In the past, stadiums and giant arenas were mainly reserved for rock bands, rappers, orchestras, and popular singers. As the electronic music scene has grown, millions of music fans around the world have taken to local nightclubs, festivals and arenas to listen to their favorite DJs. What do they mean exactly and what is the difference between the two? When you attend live rock concerts, you know exactly what to expect minus a few surprises hopefully.
You anticipate to see the band with instruments in hand and playing their music on stage. They can apply things such as echo, which will repeat a certain sound, or in some cases, they will play sound samples. For example, one DJ, Tim Westwood, used to have sound effects of gunshots or glass breaking cued up on his mixer.
He would then play them repeatedly in order to cover up the switch from one track to the other. The best DJs use FX sparingly to enhance their sets, as opposed to using them to cover up for a lack of skills. The amount of techniques and methods a DJ can use when mixing their tracks together is almost endless. Some will work non-stop to loop sections or mix three or four tracks together to create entirely new tunes.
While other DJs will do fairly simple mixing techniques and rely on playing exceptional music that their audience just loves.
The best DJs are able to do this and adjust the direction and flow of their sets to make sure the crowd has the best possible time. Often musicians i. However, all the same musical rules apply so, the better a DJ knows music and understands its theory then the better overall DJ they will be. Zedd, for example, is a classically trained musician who started learning his first instrument at the age of four.
Related: Are DJs musicians? The way a DJ puts a mix together, the tunes they select and even some of the tiny errors they make, all help to create unique moments in time. These unique moments create an added dimension to seeing a DJ in a club and dancing with others, a dimension beyond simply putting on a CD and everyone having a dance.
Special event or wedding DJs, for example, will take requests or maybe even have to MC an event i. Related: How to make a DJ mix — 20 points to help you smash it. Those dedicated to their craft will spend endless hours both practicing their technique and learning which tracks and types of tracks work well together.
On top of that, they will spend hours and hours searching for, listening to and purchasing new music. The more they do this then the bigger their music library and the better their musical knowledge.
They can then draw on these to make sure they always have that perfect track depending on the situation and mood of the crowd.
Related: How do DJs know what song to play next? After all, their ultimate aim is to be able to look out from that stage and see a sea of dancing people with smiling faces.
Some DJs, particularly those early on in their career, might actually have pre-selected or pre-planned the songs they were going to play. However, most will freestyle their shows i.
They spend their time researching music to give them a broad knowledge and a vast music collection. A good DJ then gauges the mood of the crowd to select the music to play at that exact moment. They then make sure that the tempo of the next track matches the tempo of the track already playing.
They have to make sure that the volume matches each other and then they will blend between the two tracks as seamlessly as possible. This prevents there being horrible beat clashes that will stop people from dancing. These performances tend to focus on an array of sequencers, drum machines, and various synths, taking what's in the studio and bringing it to the stage. Other producers to expand their performances with live instrumentation are Bonobo, Floating Points, and Pretty Lights, just to name a few.
Rather than attempting to recreate their music in a live setting all by themselves, these artists choose to enlist a group of musicians. Floating Points recently toured with an piece band, delivering a truly groundbreaking and captivating show. As the trend continues to reveals a dynamic side of the musician's artistry, we might be seeing more producers follow suite. Hardware developers have released a number of electronic products over the years designed to be used as live instruments, but the progress towards developing high-end performance capabilities has progressed slowly.
In , Ableton launched their flagship dedicated hardware controller, Push, with the goal of creating an instrument counterpart to the popular production software. The Push 2 was released this year, but the effectiveness of the device as a dedicated instrument is up for debate among users. The technology is advancing to the point that musicians can cobble together some compelling live kits, and it's going to be exciting to see how this aspect advances in the future.
While obviously not every artist will be able to commission the kind of rig The Glitch Mob now tour with, there are plenty of affordable options on the market for the aspiring musician to build their own setup. Live shows give artists the opportunity to engage with their audience in a unique and memorable way. The nature of electronic music grants a futuristic wave of musicians the ability to stretch the limits of traditional performance.
With major electronic acts like Disclosure and Nero switching up their live methods and a number of promising up and comers continuing to explore new ideas, now may finally be the right time to get your EDM garage band together and start booking gigs. Music Review. Hip Hop. Indie Rock. Tech House. Chill Dance. Club Night. Event Coverage.
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