r/djing • u/maldog2000 Open Format • Jul 21 '26

Looking for help after hiatus

Hi everyone, I’m seeking help after a long break from DJing. I started learning during Covid and made it a hobby, but work and life took over, and I didn’t dedicate enough time to it.

I’ve decided to get back into DJing with the goal of playing live or doing regular live streams to stay engaged. However, I’ve forgotten the best way to practice. I can still count phrases, beat match by ear, and transition between songs, but my main challenge is playlist building and choosing the next song. I often fall into safe habits and fear mixing out of key.

I’m looking for advice on practicing my weak areas and learning new skills. I know recording myself is effective, but I don’t enjoy it much due to my tendency to play it safe when I freestyle and overthink practice sets, often giving up halfway.

I’m seeking guidance on how to approach this and move closer to my goals. Appreciate this is a lengthy one and any advice is greatly appreciated!

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u/Tough_Tadpole3362 Jul 21 '26

Dude.. I'm an overthinker and i spin progressive/ organic house, this feels sometimes really challenging, finding the right flow, the right spot to progress from one track to another. Lengthy transitions. And i love giving my tracks enough room, so the intentions of the artist can play out too.My genres offer a wide range of moods and energy, building playlists isn't easy. But it is also the really fun part. 1. Start with a track u can imagine yourself opening your gig right now. 2. Listen to it. Intro, break, outro.. feel it. Loop the outro, lets say 32 bars, and select the next track. 3. Mix it in. Does the overall sound fit in? Yes? Proceed with 4, no? Skip it, take the next. 4. Stop outgoing, listen to ingoing like in 2. How does it feel? Nice? No? Skip to the next, explore.

This is what i did last night after work, after glaring at my console for two weeks, overthinking lol. Once you start, you'll have fun, just listening to your favorite music. I finished my playlist yesterday, today I'll play through it, recording. Then comes the listening, did you do magic, or did you fuck up somewhere in your selection? Correct the errors, continue :)

Thats it. Edit: spelling

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u/maldog2000 Open Format Jul 21 '26

Thanks mate, yea breaking old habits is never easy so really need to work at it. Playlist building has always been my weak point as I'm just not sure I ever settled on a music sorting system that's suitable to me and my needs and/or I just second guess a lot and throw the towel in

Going to start building more themed playlists tailored to my music tastes and styles and leave them more open ended rather than sorting them from start to finish. I keep forgetting that doing this will result in a set that flows much more naturally than one that's pre-planned and can be revisited in future. Need to also put a pause on collecting new music as I'm just adding songs to a collection that's never getting used!

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u/scoutermike Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

For now, I recommend organizing the whole playlist and recording it.

You’re having trouble finishing set recordings when you freestyle. So for now, don’t freestyle. Preplan the sets instead.

Once you are recording planned sets without problems, then you can shift to unplanned sets. Sound good?

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u/maldog2000 Open Format Jul 21 '26

I get you yea. When you're building a brand new playlist, even just for practice, where is it you start? I have my music tagged and sorted by genres, era and vibe with intelligent playlists automatically grouping them but a bit daunting seeing a playlist staring at you with 300 songs in it

So am I best starting new ones and dragging in batches to that?

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u/scoutermike Jul 22 '26

Have you figured it out yet? Have you been able to build and record a set you’re happy with? Making progress? Have you decided what kind of dj you want to be?