For Non-DJs
To make sure the performance doesn't feel boring to your audience, you should think about the build-up of your songs. How many acoustic songs am I going to play? What song will I start and end the show with? How fast will the music be? In what key will it be played? It is good to think about this before your show. You don't want to improvise this on stage when you have more people working for you. So create a list with all the songs you will play and think about the following:
- Audience
- Key
- Tempo
- Transitions
- Timbres
- Voices
To do: watch as many 'big box' (major arena) shows as possible and study their performance in great detail, keeping in mind all the elements listed above. Here are a few concerts you can look at:
Here are a few tips that can help you:
- Your first impressions count. You want the first song to start the show off with a bang, but you also want to treat it as a test to make sure the sound tech gets the levels right.
- Keep your real opener for the second song.
- Open the show with high energy.
- Save your best song for last.
- The setting of the venue will determine the mood you create.
- Even if your repertoire is diverse, the set should make sense to the listener.
- Plan your transitions.
- Make the transition gradual in sound and content.
- Plan the stories or jokes you're going to tell.
- Interacting with the audience helps them connect with you and your music.
- Rehearsing even seemingly small details such as these is what separates the amateurs from the pros.
- Add in some covers.
Write your setlist down in a PDF or Word file and give this to every musician and light technician. You can discuss the mood of every song with the light technician so they can control the lights accordingly if your show contains a lot of specific items like custom lighting, visuals, pyro, etc. It is also wise to create a cue list. This list includes information on who needs to do what at a particular moment during the show.
For DJs
You will be improvising your set for the most part since it's your skill to read the crowd. But there are exceptions. For example, it can be good to know the first 1/3 songs you are going to play to set the mood. When you are the headliner, you might also want to prepare your whole show. An easy way to do this is in the program 'Rekordbox.' This is made for the Pioneer turntables, and you will be able to load in your music and prepare all your transitions and cue points. Think about the following when you prepare your whole set:
- Audience
- Key
- Tempo
- Transitions
To do: watch as many 'big box' (major arena) shows as possible and study their performance in great detail, keeping in mind all the elements listed above. Here are a few concerts you can look at:
Here are a few tips that can help you:
- Your first impressions count. You want the first song to start the show off with a bang, but you also want to treat it as a test to make sure the sound tech gets the levels right.
- Keep your real opener for the second song.
- Open the show with high energy.
- Save your best song for last.
- The setting of the venue will determine the mood you create.
- Even if your repertoire is diverse, the set should make sense to the listener.
- Plan your transitions.
- Interacting with the audience helps them connect with you and your music.
Write your setlist down in a PDF or Word file and give this to every musician and light technician. You can discuss the mood of every song with the light technician so they can control the lights accordingly if your show contains a lot of specific items like custom lighting, visuals, pyro, etc. It is also wise to create a cue list. This list includes information on who needs to do what at a particular moment during the show.