DJing Without Rules - Tempo, Keys, Breaks, Changes, Builds, Bridges & What Really Turns Them On

I'm back with another Weirdo video :) Now, back to bed

[@MrDJMikieMike]

I never think your Videos are weird, they are informative.

[@djcruza]

'Come On Eileen' is one of those songs you have to play from start to finish

[@nickdaviesTRAX]

Keep well. I admire you for working through illness. You are a deep thinker and I agree and understand where you are coming from. I am 72 in June and still going strong. As DJ,s we have a lot more to contend with. We have always had drunks to contend with we now have people on phones, social media and too many sources of music. Not only that we cannot often use smoke machines when massive venues allow artists to use smoke without worrying about it.

[@noodlesontheguitar]

AMEN! I swear, you are my brother from another mother. 👊🏼😎

[@andrearisr2593]

I understand exactly what you mean & try explaining this very thing to Young DJs of this day, that feel, it always need to be beat mixed. For instance one of my favorites drop ins is "you shook me all night long" & right at the very end, I drop in "Joan Jett - I love rock n roll" & the crowd goes crazy still to this day! Weddings, office parties, bars... you name it! Great advice as always Brian! 🎉

[@dj-ericnuernberg56]

I do like when someone covers a rather slow song with a reggae mix… always gets my attention!

[@robhart2107]

I love your videos because I sense a kindred spirit. I've DJayed since 1977 and agree with everything you said in this video. Sending love and good vibes from Australia.

[@DJBennyswift]

I truly admire you, and I send positive vibes to you always! You’re so right, I feel that there are so many songs being remixed, redrummed etc. Certain songs should just be left alone and if anything is to be done, at least an intro and an outro at best. Thank you for sharing! Oh and I am a new subscriber as of now! Blessings in abundance!

[@DJShaunLouis]

Always on point with your vids! Sorry you’ve been been unwell Brian. Glad to see you back! Wishing you a continued and full recovery! 🎶🎶☀️

[@joetrusello7476]

Brian, i agree 100%. The right song is more important than the right mix. I find mix DJ's will look for a song to mix that is a lesser song than reading the crowd and playing the best song for them. In a club I might see it a bit different but mobile dj's should play what your experience tells you to play for that given moment. Love your vids.

[@JustinHornsby]

Hope you're back to 100% soon Brian To my mind there's really only one hard & fast rule when it comes to DJing. If you do something, it works & your customer is happy that's all that matters I think the only people who really care about the techniques we use as DJs are other DJs. Sure you can beatmix. Sure you can quick mix. Sure you can scratch & wordplay & do beat juggling etc as long as it works in the context of the gig you're playing & you don't lose the crowd. Sometimes, as with tunes like Come On Eileen you just have to play it all the way through & there's no getting away from that. If you're in any doubt see what happens next time you play that Dexy's song. Transition right after "please" just before the stomping buildup, or right at the apex before the last chorus & watch/listen to the crowd. Ask me how I know 🤣 Playing tunes all the way through occasionally isn't a bad thing anyway. Breaks or spaces in the music can build tension & energy too, don't forget.

[@DirtyInc.]

'Come on Eileen' is definitely a great song and really enjoyable for all those reasons! 🎶

[@djscottyc]

Hey Brian; wishing you well. I couldn’t agree with you more. Timing is everything, of course you have to read the room but once you got ‘em it’s straight to the “butterzone” as I call it. Some crowds especially today like candy instead of a full course meal. And those key changes and tempo adjustments are like candy to them. They eat it up time and time again. Keep up the good work.

[@traxonwax]

I play the songs in a manner that their intended target expects to hear them. So club tracks can be mixed but if I’m playing songs that typically are for those over 60/70 and up, they will get the radio treatment. To do anything differently will throw them off. This works very well for creating such a much larger variety of not just music but style and atmosphere. As for when I play any song, I don’t have a screen full of suggestions, I literally have a blank screen. Each song is picked right there on the spot. I literally go with my gut and for me it works. Sometimes I’ll change my mind 2, 3, or 4 times before the next song is to come on. That’s how I play.

[@groovindj]

That's the great thing about the job, there aren't any rules - although some seem to believe there are. You don't need to mix, or play only one genre, or use effects, loops, cue points, samples, drops. Know your audience, play what they know and love, and don't mess with it.

[@scottcarroll3679]

DJing my own rules because I can LOL. Sometimes I just bang into another song because it's work for me for years as I did that it the clubs and held the dance floor. Hope you feel better!

[@discoverdevlin2289]

Great video brian and hope you feel better-yes, also know your crowd-I remember playing a remix of I wanna dance with somebody and multiple people weren’t happy about it! Be well

[@oldschooldjernie]

Get better soon! I had a triple bypass which nearly killed me 3 years ago. However personally DJing was the last thing on my mind and even today it's meaningless when I compare it to good health. Just remember everything in life is fleeting and after you've left this earth, very few will remember you after a few weeks, Just Stay Healthy!

[@alanmatthews255]

Yes agree with all of that, it's all about the timing. I have always said a DJ is like a comedian, the comedian has jokes and we have tracks, it's all in the delivery! When people say they are going to play a song list from Spotify at their event they just don't understand the skill and experience involved in the programming timing and delivery. It is the same as an experienced comedian giving his list of jokes to a member of the audience and it just doesn't work even though they are reading from the same script. Both scenarios will fail.

[@solidstatenasty]

i agree, there are songs that you mix, and then there are songs that you just let them play out.

[@Grapevine_DJ]

Paul McCartney has no formal training in writing music, but some of it is quite rooted in the complexity of classical music. He can’t explain how he is able to do it, he just does it (or did it). He can’t read music either.

[@kreature6618]

100% truth bombs here! If it ant broke don’t fix it applies to a lot of stuff in life

[@epicevents1939]

Makes perfect sense. I totally agree.

[@JmylesJ]

Thank you 😊

[@LARules]

DJing doesn’t have to always involve beat mixing. There are different ways to transition from one song to the next. Beat mixing is one form. So is dropping on the one, scratching, using effects or talking on the mic during transition. It’s more about crowd reading and timing, like you said. In my opinion, for private parties rather the clubs, there is more premium on a DJ who has great MC skills than not because the audience wants the interaction in addition to great song choices for the masses. Hope you feel better soon. Regards.

[@soundssensational4568]

By the time your audience is dancing to Come on Eileen they are not noticing any mixing!

[@vanofduty9046]

I usually go for the cheesey option and play 500 miles after come on Eileen pretty much always works for me

[@skiddz17]

DJ's who follow Brian Redd are the REAL deep diving DJs who want to have a well rounded structure and basis. Agreed, beat mixing is absolutely important, but not always needed. Sometimes you gotta drop that hard to mix song from the 1 or even the chorus. Play the best parts of the song. Princes 1999 is slow to start so don't start from the 1, start from "Tonight we're gonna party like its 1999"

... i did not understand the half of it... may be because of the language barrier or something is lost in translation, yet first, that pops in to my mind is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen...

[@theexisireland]

Dexys Midnight Runners were also from Birmingham, so its a well selected locally band classic for the event you mentioned! LF SYSTEM - Afraid To Feel was big a couple of years ago, also an interesting one to mix in and out of with the BPM fluctuations.

[@RikVermeirsch]

Constantly dj'ing in the 120/130 bpm area kills the dancefloor within time. Periodically dropping all kind of unexpected 'surprises' into the set, is the way to keep your audience on the floor. Beatmatching is a skill to use for mixing, but some DJ's think it is mandatory through whole of the set.

[@CaesarConsuloProVita]

Brian….I agree with what you’re saying here. I DJ in a very similar way.

[@djrickyb]

I can't get excited about the music any more. I have been a DJ for 25 years now, and I am losing interest in deejaying in general at an accelerated pace since last December. I don't have any interest in my mixes any more. I don't know what it is, but maybe after hundreds of events, and 25 years of doing this the whole deejaying thing has gotten old? I don't have interest in new or cool equipment, or new lights any more. I am truly in it just for the money right now, and I am even finding myself not bothering to quote on events because they are too far of a drive (Only like 75 - 85 miles away), or because it start's too early in the day, and I feel I don't want to wake up that early to deal with the hassle of going to do that particular event. That just started recently. My goal is to get my son through high school on the financial front. He graduates in 2027. After that, I may not even have enough of a need to continue to DJ events into the future. I don't even have interest in bothering to attend any trade shows to maybe try to help spark my interest level again :( If the excitement and want to DJ and play music for others dies, the money can only keep me hanging in there for so long.

[@bosselof1341]

I felt the same and just took a time out from music in 5 years but now I just DJ ing a few times every year just for near friends and special special events. I also do the livesound sometimes for a group called "Gärdet" and thats just fun to do.

[@briansredd]

Understand. I think we all go thru that sometimes. Much of it can be the types of jobs we are taking. After 25 years of chasing money, maybe it might do your soul some good to take a gig here & there just because the job turns you on. I have a friend who is an engineer by day & was a high end Quencenera DJ on the weekends. Last year, he wasn't feeling it anymore. Too much work & stress. He decided to retire & just did the few gigs he had left on the books. At the end of the season, he sold almost everything. Now, this year, a few jobs popped up that he actually wanted to do. No stress, fun stuff... so he's borrowing & renting gear to do these jobs. For me, it was Safehouse last year. Loved playing there & always looked forward to going in. No stress. No big prep. No proving myself every week or doing a job interview every week. Just fun & appreciation from both staff & guests. Did that casino VJ gig earlier this year & THAT was a stress job. Money was there, but management was very difficult to deal with. I just have to find that work that is artistically fulfilling here & there to help me remember why I started doing this in the first place.

[@chadnliz2k11]

Imo a great dj uses beat mixing, word play, key mixing, and just fades. I don't care if your a dope scratch guy, best mixer, suffer from the stembonic plague.....doing anything all night long gets old. It's the audio equivalent of the gigbar, sure it's cool but after 2 minutes in sound mode it just is blinks and flashes.

[@JohnSmith-kn5wt]

Let's get one thing straight. You CANNOT explain an artform. DJ'ing is an artform. Putting it into words, is not completely possible.

[@twentynone8362]

So let’s decode what he said here. If you work in a big club, you’re not a “working DJ.” If you work some place that is all EDM or hip hop, it not considered “mainstream”. What he means by “mainstream” is “old white people.”

[@groovindj]

Nonsense. A mainstream audience is just an average cross section of society, with no bias about music genres, and can be of any age/colour/religion/etc.

[@BookDJMatthewToday]

That's NOT what he said at all, actually. I think you're reading too much into this & overanalyzing a bit. When he said "mainstream" audiences, he's referring to those that are open format & outside of the club & big DJ music festival scenes. He's referring to weddings, birthday parties, bars & pubs, etc where a DJ doesn't have to stick to a specific music type/genre that a club owner might be pigeon-holing him or her into. These are open-format & more mainstream type gigs where the bulk of these audiences are more often not the club-hopping type & not just "old white people", as you assumed. They are the hard-working Americans who go to work in the morning, come home to their families at night & very rarely do they go out dancing on the weekends, unless they are attending a wedding reception somewhere. Outside of those types of events, they are generally homebodies on the weekends....either relaxing by the pool or fire pit, playing with their kids, doing yardwork or home projects, etc. They might get out to see a concert once in a blue moon, but those are rare special occasions. For the most part, these "mainstream" audiences are at home resting up over the weekend after a long workweek & if they do listen to music, it's probably a Spotify playlist or whatever while doing whatever it is they choose to do in their off time. Also....Yes, EDM & Hip Hop are NOT considered mainstream. Go onto any record pool site & you will see that these are 3 very different & separate genres from one another. Mainstream is a genre. EDM is a genre, etc. Just because someone chooses to listen to Pop, Country, 80s/90s Rock, Alternative, etc....that doesn't necessarily mean they are "old white people". They just prefer other types of music than EDM & Hip Hop, which these days, those 2 genres truly are geared more towards the teens & college kids. I kindly suggest not pigeon-holing & stereotyping people just because they don't like EDM & Hip Hop as much as you do 😉👍

[@briansredd]

That's certainly not what I meant to imply. Sometimes, people hear what they want opposed to what I actually said. I didn't mean any disrespect to anyone or their artform.

[@britneybaymont1896]

Brian S Redd has always made passive aggressive stabs at creative DJs.

[@BookDJMatthewToday]

​@britneybaymont1896 Take a moment to read Brians' comment right above yours. He never took a stab at anyone. The original commenter above that said "Let's decode what he said" simply incorrectly interpreted it that way. Never assume, as it makes an ass of u & me. See what I did there? 😉👍