First Time DJ - Electronic Music

[ferez21]

Hello,

So iv'e been offered the opportunity to DJ a short set at an upcoming party in a local club, and i would love to get some tips.

I'm not looking to be a professional, i just want to know the practical stuff and get the job done effectively.

The genre is going to be House\Electro-House, but i'm going to use some personal favorite tunes, not so mainstream-y.

Are turntables even necessary in today's virtual mixing software world?
How do you prepare your mixes? Are the tracks pre-combined into one large file?
What things do you actually have to do "Live"? And which ones do you prepare in advance?
So i need to have all my tracks with the same BPM and the same Key? How do you elegantly change between two tracks with different keys?

Thanks

[BertKoor]

Mind you, I'm far from a DJ. But nevertheless:

Are turntables even necessary in today's virtual mixing software world?

Nope. All you need is a laptop and the right software. You need to be fluent in running that software. Or alternatively there's Numark decks that look like turntables but are just CD / MP3 players with DAW like features. Also these require some practice to master.

How do you prepare your mixes? Are the tracks pre-combined into one large file?

In a set maybe. In Ableton Live presumably... What software do you plan on using?

What things do you actually have to do "Live"? And which ones do you prepare in advance?

Tweeking with the LPF filter cut-off you do live. Or is that out of fashion?
You can prepare a track order, but depending on the party vibe you can reorder that completely.

So i need to have all my tracks with the same BPM and the same Key? How do you elegantly change between two tracks with different keys?

No oh no, this is a big misconception! You can for instance do a drop into a pause and start completely another thing. Keys do not need to be the same (only if you make a mashup), it can also be "compatible". You can pitch up or down some semitones, alter the BMP, all on the fly! Use your imagination and creativity, man...

[DJ Warmonger]

How do you prepare your mixes? Are the tracks pre-combined into one large file?

I use Rekordbox to manage library and always have prepared tracklist. Always leave youself some margin for changes.

Are turntables even necessary in today's virtual mixing software world?

Turntables be like

All you need is a laptop and the right software.

If you want to bore your audience to death, that is. Laptop DJs are not considered serious, skilled or attractive.

So i need to have all my tracks with the same BPM and the same Key?

It's already good if you know what "key" is It's the easiest way. If the keys match, you can just go on and everything will be fine. Keep in mind that if you don't have modern gear with "master tempo" option or similiar, the pitch of track will change if you change the tempo => disaster.