Mobile DJ Help with Organizing Your Folders to Stop Confusion

0:00 It's Jonathan, the DJ Tutor

Alright guys, it's Jonathan, the DJ Tutor. We're in the kitchen and it's time for a discussion. But first of all, there is in Greece this March, the 25th and the 26th, the first ever DJ convention for mobile DJs, for wedding DJs, for that matter. It is actually going to be for any DJ, even if you're a bedroom DJ. Maybe you're not even a DJ and you're interested in the industry itself. Now, very quickly, it's happening in Greece. There will be a link in this description or the description of this video that will take you to the Facebook page where you can get a myriad of information on the show itself. The Saturday is for any DJ. So, even if you're just interested in the whole industry, go along, take a look, see what's going on.

Sunday is more for the mobile DJ. There is, of course, a fee to get in and it's happening this March, the 25th and the 26th. I will be explaining a bit more about the event. I am going to be there and I'm going to be talking and chatting about the industry. I'm also going to be giving some tips and tricks. So, for example, if you want to know... ...how to mix or maybe you just want a couple of tips and tricks on transitions, give me a shout. Now also, there's going to be a little giveaway of a set of brand new V-Moda M100s. Yes, someone is going to win a set of V-Moda M100s. But again, there'll be more info on that in the future. So, right. You're a mobile DJ. You do weddings and... ...you are sick and tired of...

2:17 ...you're halfway through the track and you get that little circle

...having to delve through thousands and thousands and thousands of songs to try and find that track that you want to play. You're also maybe concerned that if you don't take thousands and thousands and thousands of songs, you could be left out. You could be stuck in the middle of nowhere because all of a sudden someone will say, have you got track three from an LP I've got at home? Side B. I really want to play it. And the mother of the bride loves it. Well, unless you're on Spotify or you can get something from YouTube very quickly, you're pretty much buggered, especially if you do not have any form of internet connection. But then again, that's probably not a good idea because you need to rely on something physical that you've got in front of you CD or something on your laptop.

You don't really want to start relying heavily on the Internet because it's going to be very embarrassing if all of a sudden... ...you're halfway through the track and you get that little circle in the middle of your screen because things are buffering, not good. So let's have a look at this. OK, so I'm just going to put the camera a little bit closer and let's have a look at our folders now for the partially cited. I will explain. We have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine boxes in those boxes. I've got different words. I've got R&B in one hip hop in the other house. Nineties, eighties, seventies, soul, funk and Motown. So these are pretty much all the folders that you would need for a mobile gig because if someone wants some R&B, you can get some R&B on.

If someone wants some hip hop, you get some hip hop on. Bearing in mind as well that a lot of the chart songs are R&B, hip hop or maybe house. Then you go into maybe the old school nineties, eighties, seventies, soul, funk and Motown. Well, all that's going to happen here is as soon as you open the R&B folder... ...you're going to be inundated with loads and loads of tracks to trawl through. And also you have to think quickness is the key here, so you're going to be delving through everything. And also if you have folders like this, you're going to be more inclined to jam them packed with as much as you can because you've got to be safe than sorry. You never know. As I said earlier, someone could want that tune that you haven't played ever right?

4:39 Gig with 100 songs

I wouldn't do that. Okay. Let's look at it. This simple. I now have three boxes, one pop and chart, the other one old school and the last one party. That's it. Okay. So let's just pull the camera out again. So why have I chosen three folders are not 50? You're going to a mobile gig. You're doing a wedding. No, maybe, I don't know, but you know, not maybe. You're always going to be asked. For different styles and different genres and different eras, et cetera. But you don't want to start confusing yourself. Wouldn't it be nice to go to a gig with 100 songs? Think about it. Just think first 100 tracks knowing that you're pretty much going to play all of them now if you are a good DJ and you only have 100 songs, I guarantee you, if you put those hundred songs together correctly, you're going to be able to play all of them.

So you have the vibe and the flow and the energy in that mix, even if it's a simple transition as one finishes and the other one starts, you will not only keep that dance floor. The people will love you, but what you need to do is choose the songs correctly. So let's take away that number of 100 first of all, and let's concentrate on these three folders first of all, pop and chart. Okay. Popping chart is exactly what it says. Yeah. Yeah. It says here, popular music. So what I would be putting in this folder here, this box, this folder is the popular songs from the past six months to a year, nothing else. Also, the chart tracks, the tracks that are in the chart note, the chart does vary from time to time.

Tracks leave the chart tracks come in as soon as they leave the charts, you need to think, do you need to still have that song? Maybe. You do in that case, keep it in there because it's still pop. It's still popular. That is pop. It's short for popular music. So that folder there, you could have maybe only a hundred tracks in it. That's all you need anymore. And you start getting bits and pieces of this and that, that it's almost, you need to stop thinking I better keep that in there just in case I want to play it. Just in case someone asks. Ask yourself, how many times have you played it? How many times have people asked you to play it? If the answer is never or not for a long time, then you don't need it in there do you?

7:06 Nineties, eighties, seventies, soul, funk, Motown, northern soul, sixt

Okay. Old school. Let's have a look at this. Um, right. Nineties, eighties, seventies, soul, funk, Motown, northern soul, sixties, reggae, raga, not raga. Maybe. I'm reggae, but all of those kinds of genres are old school. So there's no real need to have a folder with eighties and nineties and seventies and sixties because it is all old school. So straight away you are getting rid of half a dozen of the folders there because what is a Madonna track from the eighties? It's old school. How about single ladies by Beyonce? It's sort of old school. Really now, isn't it? It's still relatively popular. But remember that word pop popular that today now you've got to have this barrier. You know what is today and now on what was then L.

A. F. M. M. E or whatever it is. Party rock anthem party think about it now. Okay, what are the party tracks? What are the ones that get up and go 500 miles for claimers? Summer of 69 tracks like that, put them in the party folder. So by default, even if you did have something that was popular at the time and now it's gone past its popularity stage, it still could be a good party track. Stick it in the party folder so you have 123 folders. Each one of those has got a good selection. Each one of. Those folders should have tracks, not that you maybe play or you want to keep it there just in case. It's like a failsafe, you know, not failsafe. Sorry, it's a track that makes you just feel comfortable and relaxed knowing you've got it.

Well, no need make sure in these three folders you have the tracks that you will play definitely now. You may not be able to play all of them in an evening because you could have 100 in here could have 200 in here. You could. I have 300 in here that's going to be a long night, but at least you know you've got them and then what you could do is have one more and everything else. There you go, so that's your other folder, everything else. I hope that's been help and all being well, I would like to see you in Greece pay attention be there it's going to be fantastic. Greece is a wonderful, wonderful place so 25th and 26 of March 2017 the first national DJ convention for wedding DJs and also for that matter for anyone who loves music and would like to twiddle some knobs on a piece of kit see their practice and enjoy.

Thank you.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.