Some DJ’s actually start the very beginning of their careers DJ’ing a house party for their friends in high school or college and realize that this is what they want to do. It’s the perfect setting to give DJ’ing ago to see if it’s your calling. It might start out as some fun at a house party but if you try it and you’re talented it can become so much more. It’s not just friends DJ’ing for friends at house parties though, many individuals who DJ for a living actually say that one of their favorite DJ sets to be booked for is house parties. While all DJ gigs will have more in common than different one thing that massively different which adds to why many DJs enjoy house parties so much is the atmosphere.
Any professional DJ would tell you that the atmosphere at a house party is extremely different from that in other scenarios such as a club. The atmosphere at a house party tends to be more fun and house parties are seen as less pressure so many times DJs perform better sets as they’re less nervous. House parties are less intense to DJ for as the host and all the guests are trying to have a good time, they’re not there to judge the DJ’s performance making it much more comfortable. If DJ’ing sounds like something you think you could be good at or you are a DJ and you’re nervous to do your first house party gig then we’ve got some great tips for you.
Target Audience
One thing that is super important for any DJ is to consider who the audience is, if you’re DJ’ing for your friends then you’re in luck here as you’ll likely already know what music they’re into and you’ll likely be familiar with it too making it much easier to please everyone. However, if it’s not your friends then you’ll have to make sure you have a range of music and based on things such as age, the theme of the party, etc. you’ll have to figure out what music will make their party good. It’s best to test some songs out at the beginning of the party to see how people react, you’ll have to be able to read the room and see what is most popular then base the rest of your set on this. It’s always a good thing to remember that people love listening to songs that they already know, if your set included popular recent songs and old-school classics that everyone knows then it’s bound to be a popular set.
Time of Night
DJ’s have to be able to read the room to figure out what stage the party is at and play complementary music. If it’s early on then don’t play your best songs, keep it more relaxed and build up to these songs. If people are relaxing then choose music to compliment it, when things are more pumped up play your most popular songs then. Another thing a great DJ should be able to read is when music is not wanted at all, if people aren’t dancing then you can engage them in another way. You want the host and guests to be entertained all night so if it’s not the right time of the night for music then you can get the guests to play some classic party games like never have i ever to improve the mood and get people pumped.
What You Need
To DJ a set successfully you’ll need to have the right equipment. You can either go all out for your house party gig and come with a full DJ set up. You’ll have to download your chosen software onto your laptop and connect it to some great quality speakers. Or, you can now DJ from a smartphone, there are plenty of DJ’ing apps to choose from, this is a great option for someone just giving DJ’ing a try as it’s the cheaper option so if you decide DJ’ing isn’t for you you’ve only bought an app. If you get nervous at the party then make sure you have Spotify on stand by and the guests can pick what songs they want instead.
