Dj friendly Arrangement/Structure

augusto · Post by **augusto** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:37 am

Hi to all, well:
I was curious about how can be a song "Dj friendly"?, in arrangment terms.
If anyone can post some tips/tricks about it will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance and sorry for my bad english.
Augusto

mrgreynoise · Post by **mrgreynoise** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:03 am

Well, it would seem that most DJs are kind of dumb and need the absolutely simplest and predictable structures to be able to mix, otherwise they won't buy your track. This means cycles/sections in perfect multiples of 4, and intro/outros without a clear tonal center so they don't have to worry about harmonies clashing. Ok, I'm kind of flamebaiting here, but still..

::BLM:: · Post by **::BLM::** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:13 am

There is nothing worse then someone who has made music out of the time. For me everything needs to be placed in the correct place, everything should be coming in when its meant to. I know producers who think its clever to have things coming in at random times, but in all honently it sounds sh!t when your mixing. This music is meant for clubs and for dj's, why make it so it sounds sh!t in the mix?

To the person who first posted if you dont know about how many beats in a bar etc... then look it up. Its the first thing anyone should learn imo. For me the perfect length for a track is 7 mins. 1min intro 5 mins in the groove and then 1min outro. I prefer the start and end of tracks to have just beats, but its not a massive problem as if something finishes with a melody you just mix a drummy track into it.

revy · Post by **revy** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 9:00 am

honestly i ravenously seek out stuff with freaky edits and out of time phrasing. to some it may sound "sht" but for me its an element of spontaneity and unpredictability. Its good to have your brain reset on you every once in while instead of just staying in the same 8 bar loop arrangements.

i'd say its even more beneficial for live pa...gives more of a human element to the performance.

saying something like "everything needs to be placed in the correct place, everything should be coming in when its meant to"...whats "correct" is really just your feeling. I'm not trying to diss anyone's style or anything, but if you really consider techno to be an artform then there should be no right or wrong.

luminous · Post by **luminous** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 9:49 am

revy wrote: but if you really consider techno to be an artform then there should be no right or wrong.

+1

i wrote a lot but deleted it,don't want to start discussion but please..."correctness"...in techno? in any art? what techno should be and what shouldn't ? ...

think of where would we be right now musically if people out there would stick to the rules and wouldn't take risk and experiment

it really surprised me to even see such an opinion on a forum like this

BigPoe · Post by **BigPoe** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 9:50 am

revy wrote: saying something like "everything needs to be placed in the correct place, everything should be coming in when its meant to"...whats "correct" is really just your feeling. I'm not trying to diss anyone's style or anything, but if you really consider techno to be an artform then there should be no right or wrong.

Spot on, I reckon one should try to break away from convention otherwise the music will stand still and never evolve. But I've got an idea that you should only break one rule at a time otherwise you'll alienate your audience.

I love it when an unexpected noise comes in randomly, like a fog horn (can't get enough of the horns). Something like this can have a much greater impact than a big breakdown. IMO that's what minimal's all about, experimentation with weird sht.

Atheory · Post by **Atheory** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:20 am

yeah old funk records dont mix that easy together, but you just have to get creative

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:19 am

i think it's only an issue if you're releasing music on vinyl.
i mean how hard is it for a digital DJ to loop a section or edit the intro or outro to suit.
i used to feel very strongly that my music should exist in its own right and do whatever it does without making concessions for DJs but when i started DJing myself, i soon realised that my own tunes were sometimes hard to mix.
also there's different types of vinyl DJ. theres the guy who grabs a bunch of records 5 minutes before a gig and plays by intuition, then theres the guy who plans his set out in fine detail and rehearses it.
if you make tunes without complex intros and outros, you can guarentee your tune wont make it into the first guys bag.

so now i keep the first and last 1.30 min fairly minimal and stay off the polyrhythms (which can be hard to mix with) till the tune is underway.

but as far as 8 / 16 / 32 bar for 'painting by numbers' DJs thats going too far for me, any decent DJ can handle and use to creative effect unusual intro lengths, and syncopation.
for me, making it too easy for the DJ is one of the main reasons why house music hasnt truly evolved in 20 years, on the flip side, its probably why it's still around.