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Thread: I don't know what I do...

  1. #11
    theoloyla's Avatar
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    What the "service providers" often overlook is that dj'ing is an entertainment art and whilst you can teach art technique you cant teach the bit that makes it art if you see what I mean. That comes from experience and intuitive inspiration
    Banana Power Travelling Discotheque - legendary entertainment since 1966
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  2. #12
    ukpartydj's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    You can't necessarily spot every reason a track worked at the time it did though, and that's (hopefully) why we'll never be replaced with machines.

    I know of one disco operator who had a reputation for changing genre & energy every other song but his reviews were all 5* & there were hundreds of them. How did that ever work? My only theory, having never witnessed him (and never can now) was that his presentation style was what glued it all together.

    I'm very good at what I do but I'd really like to understand more & do things better. Are there any workshops for music programming? I've certainly never heard of any.
    We've got cars that can drive themselves detecting obsticles in a way far in advance of what humans can and doing it effortlessly without tiring. If the same level of investment was put into making a DJ robot I'd be very surprised if it wasn't better at DJing than I am. Maybe it's uncomprehendable right now but even art can be created by machines more impressively and effecintly after all, the machine just needs to learn the variables of what makes art good and then repeat.

    What will keep us going and thriving is the fact that people like people! Otherwise, bands would be long gone already.

    Dorset DJ - Dorset based DJ service
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  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by ukpartydj View Post
    We've got cars that can drive themselves detecting obsticles in a way far in advance of what humans can and doing it effortlessly without tiring.
    What these companies don't tell you is that right now, those autonomous systems draw so much power (and cooling) to process all of the imagery in real time that they drop the vehicles efficiency from 45 mpg to 25mpg (or in the case of battery vehicles, they almost half the vehicles range!!) Not exactly effortless
    This tech really isn't even close to being ready for mainstream use yet, we've got a couple of generations of sensor, code, microprocessor and battery development to go.

    Quote Originally Posted by ukpartydj View Post
    If the same level of investment was put into making a DJ robot I'd be very surprised if it wasn't better at DJing than I am.
    Take a listen to Kiss when they're doing one of their non-prime time "mix blocks" (Kisstory between 11am and mid-day, 5 O'clock mix block, early evening on Fridays/Saturdays and on Bank Holidays). These are now machine mixed and I'd be embarrassed if I played some of them out on an evening, some of the transitions are beat matched, but a complete mess and horrible to listen to! Totally automatic computer based music selection/mixing still has a LONG way to go.

    Quote Originally Posted by ukpartydj View Post
    What will keep us going and thriving is the fact that people like people! Otherwise, bands would be long gone already.
    Yup, time to sharpen up those Mic skills

    Julian
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  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    Take a listen to Kiss when they're doing one of their non-prime time "mix blocks" (Kisstory between 11am and mid-day, 5 O'clock mix block, early evening on Fridays/Saturdays and on Bank Holidays). These are now machine mixed and I'd be embarrassed if I played some of them out on an evening, some of the transitions are beat matched, but a complete mess and horrible to listen to! Totally automatic computer based music selection/mixing still has a LONG way to go.
    And a source for that?

    I can assure you that Kisstory isn't mixed automatically by a computer. Pre-mixed yes, but by a human.


    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    That's interesting but I find commercial radio programming predictable & arcane. Certainly since uk radio station ownership slipped to the point where only a handful of companies own the commercial radio landscape.
    Whilst you may find it predictable, it's proven time and time again that this works.

    Oddly, the smaller the playlist (ie, the quicker the same songs come round), the longer people listen to the station on average...

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    Whilst you may find it predictable, it's proven time and time again that this works.

    Oddly, the smaller the playlist (ie, the quicker the same songs come round), the longer people listen to the station on average...
    Oddly, when I got out of bar & club DJing I was tired of being asked to play the same tunes by the same people at about the same time every week. Some people are already brain dead IMHO. Yes, I'd really be so cruel.

    I like variety & prefer crowds who crave something less predictable. If they want 'generic playlist A' material I'd prefer it if they book someone else.

    Whenever I get a request that I've got cued up ready to play (which happens with almost frightening regularity) I often wonder if it's because I've got so good at reading the crowd or if I've inadvertently become just another cliched DJ.

    If the majority of customers really want the ssme old tired crap every time I may as well quit!

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    Whenever I get a request that I've got cued up ready to play (which happens with almost frightening regularity) I often wonder if it's because I've got so good at reading the crowd or if I've inadvertently become just another cliched DJ.

    Psychic DJs. They do exist!!

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    And a source for that?

    I can assure you that Kisstory isn't mixed automatically by a computer. Pre-mixed yes, but by a human.
    Anecdotal evidence If it's not machine mixed, the guy doing it should be fired, some of the mixes they've produced recently have made me cringe. They've been REALLY poorly matched in terms of energy and key.

    Julian
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  8. #18
    Resident Antagonist Benny Smyth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    Anecdotal evidence If it's not machine mixed, the guy doing it should be fired, some of the mixes they've produced recently have made me cringe. They've been REALLY poorly matched in terms of energy and key.

    Julian
    That's because it's DeeJay Jonni B in his bedroom stoodio doing it.

  9. #19
    Jim - Scotland's Party DJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ppentertainments View Post
    I have always believed that this is a job you can't really teach people - either they know music or they don't.

    It must be one of the easiest jobs in the world - setting up a disco and playing music is hardly rocket science - but without trying to sound like a "I do it for the love of music" person, you do need to have a keen interest in music and a vast knowledge.
    That's not inherently true - my wife's work ball had a DJ who played nothing but what I like to call low hanging fruit. The dancefloor was absolutely packed but there was no spontaneity, the set was bland and any "floor fillers" Spotify or Youtube playlist on shuffle would have covered probably everything he played, but - as I said, the dancefloor was packed so technically, even though a monkey with an ipad could have produced a similar result (the guy did next to no talking or interacting with the audience) he did a great job without any hint of passion or above average musical knowledge.

    As an aside, when not being a superstar DJ, I literally am a teacher and to an extent it and DJing and anything else can be taught however what you can't teach is experience and gumption which, to my mind, is what differentiates the excellent teachers (and DJs) from those that do a decent job but aren't exceptional.

    Just my 2 bob.

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