Play list

[djmarc]

Hey guys i want to put some playlist on my small hard drive and take to the disco how do you guys make up your playlist i know you all do 80s 70s ect ect but i want one when i can see the bpm and how many songs would you put in each playlist

thank you
mark

[WWDJ]

Explain what your objective is here because I can't really tell why you want to do this. Also what software are you using? Thanks

(ps. Try to use some punctuation too :D)

[djmarc]

ok i am going digital and leaving the old style of cds behind and moving into the mp3 stage i have my cds all ripped to a hard drive iv made 3 folders on my hard drive one for singles where i added all my singles next iv done all my artist to an artist folder on the drive and last iv done a complilation folder with all my various artist albums

now from here im not sure which way to go some tell me to use itunes to make up folders and put the good songs into play list

few months back i brought the music collector added all my cds into there so if someone asked for a song i know where it is on a certain cd that all good

but problem im having is playlist like iv read some guys make up a playlist for weddings some for halloween ect ect
i want to make up playlist like just for now were say dance playlist so in this list i would want to put songs in that are floor fillers if you get my meaning
at the moment im not using any software apart from having itunes i have been looking into pcdj dex so or traktor 2 either one i will def be getting

just want some advise and help on the right track hope you can understand what im saying

[DJ Paulie]

Have you never heard of commas & full stops ? Makes your posts a lot easier to read. See what I mean ? Virtual DJ is probably better for you, the search function is better as it picks up titles or artists as you type. PCDJ waits for you to hit search, then searches the whole library.

In VDJ you can make virtual folders and/or playlists then save them. Just drag the songs you want to the sidelist then save. I'd also put your songs into years & genres, as it'll speed up searches. You can then search within particular folders.

[WWDJ]

ok i am going digital and leaving the old style of cds behind and moving into the mp3 stage i have my cds all ripped to a hard drive iv made 3 folders on my hard drive one for singles where i added all my singles next iv done all my artist to an artist folder on the drive and last iv done a complilation folder with all my various artist albums

now from here im not sure which way to go some tell me to use itunes to make up folders and put the good songs into play list

few months back i brought the music collector added all my cds into there so if someone asked for a song i know where it is on a certain cd that all good

but problem im having is playlist like iv read some guys make up a playlist for weddings some for halloween ect ect
i want to make up playlist like just for now were say dance playlist so in this list i would want to put songs in that are floor fillers if you get my meaning
at the moment im not using any software apart from having itunes i have been looking into pcdj dex so or traktor 2 either one i will def be getting

just want some advise and help on the right track hope you can understand what im saying

Itunes is not a bad place to start to make playlists as at least you will get things in some sort of order. Whether the track is from an artist album or compilation is irrelevant to me. They are all tracks that I may play.

I tend to make playlists for the following
- General Floorfillers - A multi-genre list of 200 top songs
- Genre Hits - Good genre specific playlists e.g. 50 tracks from the 60s, 40 old skool hip hop tracks, 50 classic 80s tracks. Useful if a night is heading genre specific
- Current Hits - Here you should put current tracks that are working the floor right now. e.g. Pitbull - Everything, J Lo - On the Floor, etc
- End of Night - Good tracks to finish on. Sinatra, Take That, Queen etc

Then for each party I will tend to make a pre-list based on customer discussions and/or the age of the person celebrating so I will put
- 20110902 - Dave's 40th Birthday.
It also reminds me, who is celebrating, should I forget :D

Finally, if the party was good or parts worked really well, I setup a playlist of what was played at that party so that I can refer back. The plan is that as I do more gigs my playlisting will get better and I can also remember what worked as I do get repeat business with the same customers.

For software I personally use Traktor Pro 2 as it works for what I do, but there others out there with Virtual DJ being very popular and easy to use and has the facility for Video and Karaoke, which Traktor doesn't

Hope this helps.

[discomobiledj]

Itunes is not a bad place to start to make playlists as at least you will get things in some sort of order. Whether the track is from an artist album or compilation is irrelevant to me. They are all tracks that I may play.

I tend to make playlists for the following
- General Floorfillers - A multi-genre list of 200 top songs
- Genre Hits - Good genre specific playlists e.g. 50 tracks from the 60s, 40 old skool hip hop tracks, 50 classic 80s tracks. Useful if a night is heading genre specific
- Current Hits - Here you should put current tracks that are working the floor right now. e.g. Pitbull - Everything, J Lo - On the Floor, etc
- End of Night - Good tracks to finish on. Sinatra, Take That, Queen etc

Then for each party I will tend to make a pre-list based on customer discussions and/or the age of the person celebrating so I will put
- 20110902 - Dave's 40th Birthday.
It also reminds me, who is celebrating, should I forget :D

Finally, if the party was good or parts worked really well, I setup a playlist of what was played at that party so that I can refer back. The plan is that as I do more gigs my playlisting will get better and I can also remember what worked as I do get repeat business with the same customers.

For software I personally use Traktor Pro 2 as it works for what I do, but there others out there with Virtual DJ being very popular and easy to use and has the facility for Video and Karaoke, which Traktor doesn't

Hope this helps.

What a great reply.

Software for me is Media Monkey by the way.

[Excalibur]

I don't know about playlists, but here is how I order my HD*. This style of layout helps if you're using a controller like the Numark D2, or Cortex1000, as the tracks are only one folder deep. A laptop won't struggle as much, but you can look as the individual folders for inspiration.

* I'm not up with this screenshot lark. There are more folders from T to Z.

[Kernow]

I don't know about playlists, but here is how I order my HD*. This style of layout helps if you're using a controller like the Numark D2, or Cortex1000, as the tracks are only one folder deep. A laptop won't struggle as much, but you can look as the individual folders for inspiration.

* I'm not up with this screenshot lark. There are more folders from T to Z.

Can't seem to open any of your folders Peter :confused: :confused: ;)
:sofa:

Looks very ordered and exactly what the OP is looking for :thumbs_up:

[DazzyD]

I'm confused with this thread not because of the lack of punctuation or use of good English. I'm confused because the OP is asking about playlists but the majority of replies seem to relate to folders (or crates depending on the software you use) as opposed to actual playlists.

A playlist is a set of songs intended to play in the order in which they come in the playlist. It's a set order that requires some planning and forethought. It's not a random bunch of tracks thrown together just because they share the same year or BPM. The tracks on the playlist should work with their neighbouring tracks to create the overall mix - ie they can be worked in to the next track on the playlist to give a smooth, seamless transition. Putting together playlists involves some skill and knowledge of the tracks you're using.

Now folders, on the other hand, are collections of tracks that have something in common be it year, BPM, genre, artist, album, the list can go on and on. Folders are useful when you don't have a plan, when you need some inspiration on the fly as to what you're going to play next. For example, someone asks "Can you play some 80's funk?". Just go to your 80's funk folder and pick a track. Simples.

Once we can clear up if the OP is looking for advice on making playlists or sorting tracks in to folders then I'm sure the advice can be more specific to his needs.

[WWDJ]

I don't know about playlists, but here is how I order my HD*. This style of layout helps if you're using a controller like the Numark D2, or Cortex1000, as the tracks are only one folder deep. A laptop won't struggle as much, but you can look as the individual folders for inspiration.

* I'm not up with this screenshot lark. There are more folders from T to Z.

What you have there is roughly what I would call a Genre tag (with the exception of a few artists and albums)

This I would find quite restrictive personally to be honest as a track can only exist in one folder (unless you duplicate tracks), but we do of course have our own way of working and your memory may be better than mine :D

A track can, of course be in multiple playlists AND have tags for Artist, Genre, Album, Year and Track (amongst others) and this works very well for tracks which span age ranges as well as Genre ranges.

It also makes it so much easier when planning a gig because you can use the last similar gig as start point and then just add new tracks and take out unsuitable tracks.



I'm confused with this thread not because of the lack of punctuation or use of good English. I'm confused because the OP is asking about playlists but the majority of replies seem to relate to folders (or crates depending on the software you use) as opposed to actual playlists.

Me too :D


A playlist is a set of songs intended to play in the order in which they come in the playlist. It's a set order that requires some planning and forethought. It's not a random bunch of tracks thrown together just because they share the same year or BPM. The tracks on the playlist should work with their neighbouring tracks to create the overall mix - ie they can be worked in to the next track on the playlist to give a smooth, seamless transition. Putting together playlists involves some skill and knowledge of the tracks you're using.

For me not necessarily strictly in that order, like for instance a DJ that plays a seamless 2 hour set. But I do put tracks close together that will work well. I use it as a basis of tracks that are suitable for that night or that purpose and normally plan about 50% more tracks than I need to allow for choice and to throw some out. I often step outside the list if I think of something else or for requests.


Now folders, on the other hand, are collections of tracks that have something in common be it year, BPM, genre, artist, album, the list can go on and on. Folders are useful when you don't have a plan, when you need some inspiration on the fly as to what you're going to play next. For example, someone asks "Can you play some 80's funk?". Just go to your 80's funk folder and pick a track. Simples.

Exactly this. I use the Genre tag mostly for inspiration (eg. 90s Dance), and if I am after something specific search either Title, Artist or very occasionally Album.

[djmarc]

Thank for the info guy and i remember me coms and full stops next time.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Thank for the info guy and i remember me coms and full stops next time.Translation:

Thanks for the information guys, and I will remember my commas and full stops next time.

Sorry if that's a bit blunt, but it would be very much appreciated if you could show your fellow forum members some respect and make an effort to communicate correctly.

Apart from making it easier for people to understand you, if it isn't second-nature for you, it will improve your business communications the more you practice!

:thanks:

[Excalibur]

I'm confused with this thread not because of the lack of punctuation or use of good English. I'm confused because the OP is asking about playlists but the majority of replies seem to relate to folders (or crates depending on the software you use) as opposed to actual playlists.

.
Well in my defence, if he uses a HD with only three folders, he's going to need an awful lot of playlists. ;) And he's not going to get a lot of inspiration from three folders, eiither. That's why I put up a sample of my folders.


What you have there is roughly what I would call a Genre tag (with the exception of a few artists and albums)

This I would find quite restrictive personally to be honest as a track can only exist in one folder (unless you duplicate tracks), but we do of course have our own way of working and your memory may be better than mine :D
.
Well for a start, "All Right Now" can go in 70's, Rock and Party. And what's with this "Your memory may be better than mine" ? Why do you think I have a second laptop purely for inspiration? :D :D :D :D




I take on board the theory of a playlist, but what guarantees that you're putting the right ones together? I have more than a few tracks that I'm inclined to play in a given order, and I often purposely try to vary the order. Surely playlists would work against this?


I agree that we need to know the OP's aims, but I stand by my advice on structuring his HD.

[katman]

Virtual DJ has a feature called "Virtual Folders"

Left hand pane where the folder list is, right click, "Add Virtual Folder" and call it whatever you want, it doesnt physically exist.

You can drag a song from the main browser window into as many virtual folders as you wish. It DOESNT move or duplicate the track, they remain in the original physical folder but if you click on the virtual folder you can see them.

It also has the advantage that unlike when you duplicate files, it only shows once in the browser window when you search rather than seeing the same title 4 times becuase you have 4 files in 70's, Party, Rock, Floorfillers etc.

To remove a track from a virtual directory, click on the virtual directory so its contents are listed in the browser window, right click on the track and "remove"

[WWDJ]

Well in my defence, if he uses a HD with only three folders, he's going to need an awful lot of playlists. ;) And he's not going to get a lot of inspiration from three folders, eiither. That's why I put up a sample of my folders.

I think that's fair comment and if you look at my 'pre-Traktor' folder structure it pretty much mirrors yours with Genre folders. I did struggle to remember where some tracks were though and whether Love Shack is 80s or 90s ...


Why do you think I have a second laptop purely for inspiration? :D :D :D :D

For about 2.5 years I used a HD2500 with Media Monkey on the laptop for inspiration and backup. In the end though it just seemed counter productive to be searching one place and playing in another. I spent some time trying out different software options and eventually landed with Traktor after initially discounting it more than once.


I take on board the theory of a playlist, but what guarantees that you're putting the right ones together? I have more than a few tracks that I'm inclined to play in a given order, and I often purposely try to vary the order. Surely playlists would work against this?

There are no guarentees!!, which is why if I am doing a playlist for a party I normally work it the same way. If they have specific pre-requests they always go to the top of the list so I make sure I play them. I will then add songs around their choices or tracks I think will work below those and pad it out to 50% more than the playing time (at least, usually more). Requests on this night get added to the bottom of the list (usually).

I can then sort the list of Genre to get tracks that will work together and of course use my experience.

I do play some tracks in the same order sometimes, but that is because they work together. I only do 20-25 gigs per year so I guess with me this is less of an issue.

If a party is heading down a particular path, lets say at a 21st I wouldn't really plan to play any 60s/Motown, but if they were requested I would just head to my pre-prepared 60s Hits list which contains about 50 tracks that I know work well. If something is requested 'a la carte' and it works well, I will add it to my 60s Hits list for next time.


I agree that we need to know the OP's aims, but I stand by my advice on structuring his HD.

To be honest i'm not really sure of his aim, but this is a worthy discussion anyhow ;)

[MORGEY]

DJMARC .I think you should have a look at Media Monkey.
It is a free download and is very easy to set up if you are prepared to give it a go for a few hours. Start off by setting up decades of your music. 60's/70's/80's etc. Then produce your play lists from these, as per what other members have said. Once you have a very basic set of play lists these will be easy to add to and will be easy to find on your hard drive. Don't try to be too complicated to start with is my best advice. It has worked for me.

[WWDJ]

DJMARC .I think you should have a look at Media Monkey.
It is a free download and is very easy to set up if you are prepared to give it a go for a few hours. Start off by setting up decades of your music. 60's/70's/80's etc. Then produce your play lists from these, as per what other members have said. Once you have a very basic set of play lists these will be easy to add to and will be easy to find on your hard drive. Don't try to be too complicated to start with is my best advice. It has worked for me.

Mediamonkey is good for managing tracks and offers a better feature set than Itunes but is it really suitable for DJing? For instance you cannot preview one track whilst listening to another, which is kind of a basic really :confused:

[MORGEY]

I don't know about playlists, but here is how I order my HD*. This style of layout helps if you're using a controller like the Numark D2, or Cortex1000, as the tracks are only one folder deep. A laptop won't struggle as much, but you can look as the individual folders for inspiration.

* I'm not up with this screenshot lark. There are more folders from T to Z.

How scary, my screen shot would look very very similar to yours and I started from scratch without any advice or tips from anyone. Is this the way us 50 somethings think?:eek:

[Excalibur]

To be honest i'm not really sure of his aim, but this is a worthy discussion anyhow ;)
Indeed.


DJMARC .I think you should have a look at Media Monkey.
It is a free download and is very easy to set up if you are prepared to give it a go for a few hours..
Agreed also. The Gold version is only around £20 or so, and has a few more tricks. I have used it for many many things, and cannot recommend it highly enough. It's a one stop shop. Except for:see below

Mediamonkey is good for managing tracks and offers a better feature set than Itunes but is it really suitable for DJing? For instance you cannot preview one track whilst listening to another, which is kind of a basic really :confused:

DJ'ing, no. There is talk ( or was ages ago) of it getting a twin deck facility, which would allow it to be used as a very simple DJ programme, but I don't think it will ever become a fully fledged DJ programme.

I feel its strength lies in its versatility, and organisational and editing features.

[MORGEY]

For about 2.5 years I used a HD2500 with Media Monkey on the laptop for inspiration and backup. In the end though it just seemed counter productive to be searching one place and playing in another. I spent some time trying out different software options and eventually landed with Traktor after initially discounting it more than once.



I think he might do well to start as you did and use the Media Monkey features for inspiration and organisation. I think he would then sort out what other package he will use to actually dj with.
I agree Media Monkey is not a dj play out answer but it will play a fixed play list which can be altered on the run.:)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Morgey, you might find this FAQ of use:-

http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32729

:D

[djmarc]

DJMARC .I think you should have a look at Media Monkey.
It is a free download and is very easy to set up if you are prepared to give it a go for a few hours. Start off by setting up decades of your music. 60's/70's/80's etc. Then produce your play lists from these, as per what other members have said. Once you have a very basic set of play lists these will be easy to add to and will be easy to find on your hard drive. Don't try to be too complicated to start with is my best advice. It has worked for me.

Thank you great advise.

Cheers

[MORGEY]

Morgey, you might find this FAQ of use:-

http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32729

:D

Thanks, I think I am nearly there now.:D

[Corabar Entertainment]

:thumbsup:

[djmarc]

I'm moving into the digital side of dj'ing and just want some good advise on how to set up hard drive,music files ect ect.

Also wanted to know how you fellow dj's go about laying out your playlist on your hard drive to us with whatever your software you use.

Last and not least what software do most of you use with your setup.
At the moment im still using cd's but want to make the switch over i have checked out the licence to go digital.
All i really want is some help and advise or some links to help me make the switch with confidenence thank you.

[katman]

Morgey, you might find this FAQ of use:-http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32729 :D

I was wondering how that worked


Thanks, I think I am nearly there now.:D

Me three :)


:thumbsup:

Thanks for pointing me at it Angela and Thanks to Shaun for explaining it.

If Ive got it right this should be a multiquoted message :)

[DazzyD]

Well in my defence, if he uses a HD with only three folders, he's going to need an awful lot of playlists. ;) And he's not going to get a lot of inspiration from three folders, eiither. That's why I put up a sample of my folders.

I take on board the theory of a playlist, but what guarantees that you're putting the right ones together? I have more than a few tracks that I'm inclined to play in a given order, and I often purposely try to vary the order. Surely playlists would work against this?


I agree that we need to know the OP's aims, but I stand by my advice on structuring his HD.

No need for a defence, Peter! I think you've given the OP some good advice because he is really asking about using folders (he makes this clear(er!) in post #3.).

I found it confusing that the thread is entitled "Play lists" and post #1 is asking about playlist creation but then it changes to folders. Your comments about folder structure and keeping the structure to just two "branches" are good tips as this makes for quicker indexing and searching.

My comments regarding playlists were from the origin of "playlist" which is a shortened version of "order of play list" commonly referred to as the "running order". Originally, the playlist was a set order of tracks that were pre-planned. Now, I've done a bit of research in to this tonight and I've found that playlists nowadays are generally a lot more flexible and are more of a list of tracks to pick and choose from as opposed to a strict order. Which to me means there is no longer considered to be a distinction between playlists and folders, albums, crates or whatever else you want to call them. VDJ, however, is still old-school (like me!) and does save playlists in the specific order of tracks whereas virtual folders always display their contents in alphanumerical order depending on the sort criteria.

This is where the skill of knowing the tracks comes in when you're building your playlist. For example, I've been booked to do a birthday bash in one of the trendiest bars in town which is frequented by the "coolest" clientele who are hot on the latest fashions. Now, I've been asked to DJ genres which are new to me and have been given a guide to what the client wants. She's broken the night down in to genres and it's my job to pre-plan the music in to several mini-sets, each with it's own playlist, to cover the night but also leaving in scope for requests and on-the-fly track selection. I'm halfway through planning the playlists (with more than a little help and inspiration from this very forum!! Thanks all! :) ) and I've been practising the sets so as I've got a better idea of what works with what and how the overall set should sound. As a wedding & function DJ, this is somewhat out of my comfort zone as it's bordering on club DJ but I'm enjoying the challenge. Get it wrong, oh well, I tried. The client already knows I'm not a club DJ (actually, she is so no pressure!! :eek: ). Get it right and doors could well open. So, for this function, the playlist, and my understanding of it, will be everything.

But, on the whole, strict playlists are maybe not as essential for us mobile DJs as they could be as we prefer the "here and now" approach to track selection!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Can everyone learn how to use quote, multi-quote and edit? Too many colours!

[MORGEY]

I'm moving into the digital side of dj'ing and just want some good advise on how to set up hard drive,music files ect ect.

Also wanted to know how you fellow dj's go about laying out your playlist on your hard drive to us with whatever your software you use.

Last and not least what software do most of you use with your setup.
At the moment im still using cd's but want to make the switch over i have checked out the licence to go digital.
All i really want is some help and advise or some links to help me make the switch with confidenence thank you.

Try Virtual dj, free download and have a good play around for a week or two to get really used to it. If you like it you can upgrade to the full license which allows you to take it out on the road and play it through your dj system.

Others will swear by this but there are quite a few alternatives. Good Luck.:)

[DazzyD]

Can everyone learn how to use quote, multi-quote and edit? Too many colours!

Apologies, Daz. Been a long, tiring day and the colour-key seemed the easiest choice. I'll consider myself yellow-carded!! :Naughty:

[WWDJ]

Removed

[WWDJ]

For example, I've been booked to do a birthday bash in one of the trendiest bars in town which is frequented by the "coolest" clientele who are hot on the latest fashions. Now, I've been asked to DJ genres which are new to me and have been given a guide to what the client wants. She's broken the night down in to genres and it's my job to pre-plan the music in to several mini-sets, each with it's own playlist, to cover the night but also leaving in scope for requests and on-the-fly track selection. I'm halfway through planning the playlists (with more than a little help and inspiration from this very forum!! Thanks all! :) ) and I've been practising the sets so as I've got a better idea of what works with what and how the overall set should sound. As a wedding & function DJ, this is somewhat out of my comfort zone as it's bordering on club DJ but I'm enjoying the challenge. Get it wrong, oh well, I tried. The client already knows I'm not a club DJ (actually, she is so no pressure!! :eek: ). Get it right and doors could well open. So, for this function, the playlist, and my understanding of it, will be everything.

But, on the whole, strict playlists are maybe not as essential for us mobile DJs as they could be as we prefer the "here and now" approach to track selection!

Shout if you need help. I've done a couple of these in the last month. I think i'm getting used to it now :D

[Cowlinn]

Removed

You know you could have deleted the post :D

[djmarc]

I shall give virtual dj a go. Still need to work out how to set my music files out on my hard drive and make up playlist to take on the road.

So what your saying then if i make up playlist i will be able to see them on virtual dj software and play them.

[MORGEY]

I shall give virtual dj a go. Still need to work out how to set my music files out on my hard drive and make up playlist to take on the road.

So what your saying then if i make up playlist i will be able to see them on virtual dj software and play them.

Yes, you will once you have got the playlist as a file name on your hard disk.
If you use the play list feature on Media Monkey that will only play back through Media Monkey player.
You have to make your play lists as files on your hard disk.
As an example, make a new file on your music hard disk drive and name it wedding1.
Copy the mp3 files that you want as a playlist to that file. You now have your first playlist that can easily be recalled and played through Media Monkey or Virtual DJ. Once you have that list you can then make others.
I hope this helps.:)

[djmarc]

Yes, you will once you have got the playlist as a file name on your hard disk.
If you use the play list feature on Media Monkey that will only play back through Media Monkey player.
You have to make your play lists as files on your hard disk.
As an example, make a new file on your music hard disk drive and name it wedding1.
Copy the mp3 files that you want as a playlist to that file. You now have your first playlist that can easily be recalled and played through Media Monkey or Virtual DJ. Once you have that list you can then make others.
I hope this helps.:)

Thank you morgey iv downloaded free trial so i will let you know later how iv got on.

Thank you and also to everyone else for there help.

[WWDJ]

Yes, you will once you have got the playlist as a file name on your hard disk.
If you use the play list feature on Media Monkey that will only play back through Media Monkey player.
You have to make your play lists as files on your hard disk.
As an example, make a new file on your music hard disk drive and name it wedding1.
Copy the mp3 files that you want as a playlist to that file. You now have your first playlist that can easily be recalled and played through Media Monkey or Virtual DJ. Once you have that list you can then make others.
I hope this helps.:)

I would see things differently, if i am reading this correctly'

The moment you get into 'Copying' mp3s you are creating duplicates in your database.

If you are using Virtual DJ then it may be worth avoiding Mediamonkey all together, because as good as it is, it only really works as a standalone application.

Virtual DJ can however read Itunes playlists, so Itunes might a basis for playlists if you like Itunes, however if it were me, I would just construct playlists in Virtual DJ itself which is easy anyhow.

[djmarc]

How do you construct playlist in virtual dj. Would you make up different folders on your hard drive ie years 60's 70's 80's ect ect Weddings,Birthdays.

Im likeing the look of virtual dj iv downloaded the home version dont know how much the full version is any ideas?

[WWDJ]

How do you construct playlist in virtual dj. Would you make up different folders on your hard drive ie years 60's 70's 80's ect ect Weddings,Birthdays.

Im likeing the look of virtual dj iv downloaded the home version dont know how much the full version is any ideas?

This is Groundhog day ..... :D

Have you looked at the website for pricing or had a look at the instructions for the playlists? To be fair I managed to create one within a few seconds ...

Read my post here (from above) about the type of playlist that might be useful. Ultimately it is up to you but this is what I have found workable.


Itunes is not a bad place to start to make playlists as at least you will get things in some sort of order. Whether the track is from an artist album or compilation is irrelevant to me. They are all tracks that I may play.

I tend to make playlists for the following
- General Floorfillers - A multi-genre list of 200 top songs
- Genre Hits - Good genre specific playlists e.g. 50 tracks from the 60s, 40 old skool hip hop tracks, 50 classic 80s tracks. Useful if a night is heading genre specific
- Current Hits - Here you should put current tracks that are working the floor right now. e.g. Pitbull - Everything, J Lo - On the Floor, etc
- End of Night - Good tracks to finish on. Sinatra, Take That, Queen etc

Then for each party I will tend to make a pre-list based on customer discussions and/or the age of the person celebrating so I will put
- 20110902 - Dave's 40th Birthday.
It also reminds me, who is celebrating, should I forget :D

Finally, if the party was good or parts worked really well, I setup a playlist of what was played at that party so that I can refer back. The plan is that as I do more gigs my playlisting will get better and I can also remember what worked as I do get repeat business with the same customers.



I'm sorry if I am sounding harsh here, but although we can provide you with the answers, it makes us feel better if you have done some research and helped yourself a bit before ;)

[djmarc]

This is Groundhog day ..... :D

Have you looked at the website for pricing or had a look at the instructions for the playlists? To be fair I managed to create one within a few seconds ...

Read my post here (from above) about the type of playlist that might be useful. Ultimately it is up to you but this is what I have found workable.




I'm sorry if I am sounding harsh here, but although we can provide you with the answers, it makes us feel better if you have done some research and helped yourself a bit before ;)

Sorry for my lack of iteligence here but im confussed are you making theses playlists up in virtual dj or itunes?

[MORGEY]

I would see things differently, if i am reading this correctly'

The moment you get into 'Copying' mp3s you are creating duplicates in your database.

If you are using Virtual DJ then it may be worth avoiding Mediamonkey all together, because as good as it is, it only really works as a standalone application.

Virtual DJ can however read Itunes playlists, so Itunes might a basis for playlists if you like Itunes, however if it were me, I would just construct playlists in Virtual DJ itself which is easy anyhow.

Quite right, the op will get duplicates.
I just think that he needs to get himself started with an easy package that shows up well on the screen. After he has mastered the basics I would indeed agree that Virtual DJ or similar is all he would need.:)

[WWDJ]

Sorry for my lack of iteligence here but im confussed are you making theses playlists up in virtual dj or itunes?

I would just do it in Virtual DJ.

[djtrev]

Would it not be a better idea to create the playlist in iTunes and then import it to VDJ.Then if for some reason you erase the playlist from VDJ you have a back up to import from iTunes.
I say this because I did exactly that,but my software is Traktor.
I am not sure but I dont think you can do it the other way round ie-create the list in VDJ and import to iTunes.
Unless you know different!!

[paul1404]

I don't know about playlists, but here is how I order my HD*. This style of layout helps if you're using a controller like the Numark D2, or Cortex1000, as the tracks are only one folder deep. A laptop won't struggle as much, but you can look as the individual folders for inspiration.

* I'm not up with this screenshot lark. There are more folders from T to Z.

How come Abba Bowie and the Bee Gees get their own folders ? what about S club or Black Lace ? lol