Early Night Music Sequencing

[Casual77]

It will probably seem strange for me to be asking about this now that I'm 18 months into my mobile DJ career but I still have some doubts over how I should be approaching music sequencing in the early part of the night. I know there is probably no particular right or wrong way to do things and I've always muddled my way through without any complaints, but I'd be interested to hear how other DJs generally approach it.

Here's the scenario.... Let's say its a typical birthday 50th party attended by family and friends. You know you will be playing to a largely empty dancefloor for the first couple of hours or so until the buffet has been cleared and the music brief is to play a bit of everything from the Sixties through to present day. How do you approach the issue of early night music sequencing? Assume it's a mixed age crowd with an even age spread ranging from young children through to the grandparents.

Do you start with something fairly current and work your way backwards through the decades? or
Do you start with something from the sixties and work your way forwards?
Do you progress your songs in some kind of chronological order?
Do you play songs in batches of a few songs from a similar era or musical genre?
Do you generally look to find links between the songs you play so that there is some kind of logical progression? or
Do you mix it up as much as you can so that there is no obvious pattern?
Do you stick a load of suitable songs into a folder and set your software to random automix and not give it any further thought until someone ventures on to the dancefloor?
Do you have a few tried and tested Mastermix CDs that you would normally stick on?
Do you have a standard 'one-size-fits-all' early night playlist or do you always come up with something bespoke on the night?
Do you have a preferred song that you would generally start one of these kind of nights off with?
Do you generally stick to more low-key songs so that you can save the most popular dancing songs for later in the night?
Do you ever worry that you aren't playing the right music or do you consider that you are largely just treading water until people have finished drinking and fancy having a dance?


Lots of questions I know but I would be genuinely interested to read how people approach this. So, how do you do it?

[Nakatomi]

Death to Mastermix Grandmaster et al.

There's no magic formula & there's certainly no way to discover what people like just by looking at them without judging their reactions to music.

I'll add here that whatever the event I don't go in all guns blazing. It's usually a build-up in energy unless they're really gagging for it. Christmas tends to be less of a gentle slope & more bam! right in we go.

[funkymook]

It will probably seem strange for me to be asking about this now that I'm 18 months into my mobile DJ career but I still have some doubts over how I should be approaching music sequencing in the early part of the night. I know there is probably no particular right or wrong way to do things and I've always muddled my way through without any complaints, but I'd be interested to hear how other DJs generally approach it.

Here's the scenario.... Let's say its a typical birthday 50th party attended by family and friends. You know you will be playing to a largely empty dancefloor for the first couple of hours or so until the buffet has been cleared and the music brief is to play a bit of everything from the Sixties through to present day. How do you approach the issue of early night music sequencing? Assume it's a mixed age crowd with an even age spread ranging from young children through to the grandparents.

Do you start with something fairly current and work your way backwards through the decades? or
Do you start with something from the sixties and work your way forwards?
Do you progress your songs in some kind of chronological order?
Do you play songs in batches of a few songs from a similar era or musical genre?
Do you generally look to find links between the songs you play so that there is some kind of logical progression? or
Do you mix it up as much as you can so that there is no obvious pattern?
Do you stick a load of suitable songs into a folder and set your software to random automix and not give it any further thought until someone ventures on to the dancefloor?
Do you have a few tried and tested Mastermix CDs that you would normally stick on?
Do you have a standard 'one-size-fits-all' early night playlist or do you always come up with something bespoke on the night?
Do you have a preferred song that you would generally start one of these kind of nights off with?
Do you generally stick to more low-key songs so that you can save the most popular dancing songs for later in the night?
Do you ever worry that you aren't playing the right music or do you consider that you are largely just treading water until people have finished drinking and fancy having a dance?


Lots of questions I know but I would be genuinely interested to read how people approach this. So, how do you do it?

If it ‘feels’ like the right music then it probably is.

If you’ve had some favourite tune/artists given to you it’s a good time to play any that aren’t danceable and find a few more along the same lines.
(It might be worth using the ‘bespoke' angle when talking to prospective clients, especially for weddings. I find it very easy to convert an evening enquiry into an all-day booking with a tailor made soundtrack offer, it’s even easier if they’re having any sort of theme or table names with a music connection, I had an evening only enquiry a while back where the tables were named after 80’s films - what a gift!).

Generally I find Motown/early soul usually works quite well for older birthday parties, wedding anniversaries etc, there’s plenty of tunes that people will recognise and you can still save the big ones for later. (Quite often get a few early dancers when I do play Motown, always good to have a little chat with them and ask what they’d like later as they’re going to be first on the floor and encourage the others). Rat Pack etc can also be good for the right crowd (or can sound terribly old and cliched with the wrong audience).

If you are going to go play by era or genre then have a few transition songs up your sleeve, a modern song that has a 60’s feel etc. Also bands like The Baseballs are a good take on modern tunes that work very well.

If you’re using a system that lets you save previous playlists in a folder keep the ones you think sounded good and either use them again on auto-play or for dipping in and out of. I go though mine on a regular basis and create new playlists out of combining them, they’re a great aide memoire.

When it’s time to start the party proper, a brief intro from yourself, dim any house lights, declare the dance-floor open and hit them with a big tune (by now you should’ve worked out what’s likely to work).

Or if it’s a wedding anniversary you can start the evening by inviting the couple to take to the floor as you play their original first dance then proceed from there.

I wouldn’t overthink it though, as long as you’ve got the volume at the right level and aren’t playing totally inappropriate music you’re getting it right.

[Excalibur]

I find myself pretty much in agreement with Martin here. We're not a million miles away from each other. Well said that man.

[musicology]

What Martin said :thumbs_up:

[DazzyD]

+1 for Martin's comments!

[Casual77]

I'll '+1' Martin's comment as well because I agree whole-heartedly with everything he has said.... but at the same time it doesn't really get down to the crux of my overriding question.

I've done enough gigs now to have a pretty good grasp of which songs work on these 'bit of everything' nights and how to keep a busy dancefloor happy. What I was trying to find out was not so much about 'what' songs I should play as 'what order' I should play them in. When the party is in full swing (often in the last few hours of a 5 hour party) and you have a busy dancefloor that is where the skill of being a DJ comes to the fore. You have to work out what will get people up out of their seats and then when you have achieved that make sure that you sequence the music in such a way as to hopefully ensure they stay there and are joined by more of the non-dancers.

My issue is whether there is an appropriate way to order the music at the start of the night. I have a good idea what songs I'm likely to play which would generally be popular, well-known songs but keeping my 'big guns' to one side for later in the night. I often find though that I expend too much nervous energy thinking about what song to play next and generally what order to play my songs in, when my audience, whilst hopefully enjoying the music, are largely not that bothered about the running order because they are too busy trying to get served at the bar or catching up with relatives they haven't seen since the last family party.

I suppose I was thinking that if enough experienced DJs said that it would be acceptable in this early part of the night to chop and change between genres and eras that I could spend less time worrying about how to create a clear and logical progression in my early night playing order and conserve my mental energy for later in the night when it is more needed. So the burning question is.... if, for example, I've got 5 perfectly acceptable songs from each decade from the 60's to the current one (which I know will get me through the first couple of uneventful hours), how should I decide which song to stick on first and what to play after it. Do I play all the 60's songs together at the outset and then progress on to the 70's, then 80s etc or do I play all the songs with a rock feel together before moving on to the pop-pier stuff, or do I say to hell with thinking about it and just stick them on in any old order knowing that no-one will object to any of the songs and that the running order doesn't particularly matter when no-one is dancing anyway? Would the answer to that question vary if it was a 60th rather than an 18th birthday party, or if it was a wedding or an anniversary bash?

It will probably come as little surprise that the gig that has prompted this was Saturday night's 18th birthday party offered to me at very short notice by a local hotel who with a few days to go realised that they had managed to double-book their resident DJ. Needless to say that the only information about music prior to starting playing was a 1 minute chat with the birthday girl's father and all he was able to give me was 'there will be quite a mixed crowd so play a bit of everything from 60's to current. Oh and she doesn't mind a bit of reggae'. The night was definitely a case of 'all's well that ends well' but at one point in the night it was in serious danger of becoming my worst gig ever. It was certainly not your typical 18th birthday party!

Whenever I have a gig that goes less than perfectly I always try to look for little lessons I can learn to help make future gigs go even better and it's thinking through the events of Saturday's gig that has brought up the need for this thread. I appreciate some will probably think I am 'over-thinking' this and the truth is I almost certainly am, but I'm hoping by getting an idea how other DJs approach this I can think about it a bit less on future gigs and spend more time enjoying the experience rather than worrying about it.

[rth_discos]

Interesting story about the 18th birthday.

My work is nearly exclusively weddings. Many say these are tough because of the mixed audience (ages etc), and that people are there to catch up with each other.

Just a bit of background about me - as well as DJing (mobile and high street bars), I've musically programmed radio stations for many years. So music programming is a strong point of mine.

I've now got to the point that if I've met the bride and groom in advance of the wedding, I can pretty much plan the evening of music before I even turn up to the gig.

I don't rigidly follow it through the evening, but 90% of the time, it works perfectly. It rotates the dancefloor perfectly during the early part of the evening, and builds up to a big ending.

Because it's planned, I know that I'm not going to burn through my "big songs" early on, and I get more time to plan the music (rather than rushing to think of a song whilst one is playing).

Usually, my order is pretty close - I often move few songs around my order to fit the flow of the evening, and occasionally drop and swap some songs that on the night I feel won't work, but my system isn't letting me down.

I don't think many DJs operate like this - it goes against everything you are told about "reading the audience" - but I've been able to do that in advance, and my experience knows how to fill and keep a dancefloor.

And evening to evening, the music is very varied - this isn't a case of relying on "one playlist" for every wedding!

Just something to throw in...

[funkymook]

I'll '+1' Martin's comment as well because I agree whole-heartedly with everything he has said.... but at the same time it doesn't really get down to the crux of my overriding question.

I've done enough gigs now to have a pretty good grasp of which songs work on these 'bit of everything' nights and how to keep a busy dancefloor happy. What I was trying to find out was not so much about 'what' songs I should play as 'what order' I should play them in. When the party is in full swing (often in the last few hours of a 5 hour party) and you have a busy dancefloor that is where the skill of being a DJ comes to the fore. You have to work out what will get people up out of their seats and then when you have achieved that make sure that you sequence the music in such a way as to hopefully ensure they stay there and are joined by more of the non-dancers.

My issue is whether there is an appropriate way to order the music at the start of the night. I have a good idea what songs I'm likely to play which would generally be popular, well-known songs but keeping my 'big guns' to one side for later in the night. I often find though that I expend too much nervous energy thinking about what song to play next and generally what order to play my songs in, when my audience, whilst hopefully enjoying the music, are largely not that bothered about the running order because they are too busy trying to get served at the bar or catching up with relatives they haven't seen since the last family party.

I suppose I was thinking that if enough experienced DJs said that it would be acceptable in this early part of the night to chop and change between genres and eras that I could spend less time worrying about how to create a clear and logical progression in my early night playing order and conserve my mental energy for later in the night when it is more needed. So the burning question is.... if, for example, I've got 5 perfectly acceptable songs from each decade from the 60's to the current one (which I know will get me through the first couple of uneventful hours), how should I decide which song to stick on first and what to play after it. Do I play all the 60's songs together at the outset and then progress on to the 70's, then 80s etc or do I play all the songs with a rock feel together before moving on to the pop-pier stuff, or do I say to hell with thinking about it and just stick them on in any old order knowing that no-one will object to any of the songs and that the running order doesn't particularly matter when no-one is dancing anyway? Would the answer to that question vary if it was a 60th rather than an 18th birthday party, or if it was a wedding or an anniversary bash?

It will probably come as little surprise that the gig that has prompted this was Saturday night's 18th birthday party offered to me at very short notice by a local hotel who with a few days to go realised that they had managed to double-book their resident DJ. Needless to say that the only information about music prior to starting playing was a 1 minute chat with the birthday girl's father and all he was able to give me was 'there will be quite a mixed crowd so play a bit of everything from 60's to current. Oh and she doesn't mind a bit of reggae'. The night was definitely a case of 'all's well that ends well' but at one point in the night it was in serious danger of becoming my worst gig ever. It was certainly not your typical 18th birthday party!

Whenever I have a gig that goes less than perfectly I always try to look for little lessons I can learn to help make future gigs go even better and it's thinking through the events of Saturday's gig that has brought up the need for this thread. I appreciate some will probably think I am 'over-thinking' this and the truth is I almost certainly am, but I'm hoping by getting an idea how other DJs approach this I can think about it a bit less on future gigs and spend more time enjoying the experience rather than worrying about it.

You’re over thinking it, it’s background music, no one is taking that much notice, as long as you’re playing nice music at a suitable volume while people are arriving, chatting and eating you’re going to be OK. Have fun with it, try playing tunes you know are classic/popular that people will recognise but you don’t usually play so you get more familiar with them. If you're totally missing the mark people will soon ask for something different so play that instead (or save it for later if it’s not the right time for it).

[ckpr2]

I found after a number of gigs I got to know what people liked.
Sometimes I would get it wrong and there is always another genre to try if that doesn't work.

I have only ever had one gig where no one danced all night and there were 3 DJ's and none us could make anything of the crowd.

As time goes on and new music comes out you have to keep any eye on what people like.

On the first disco I worked on in 1976 we used to get freebie new releases from the record companies.
It was always a risk trying a new song but some went down very well.

[ukpartydj]

When I first started out I remember asking a DJ "do you save the good songs for later", they didn't give me a good answer but I learnt there are good songs for every part of the evening!

Start of the evening is normally background music most of the time, I personally have a list of covers, different versions of tracks and forgotten classic tracks in a folder on traktor, all fairly positive chuggy a but like deep house I let it play by itself for a few tracks whilst I get the just of the evening dropping in requested tracks which aren't likely danceable. While I pick from those tracks I look around the room and try to pigeon hole people. If I see a group that look like they'd enjoy rock I'll pop something I think they may like but isn't too heavy.

The way I see it is you've acknowledged their presence, now you see a group of women in their late 30s... They might appreciate some 90s, they get a nod... My opinion is once guests hear you playing music they like they'll be more comfortable making requests / likely won't be sat in the corner thinking this dj is terrible.
No order to the genres, in fact especially early doors I try and mix it up using the music's key to make some great transitions

Of course it's not so easy when you have a wedding with "modern music mainly please" request!

[Casual77]

No order to the genres, in fact especially early doors I try and mix it up using the music's key to make some great transitions

That's interesting. I'm a big advocate of moving between compatible musical keys if I'm doing a mixed dance set and I use mixedinkey to analyse all my music. I've never thought about using musical key as a criteria for moving between unmixed background music songs though. Perhaps I should give that a go.

[Imagine]

I'm similar to everyone else - the first hour at least is normally background whilst the guests arrive and settle in. I rarely expect dancing before 9:30 - 10pm due to the alcohol needing to kick in (sad but true these days).

As for the order of the main evening's entertainment, I tend to chop and change all night.

I'll generally start off with something up to date if there's youngsters present (i.e. under 12's), then kick into Motown/60s/disco for the older guests (it's normally the best way to get the floor going because the older stuff is just that little bit slower and easier to dance to).

From there I use two techniques I learned a while back:

1) ALWAYS play to the ladies. Don't shoot me down for being sexist in the 21st century but the girls will ALWAYS be first up on the floor and their other halves will eventually follow. If they don't, at least the ladies will be dancing so you've not got an empty floor :)
2) ROTATE the dance floor. This one took me a while to get my head around (I believe I first heard of it from one of the USA "gurus" a couple of years ago but for those who've never heard of it...this is how it works:

Not many people will dance for the full 4-5 hours of a party unless they've taken something illegal and will naturally go for a drink, a toilet break, cigarette or a rest at some point. I tend to do half a dozen from one genre, then switch to something else to encourage the next group of people onto the floor whilst the originals take a rest and so on throughout the evening (it's not a strict number of tracks....you watch the dancers and judge when they're tiring). This can mean switching from Motown to 80s and then into 90s and back to Northern Soul during the evening (i.e. in no particular chronological order).

If for instance you're in a Motown set with a load of more mature guests on the floor, but then some of the younger ones join them and the older ones are looking like they're ready for a rest, find something to bridge from Motown to, for example a 90s set that the younger ones will know and stay on to. At the moment there's a load of stuff being re-released which will up the tempo and allow you to do this (Sigala's Easy Love springs to mind).

This way, there's something for everyone at various points during the evening, and everyone gets "a go" on the dance floor to something they like whilst the rest get to have a breather and more alcohol. It works for me just about every time.

I found that if you do it chronologically, the older guests used to leave early because they thought the music they liked had finished, and the younger guests got impatient because they couldn't see any of their stuff coming on any time soon.

Obviously it depends on the crowd and the occasion. I'm mainly weddings these days so generally have the big age range there to play with.

Of course if you're stuck with a load of guests who have been superglued to their seats, or doing something like a Golden wedding anniversary as I did a couple of weeks back where the guests haven't seen each other in a while and want to spend the whole night catching up....you're on a hiding to nothing.

[Casual77]

I'm similar to everyone else - the first hour at least is normally background whilst the guests arrive and settle in. I rarely expect dancing before 9:30 - 10pm due to the alcohol needing to kick in (sad but true these days).

As for the order of the main evening's entertainment, I tend to chop and change all night.

I'll generally start off with something up to date if there's youngsters present (i.e. under 12's), then kick into Motown/60s/disco for the older guests (it's normally the best way to get the floor going because the older stuff is just that little bit slower and easier to dance to).

From there I use two techniques I learned a while back:

1) ALWAYS play to the ladies. Don't shoot me down for being sexist in the 21st century but the girls will ALWAYS be first up on the floor and their other halves will eventually follow. If they don't, at least the ladies will be dancing so you've not got an empty floor :)
2) ROTATE the dance floor. This one took me a while to get my head around (I believe I first heard of it from one of the USA "gurus" a couple of years ago but for those who've never heard of it...this is how it works:

Not many people will dance for the full 4-5 hours of a party unless they've taken something illegal and will naturally go for a drink, a toilet break, cigarette or a rest at some point. I tend to do half a dozen from one genre, then switch to something else to encourage the next group of people onto the floor whilst the originals take a rest and so on throughout the evening (it's not a strict number of tracks....you watch the dancers and judge when they're tiring). This can mean switching from Motown to 80s and then into 90s and back to Northern Soul during the evening (i.e. in no particular chronological order).

If for instance you're in a Motown set with a load of more mature guests on the floor, but then some of the younger ones join them and the older ones are looking like they're ready for a rest, find something to bridge from Motown to, for example a 90s set that the younger ones will know and stay on to. At the moment there's a load of stuff being re-released which will up the tempo and allow you to do this (Sigala's Easy Love springs to mind).

This way, there's something for everyone at various points during the evening, and everyone gets "a go" on the dance floor to something they like whilst the rest get to have a breather and more alcohol. It works for me just about every time.

I found that if you do it chronologically, the older guests used to leave early because they thought the music they liked had finished, and the younger guests got impatient because they couldn't see any of their stuff coming on any time soon.

Obviously it depends on the crowd and the occasion. I'm mainly weddings these days so generally have the big age range there to play with.

Of course if you're stuck with a load of guests who have been superglued to their seats, or doing something like a Golden wedding anniversary as I did a couple of weeks back where the guests haven't seen each other in a while and want to spend the whole night catching up....you're on a hiding to nothing.

There are some really good points in there. I think the techniques of playing to the ladies and rotating the dancefloor are something that I probably do without necessarily being consciously aware that I'm doing it.

I have a few questions leading on from what you've said, if that's ok?

In that first couple of hours when you consider that you are playing background music to an empty dancefloor do you still generally play batches of half a dozen songs or do you go for smaller batches, or even no batches at all?

If you play a batch of six Motown songs early in the night before moving into a batch of say six 80's songs would you often go back and play another batch of Motown songs later in the night, or would you consider yourself finished with Motown for that particular gig? I'm guessing the answer to that would probably depend on the make up of your crowd and how well the first Motown set went down.

Do you always look for some kind of 'link' song to move between batches or are you quite happy at the end of one batch to change the feel on the dancefloor when you move on to the next?

[Imagine]

There are some really good points in there. I think the techniques of playing to the ladies and rotating the dancefloor are something that I probably do without necessarily being consciously aware that I'm doing it.

I have a few questions leading on from what you've said, if that's ok?

In that first couple of hours when you consider that you are playing background music to an empty dancefloor do you still generally play batches of half a dozen songs or do you go for smaller batches, or even no batches at all?


All depends on the event, what's going on and who's there.

Weddings (which are becoming my main market) are a different kettle of fish because I use the first dance to open the floor and take it from there. For those it's either a mix of the slower, non dancy stuff from the playlist if one's been provided, or some sort of Mastermix agreed with the clients at background volumes.

With other functions where people are turning up for the first hour or so, settling in and getting drinks, I tend to play small batches to see what if anything is at least getting fingers and feet tapping at the tables. Eventually you'll hit something which "works" and gets someone up and then take it from there.



If you play a batch of six Motown songs early in the night before moving into a batch of say six 80's songs would you often go back and play another batch of Motown songs later in the night, or would you consider yourself finished with Motown for that particular gig? I'm guessing the answer to that would probably depend on the make up of your crowd and how well the first Motown set went down.

Depends on who's there and what the occasion is, but there's no reason not to go back to a genre later in the evening if it worked earlier, and indeed no reason not to repeat tracks later on (I don't do it too often but if a track has been a banger earlier on - why not?)



Do you always look for some kind of 'link' song to move between batches or are you quite happy at the end of one batch to change the feel on the dancefloor when you move on to the next?

Again it depends what's going on. If I'm just playing to the floor and there's no natural interruptions (for instance some sort of speech or cake cutting) then yes I'll try to link to keep the flow similar. The only real exception to that is where I'm doing a gig (for instance a Christmas party) where I'm well and truly interacting with the crowd on the mic, then I can use some sort of banter with the guests to change things up or down as needed.

[Excalibur]

where I'm well and truly interacting with the crowd on the mic, then I can use some sort of banter with the guests to change things up or down as needed.

Whaaaaaaat? :eek: Don't you know the microphone is only allowed to be used for first dance, buffet and last orders? Other than that, it has to be a dire emergency, such as a fire. :no::no:

[Nakatomi]

Are people really resigned to nobody or few people up dancing before the buffet/first dance? I'm not. Some crowds are up for it from the get-go & I think it's important to always be on the lookout for those who are and be prepared to get your hands dirty making it happen (though there's nothing more sad than a DJ trying too hard, desperate to get people going IMHO).

With regard to actual programming of music I'm not sure it even matters. I've seen many a DJ post lists where it looks like they've machine gunned all the tunes out in no particular order at all & the DJ swears by their assertion that the floor was rammed the whole time. Genre, BPM, energy & key are all cast asunder and yet... They can't all be lying can they? Likewise how many times have you followed one track with another in a similar vein which should work wonders, but it really doesn't? And how many times have you been pestered to play a tune that you really didn't think would work, went down absolutely stormingly? Almost every night's a school night for me.

All we can ever really do is make our best (informed & educated) guesses. I don't think there'll ever be a guaranteed formula. If your experience has taught you anything by now it'll be that even tried & tested methods can fail for inexplicable reasons. One of the things that differentiates good DJs from the rest is their ability to adapt to different situations. Stick with it & don't over-analyse everything.

[ukpartydj]

That's interesting. I'm a big advocate of moving between compatible musical keys if I'm doing a mixed dance set and I use mixedinkey to analyse all my music. I've never thought about using musical key as a criteria for moving between unmixed background music songs though. Perhaps I should give that a go.

If nothing else it keeps me occupied, and remember tracks I haven't played for ages if I look at the guests and think its gonna be 90s then search many the key of the music you'll find lots more gems!

[Imagine]

Whaaaaaaat? :eek: Don't you know the microphone is only allowed to be used for first dance, buffet and last orders? Other than that, it has to be a dire emergency, such as a fire. :no::no:

....and cables are supposed to be completely invisible, the setup area is always easily accessible with plenty of power sockets, there's always plenty of headroom and I'm never supposed to nip off for a loo break.....

Back in the real world however.......:daft:

[rth_discos]

Are people really resigned to nobody or few people up dancing before the buffet/first dance? I'm not. Some crowds are up for it from the get-go & I think it's important to always be on the lookout for those who are and be prepared to get your hands dirty making it happen


I heard it was bad etiquette to dance before the first dance has happened?

[Excalibur]

Are people really resigned to nobody or few people up dancing before the buffet/first dance? I'm not.

Two things. Firstly, I believe it's rarely in the hands of the DJ as to whether they fill the floor early doors. Some crowds are boogieing before the dessert, and some won't move even after the first dance. You can only work with what you've got.
Secondly, when I used to do a lot of weddings at a residency, I could have music on soon after six o'clock if it had turned round quickly. Cue someone at seven thirty asking why I aren't playing stuff to fill the dancefloor. :confused:

Simply because the finishing time was one in the morning, and I had to pace the evening accordingly. When I was bemoaning the afact that I couldn't get them moving early doors, someone once said to me- " don't worry. They'll never remember the start of the evening, but they'll always remember the end". Wise words, I felt.

[Nakatomi]

Two things. Firstly, I believe it's rarely in the hands of the DJ as to whether they fill the floor early doors. Some crowds are boogieing before the dessert, and some won't move even after the first dance. You can only work with what you've got.
Secondly, when I used to do a lot of weddings at a residency, I could have music on soon after six o'clock if it had turned round quickly. Cue someone at seven thirty asking why I aren't playing stuff to fill the dancefloor. :confused:

Simply because the finishing time was one in the morning, and I had to pace the evening accordingly. When I was bemoaning the afact that I couldn't get them moving early doors, someone once said to me- " don't worry. They'll never remember the start of the evening, but they'll always remember the end". Wise words, I felt.

True but all the same it's still all about adapting to the circumstances isn't it?

I don't break into a cold sweat if I don't get a full floor within x minutes of opening but I'm always looking for a way in. There's no formula, no absolute set method & no ready made Mastermixed solution for any of this.

We do play a part in the game though. If we bore the crowd to tears with endless twee crap or other unsuitable fayre we might lose them entirely. Keep yer eye on the ball.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I'm sure we've all had the odd occasion here and there where you think it is going to be a stormer because everybody is up for the first few songs after the first dance and then suddenly disappear for whatever reason? It's hard to explain sometimes when guaranteed floor fillers (going by experience), don't work.

I did a wedding the other week where the music was strictly from the 1950's to the 1980's only. I loved it.
There was a pretty hefty request list supplied so I did what I always do and played the more downbeat tracks early on. These had people interested even though I'd say they wouldn't fill a dance floor at any point during the night (again, going by experience).

I was also told that the 1950's and 1960's would appeal to the majority so I concentrated on that from the off.
The first dance was an Elvis track from the film Blue Hawaii and the Bride & Groom wanted Cliff Richard's 'Do You Wanna Dance?' to follow it.
It filled the floor so I stuck to some of the requests that were of that tempo and genre and over the evening I went through the decades, finally finishing off with around an hours worth of 1980's.

Ok, so on that occasion the customer had specific eras that they wanted me to stick too.
Next weekend I have a couple of 80's themed fancy dress parties and I have literally just gone through the pre-request lists for both events. They are not too dis-similar to be honest but there are a few tracks yet again that are great tracks but down tempo (for example - Toto's 'Africa'). It's that kind of stuff that will get played early on but what I also do (for any fancy dress party) is look out of specific tunes for guests in costume and use the early part of the evening to play those.
Again, for example.... If someone is dressed as Superman then I'll play the theme tune early on or Scooby Doo etc.
You can also use the early part of the evening to add TV themes etc.

I know this isn't strictly what the OP wanted but it's along the same lines.

If it's a general wedding where the playlist for the evening needs to appeal to a wide age range and you need to play different genres throughout the evening, I will generally once again play the downbeat requests early on and mix those in with acoustic stuff, ratpack and classics like Bill Withers - Lovely Day, Madness - It Must Be Love, Nina Simone, Etta James etc and then build up throughout the evening and try and cover most bases if I can.

I always decide which way I am going to go when I see what the first dance(s) are.

[mattydj50]

So, to answer Allan's original question. If you think its working, continue, if you think you need to change it, change it!

Afer 47 years, I still get it wrong on occasions. What experience tells you (and of course, I respect those still feeling their way) is to recognise when (and how) change is needed.

My way won't necessarily work for you, and vice versa. I do use Mastermixes and Monsterjams, but as a tool to help me. I don't rigidly play the same discs or even parts of discs at every function, but use the skill and assistance of those producers to maintain a flow of music early in the evening. It does give me the freedom to circulate, mingle, take the guests viewpoint from the other side and chat to the organisers and venue staff. Once up and running, I let my gut feeling take over and play what I feel I need to play. That, coupled with requests is usually enough.

You can't force people on to a dancefloor, but you can lead them along. But, you have also to recognise the odd occasion where you can happily move into wat I call radio mode, where the guests are quite happy with, in the main, sitting and listening and enjoying their own company, particularly at family gatherings.