How Do DJs Read The Crowd ?

 

 

The first principle of being a good DJ is to know whom you play music to and where it happens. The venue and the event are major factors determining the type of tunes and genre a DJ spins. To be able to do this correctly, you need to read your crowd throughout the event professionally and be prepared to have the appropriate music to serve.

 

What Is “Reading The Crowd”

 

DJ starts the night or event by pressing the play button with the first song. Then he starts checking out the audience as time passes. Three, four, five, ten songs and he keeps taking the crowd’s pulse. At this point, something is important; he needs to be aware of the age average and the demographics of people in the room. Are they young, in their 20’s or are they above 40 or 50 ? Age definitely matters when it comes to selecting music.

Let me give you an example, what do you think happens if a room full of people over 50 face with hip hop music played all night, or maybe trance ? Just a quick example. They may not like it, right ? Perhaps, they would expect a mix of 80’s and some disco, even a bit of house blended in.

Here is where DJ comes in. By reading the crowd correctly, he mixes a little of this and that, without exaggerating any type of genre and keeping an eye on audience to see if they react to it positively. Don’t worry, if they don’t like it, you’ll hear from them soon 🙂

 

Crowd Do Not Always Dance And They Really Don’t Have To

 

The nature of some events or venues doesn’t provide suitable conditions for people to get up and let themselves flow with the rhythm. In that case, how would you know if they like your music or not ? Let me give you a hint; better your DJ’ing, more noise in the room ! Just watch them, if they start talking louder, laugh and seem to enjoy their conversation with others, even make little moves with your tunes, it means the night is a success. Never forget that people always listen to the music and react to it even though they seem not to.

I hope this article gives you an idea of crowd reading concept for a DJ and how to do it correctly.

 

 

 

 

Last updated by Murat Celikbas on October 18, 2017.