies in the UK have long provided professionally recorded mixes (very useful if you want to go to the washroom!) The Music Factory in England were behind Jive Bunny records which became very popular. They were effectively Stars on 45 by the original artists. They were ready to release a 4th number one (but it never got released as a single) called Soul Banana with all old soul stuff. It goes down a storm even now late in the evening. Single artist megamixes were also popular with different companies issuing slightly different mixes. My Elvis one finishes with ‘Elvis has left the building’. The ABBA one is also well received but not the quick mix from Dancing Queen to Knowing me knowing you. Dancing Queen, people want in its entirety (most do anyway)! One thing with computer DJing is DJs wish to show off their tricks often annoying their clients. For personal events simple is best in my experience. If you receive a client request list they want ALL of their favourite songs not a short part from a DJ wanting to show how clever they are. In a club or bar quick mixing is much more acceptable, maybe even expected,
Nice video. I prefer to play a song for a longer period of time when the dance floor is full and I see that people are enjoying a song. I you cut a song too short, people can get annoyed and leave the dance floor.
I try to play a song as long as the crowd is engaged or as long as I am engaged. Some songs are just too long and sometimes the crowd wants to hear the whole song. Our job as DJs is to read the crowd and adjust and adapt. I once did an event where the photographer was also a new "DJ" and he kept telling me I need to mix out of songs after 30 seconds. The crowd didn't want to hear that but this guy had already drank the quick mix kool aid and constantly bugged me the whole night about quick mixing. This made me HATE the idea of quick mixing. I know not to play songs completely but I also don't feel like quick mixing all night long is a good thing. We all have our own styles and we need to be true to our style and stop chasing fads. On another note, my first and favorite quick studio produced quick mix medley was the Roger and Zapp medley. I played that one a lot during my early years of DJing.
When I did quick mixing in the 80's, I did about 4 to 5 tracks just to tone-play, or bassline-play, and then I followed it up with the-pay-off track such as a 4 minute mashup, or a silver-bullet track. Quick mixing all night annoys me, personally.
I have been DJing weddings, nightclubs, bars and all sorts of other different types of events since 1982. While I will sometimes do quick mixes if the energy of the crowd lends itself to that, I have never had anybody ever request that I do quick mixes. Not. Even. Once.
Get to the meat & potatoes and get out. But also don't cut the dessert on songs they expect like Hollaback Girl (bananas), Justin B. - Baby (Ludacris verse), etc.
I think it was Stewart Copeland's (The Police drummer) interview with Rick Beato where it was mentioned that it takes a certain amount of minutes to get the audience engaged and locked on to a song. But dance music back then were worth the wait because they were made by skilled and cultured musicians. This whole idea that every DJ has to make dance tracks in order to make it in the dance scene... is bunk. So many DJs are technically gifted but lack musicality. DJs these days don't let tracks breathe, meaning that even when they're not quick mixing, their mixing is too tight, too clinical, too sterile.
I'm told quick mixing is necessary because young people have short attention spans. I don't agree with this at all. When people are regularly consuming long-form podcasts and binge-watching whole seasons of TV shows, that is NOT a sign of a short attention span. I think mixing into the next song after the current song has made it's statement is good to maintain or build some energy. But I also think a lot of this simply because technology now makes it possible and so DJ's think they need to do it.
well now these " new songs " are barely 2 minutes and some seconds..... no intro hook verse hook out . thank you tik Tok and Spotify. .. tracks don't breathe anymore... even edm songs are barely 3 minutes...
I just don't like tracks that go on for too long. Even great tracks get repetitive. 2 - 2m30 max and out! Sometimes less even. Only the good stuff. And more of it. Why play 20 tracks when you can play 40?
Наука
The comparison between medleys and quick mixing is an new interesting perspective.
As a newer DJ, I really appreciate this video Dude. It’s easy to get caught up in the noise out here.
This is art and there is a time & place for everything AND so much depends on your audience & the type of music you play. The only rule to follow is to have fun while your audience has fun! Thank you
As a multi op owner, I get way more clients asking me to play songs all the way thru and not to mix in and out of songs then I get people that ask me for a DJ that is skilled at making cool remixes and quick mixing, we have DJs that can do that but I’ve noticed that when you actually look at the dance floor and peoples faces when you quick mix, it’s often a look of disappointment that you’re only playing 1 verse and chorus of their favourite song. Maybe the fast mix camp doesn’t notice cause they’re so busy quick mixing?
At times that's a failure of the dj, not the concept. I see guys jumping bpms quick mixing and it's just not cohesive, or they are mixing material they just don't know and have not put in the effort to learn when and where and what to mix or with.
I agree with this. I believe that quick mixing songs will work well with the younger crowd because their attention spans are generally short, and they really want that Hip Hop Night Club Feel. It can work well for high school and college aged dancers. The older crowd, especially over age 50/55 imo really want to hear full songs or MOST of the song to dance to before the next song starts playing. I will also say that quick mixing shouldn't be going on the entire event. Certain songs, especially if they are singing along to the song while on the dance floor should just be kept playing to near the end. Mr Bright Side by the Killers comes to mind as an example. Any nostalgic song that the crowd is really singing along to should be played until near the end.
Yea, that's for sure the reason. I'm in my own world trying to find next song. That's one thing I really like about the digital displays we have now. I organize my library by bpm and key so whatever I play next will match and I have fun skipping througb genre's that way. There's so many good songs and I gotta play them all! I'll mix in the middle of the verse if I have to damnit.
lol 2:35 I started audio editing with reel to reel tape, I did it for a college radio station host for a little bit of money, experience and to find people who might find my mobile DJ background valuable. A few years later the Soundblaster 16bit Stereo "Multimedia" soundcard was released...JOYGASM! I haven't been as excited since getting my brand new 1200MK2s. I loved digital editing! A total GAME CHANGER!
But no, we used razor blades, special non tacky tape, and an aluminum splicing block with a few different angles. But I suppose if you've got nothing else, then any scissors and any tape and any angle of cuts will do.
I’ve been djing since 1980. I’ve never had anyone ask me to quick mix. Although I know how to do it. I learned how to mix from well known NYC DJ in 1978
You nailed it again great job thank you for your videos
I always enjoyed Uptown Festival by Shalamar was also excellent.
From memory in the UK there are a number of 'Stars of 45' covers.... Abba, Star Wars, Stevie Wonder to name a few. Keep it up 👍
AMEN!!
My mom‘s cassette tape of stars on 45 definitely changed my life. One of my first memories of enjoying music was being blown away by the novelty of the medley… It’s definitely in my DNA as a DJ (as are my dad‘s tapes of Spike Jones)🤘👽
The thing I love the most however were Weird Al polka medleys… I guess the writing really was on the wall from the start!
I still play stars on 45 at weddings. I do quick mix totally depends on the crowd vibe
The way I learned was from the sbc radio dj crew in Oakland/SF in 1999 and it was on Technics 1200's. The consensus was to one verse old songs and 2 verse new songs and that kinda just stuck. When I started playing house music and drum and bass it was a different vibe and you would let the track rinse out based on the reaction you got. An interesting thing about drum and bass is the track lenght is about 3-4 minutes now vs the 6-8 minutes they used to be and I find myself barely catching the mix point on the really short tracks because of the way I mix. I like to double drop and use the low end eq to blend in and out of the bassline of the A and B... there's not enough time for that sometimes with the short length of these tunes. DJ tools were the shiznito bam snip snap sack. I liked the wicked mix records too because they always had interesting intro edits to popular songs.
I watched many videos of DJs that were doing Quick Mixing and the Camera Man was catching the Guest Dancing. They were into the song and the DJ did back to back to back quick mixing and the Guest looked at the DJ and you can read their faces and it said WTF is this guy doing
I agree that quick mixing has its time and place, I like to do it towards the last 30 minutes of the night. I find it funny when DJs say to always quick mix, thats like saying to always scratch in every song. Plus people here in South Texas like at least 2 verses.
Unfortunately it is a trend. Many young crowds are so used to social media, Tik-Tok etc...Where everything happens in seconds, now we put that expectation on the dance floor and we end up with djs cramming tunes one after another.
I do transitions after a out 2 choruses. So between 2 to 3 minutes. Most clients tell me they dont want to dance to the same song for r ro 5 minutes. Some songs (line dance or slow songs I will let play all the way). STEMS makes it easy to keep the transitions interesting. Playing the entire song all night... might as well play Spotify.
Agree in no absolutes. But will tell any DJ right now who is DJing school dances, you will need to quick mix 99%. These kids are all of the Tiktok generation and just want the part of the song they like and then want the next "dopamine" hit right away
Exactly
I tell my potential clients up front I don’t quick mix! I love hearing great songs and I like to hear the whole thing!
I was waiting for you to say Stars on 45 lol
I QM when it works, it's fun, a lot of times at the very end of the night to go out with some hype! Others comment "never" and that's just way to restrictive, like only having a crescent wrench in your tool box. Others have said no client ever ask for QMing, I agree but they do say please don't always play the songs all the way through.
QM has its place, pro DJ just has to know when & where, use the right tool for the job
i was wondering how many fast songs in a row to how many slow songs in a row? do I need to play some semi slow or fast songs I call medium songs. i know not play fast, slow, fast, slow. how would you play songs? for a younger group ? and for older wedding? i figure younger more fast songs over slow. and older it be slower songs over fast. thank you ! DJ Billy G.
Quick Mixing is amazing, it's just evil for DJ's who don't or can't do it because make them look bad. I quick mix for my wedding dance parties and I ALWAYS get compliments. And for young zoomer bar goers it's a must because they get bored so quick.
What is the elvis medley you mentioned?
The one who invented the quick mix theory was Grandmaster Flash in the 1980s he was talking about it in the movie documentary wild style check it out if you have it
Don’t forget jive bunny and the mastermixers
I give all of my clients the option of what style of Deejaying they want me to do. The vast majority want what I consider "regular Deejaying" . I describe regular deejaying as playing 80% to 90% of every song that I play, and I will mix in either at the beginning of the song, or near the beginning, and I will usually mix out of the song in the last 30-45 seconds of the song (unless it's a real short song). I will play slow dance songs in their entirety which is maybe 2-3 songs in a wedding reception. SOME clients want "Club Style" which I describe as quick mixing which is 2 minutes or 2 choruses then mixing into the next high energy dance song. I get like 1 client per year that wants this. They are usually a couple that went to clubs often during college and after college, and are into EDM or and Hip Hop. SOME clients want FULL SONGS, and mixing out into the next song in the last 5 seconds of the song, and playing from the very beginning of the song. The clients who pick this option usually have a long list of song selections for me to play, and really want to hear the songs they have picked
If they want to hear the whole song, wouldn't it be cheaper to rent out speakers and subscribe to spotify and put on a playlist, then to hire a DJ.
@@Sheriffvlogs Perhaps, but most people throwing a wedding don't want the logistical night mare of figuring out who is setting up the equipment, and who is going to tear it down, and who is picking it up at the gear rental place, and taking it back. Also, most of my weddings have ceremonies where a lav mic, and wireless are involved. Someone who knows what they are doing needs to be the sound man for that. In the end, DIY and renting speakers might be the way to go for the DIY low budget client, BUT the client throwing their wedding at a $5,000+ venue and spending $10,000+ on the food is going to end up hiring a DJ.
Quick mix is awesome
I think it’s an age thing. Older people want to hear their requests without ‘messing about’! The modern generation with Tok Tok and the like have a very low attention span! Companies in the UK have long provided professionally recorded mixes (very useful if you want to go to the washroom!) The Music Factory in England were behind Jive Bunny records which became very popular. They were effectively Stars on 45 by the original artists. They were ready to release a 4th number one (but it never got released as a single) called Soul Banana with all old soul stuff. It goes down a storm even now late in the evening. Single artist megamixes were also popular with different companies issuing slightly different mixes. My Elvis one finishes with ‘Elvis has left the building’. The ABBA one is also well received but not the quick mix from Dancing Queen to Knowing me knowing you. Dancing Queen, people want in its entirety (most do anyway)!
One thing with computer DJing is DJs wish to show off their tricks often annoying their clients. For personal events simple is best in my experience. If you receive a client request list they want ALL of their favourite songs not a short part from a DJ wanting to show how clever they are.
In a club or bar quick mixing is much more acceptable, maybe even expected,
Nice video. I prefer to play a song for a longer period of time when the dance floor is full and I see that people are enjoying a song. I you cut a song too short, people can get annoyed and leave the dance floor.
I try to play a song as long as the crowd is engaged or as long as I am engaged. Some songs are just too long and sometimes the crowd wants to hear the whole song. Our job as DJs is to read the crowd and adjust and adapt. I once did an event where the photographer was also a new "DJ" and he kept telling me I need to mix out of songs after 30 seconds. The crowd didn't want to hear that but this guy had already drank the quick mix kool aid and constantly bugged me the whole night about quick mixing. This made me HATE the idea of quick mixing. I know not to play songs completely but I also don't feel like quick mixing all night long is a good thing. We all have our own styles and we need to be true to our style and stop chasing fads.
On another note, my first and favorite quick studio produced quick mix medley was the Roger and Zapp medley. I played that one a lot during my early years of DJing.
Bad Boy Bill used to chop it up
When I did quick mixing in the 80's, I did about 4 to 5 tracks just to tone-play, or bassline-play, and then I followed it up with the-pay-off track such as a 4 minute mashup, or a silver-bullet track. Quick mixing all night annoys me, personally.
I have been DJing weddings, nightclubs, bars and all sorts of other different types of events since 1982. While I will sometimes do quick mixes if the energy of the crowd lends itself to that, I have never had anybody ever request that I do quick mixes.
Not. Even. Once.
Get to the meat & potatoes and get out.
But also don't cut the dessert on songs they expect like Hollaback Girl (bananas), Justin B. - Baby (Ludacris verse), etc.
I think it was Stewart Copeland's (The Police drummer) interview with Rick Beato where it was mentioned that it takes a certain amount of minutes to get the audience engaged and locked on to a song. But dance music back then were worth the wait because they were made by skilled and cultured musicians. This whole idea that every DJ has to make dance tracks in order to make it in the dance scene... is bunk. So many DJs are technically gifted but lack musicality. DJs these days don't let tracks breathe, meaning that even when they're not quick mixing, their mixing is too tight, too clinical, too sterile.
I found the Rick Beato interview, it's called "A Warning On the Future of Music: with Author Ted Gioia | Podcast #1"
I'm told quick mixing is necessary because young people have short attention spans. I don't agree with this at all. When people are regularly consuming long-form podcasts and binge-watching whole seasons of TV shows, that is NOT a sign of a short attention span. I think mixing into the next song after the current song has made it's statement is good to maintain or build some energy. But I also think a lot of this simply because technology now makes it possible and so DJ's think they need to do it.
well now these " new songs " are barely 2 minutes and some seconds..... no intro hook verse hook out . thank you tik Tok and Spotify. .. tracks don't breathe anymore... even edm songs are barely 3 minutes...
FFS, please watch this video "A Warning On the Future of Music: with Author Ted Gioia | Podcast #1"
"MK-ULTRA MIND CONTROL IN HOLLYWOOD & MUSIC - MARK DEVLIN GUESTS WITH JOHN COOPER"
I just don't like tracks that go on for too long. Even great tracks get repetitive.
2 - 2m30 max and out! Sometimes less even. Only the good stuff.
And more of it. Why play 20 tracks when you can play 40?
Awesome Video @briansredd