If you’ve decided to become a DJ, there are a lot of things you need to know. From the types of equipment available, to how to properly put together a studio, to the many different DJ performance techniques to best perform, the amount of things you need to know to effectively pull off a gig is surprisingly extensive.
However, one of the most important things (by far) that you’ll ever need to know is how to best crowd interaction with the audience itself. So, how do DJs interact with Crowds? Like beatmatching or scratching, can a DJ learn how to read and work with a crowd?
Whether you’ve seen it first hand, heard of it from your friends, or (worse yet) dealt with this situation personally, you probably know of a DJ career that completely bombed their set.
And while they could have done poorly because they weren’t good, it’s much more likely that they simply played the wrong genre; and the reason they played the wrong genre was probably due to them not knowing how to properly crowd interaction with the crowd and put out what they wanted to hear.
Without question, being able to read the crowd and know what they want to hear is a vitally important aspect of being a DJ. It may seem unfair, but, if it’s a question of playing music that you like and playing music that your audience likes, you need to always defer to your audience. A DJ that’s so wrapped up in their little world isn’t nearly as romantic as one would think.
In reality, if you’ve paid money to go to their show only to hear stuff that you just aren’t vibing with, it can downright suck!
In this guide, we’ll break down how you can effectively read the crowd and know what to look out for, gauge what they want to hear, and how to make sure that they stay engaged with the music you’re putting out.
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How to Read a Crowd: The Cold Truth
Reading a dance floor properly is more involved than most think. You may think it’s a simple matter of looking at whether they’re happy or sad and making a judgment call. In reality, it’s not nearly so simple.
The sad fact of the matter is that crowd reading is much more something you intuitively “have” as opposed to something you can outright “learn”.
Yes, you’ll pick up some useful DJ tips you can implement now, but you need to know that if you don’t have “it”, it’s just going to be harder for you than someone that does.
Still, there are some useful tips you can use to better position yourself so that you can more effectively read the crowd and put out the right music for the right audience.
Reading a crowd will certainly develop through experience.
Tips For Reading A Crowd
Tip #1. Guage The Crowd Size
One of the first things you can do when properly gauging the crowd is to get an accurate look at the number of people you’re going to be performing in front of.
Generally, much smaller crowds allow you to get away with a lot more compared to bigger groups, which might require you to fall more in line with what they want.
Before performing, take a minute to look at how many people have shown up as well as how many look like they plan to show up. If the venue hasn’t filled up already, see how often new people are coming in to fill it up.
If the answer is “not many”, you should consider that this will be a smaller crowd rather than a big one.
Tip #2. Be Familiar with Multiple Genres
The next tip is that you should be aware of many different genres of music. In fact, not only should you be aware of the different music genres, you should be as well-versed in them as possible.
The simple fact of the matter is that if you only focus on one type of music genre, you’re not going to confidently perform at others in the same way.
That means, if you prefer music with a more electronic emphasis, you can easily get stumped if asked to play the music that puts more focus on funk or hip-hop.
By learning as many genres as possible, you become more capable of performing music in that specific genre, but you also become better at reading the crowd when it specifically comes to that type of music.
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Tip #3. Know What Can Be Played
Another useful tip to consider is to be aware of what music you can play.
Now, what I mean by this is that during certain events it may be expected that all DJs that perform are playing House music.
This can be a serious issue if you start playing Hip-Hop or Disco.
Again, people remember that what you want will always come second to what the audience wants. If you know that they’ve come to hear Deep House, play Deep House for them.
On the other hand, if you know that the event is open to any genre, know that you have a lot more options available. Even still, you want to be on the lookout for what the general vibe is.
Just because you “can” play anything doesn’t mean the crowd necessarily wants you to.
Tip #4. Spy On The Crowd
While another DJ is performing or a few minutes before your set starts, you should spend a bit of time “spying on the crowd”.
This isn’t anything too crazy and just consists of watching the crowd either from the backstage or spending some time being among the crowd itself.
This allows you to better see how they are liking what is currently being played so that you know first-hand what songs they’re most interested in hearing.
Simply put, by spending time being around your audience up close and personal, you can better determine what songs are exciting to them and what songs they are eager to skip through. This affords you more aware of what will make your DJ set pop instead of a thud.
Tip #5. Do Your Homework
Quite possibly the easiest of our pro tips to carry out.
Do your homework. Make sure you know exactly what to expect from the crowd before you even get to the venue. This is easily done via adequate preparation and research.
If you are unsure of what type of people and audience you will be playing simply jump online and do a social media and Google search of the event you will be playing at.
You will soon pick up some valuable inside information on what to expect from the dance floor demographic you will soon be performing in front of.
Tip #6. Talk With the Promoter
And lastly, don’t forget to talk with the event promoter and gauge his understanding of the crowd and their expectations. Out of anyone, the promoter will know the crowd the best and will be able to share with you their preferences, likes, and dislikes.
Don’t be afraid of doing this either!
The promoter wants the best for his crowd and a DJ proactively engaging about the event beforehand, and not just turning up on the night, will certainly tick some boxes!
Tip #7. Play Correctly for Your Set Time
If you are playing a warm-up set then play a warm-up set! The last thing a promoter or venue wants is a DJ hammering out all the latest Beatport top 10 far too early in the evening.
If you are a headliner playing a headline time set then that is ok, but if you are not then it is critical you adjust your sound and style of play to the DJ set time and expectations of the most people around you.
Do not be that DJ!
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Reading a Dance floor: Injecting Hype
As with knowing how to best read the crowd, you also want to know how to get them excited and back on their feet if the dance floor is not vibing.
If, as an example, you’re the following DJ that’s just started their DJ set on the stage, you’re performing to a less energy-filled audience, or the last DJ left everyone in a “ho-hum” state before you, knowing how to get the energy hyped back up is both great for your immediate performance, but also solidifies you as a good DJ to everyone there.
Tip #1. Be Musically Creative
The first big thing you can do to get the party pumping again plays some super popular music that everyone recognizes.
This can either be the original mix or your remix of the track. Either way, don’t be afraid of being seen as a “crowd-pleaser”.
Remember, when it comes to deciding whether to make yourself happy or your audience, your audience should always come first.
Please remember, this tip is not giving you permission to start dropping a set full of dance floor anthems.
Pick your tracks professionally and creatively, especially if you are the warm-up DJ.
Tip #2. BPM
Another good thing you can immediately do to get people having fun is by raising a track mix’s beat per minute.
Increasing the BPM of a track mix, especially if done gradually, naturally raises the energy level of the room, with people eager to match the energy of the new track.
Remember to keep the increase gradual and not too jarring. If you’re going from a super slow BPM mix to something three times as fast, it can cause your crowd a serious bout of whiplash.
Tip #3. FXs and Samples
Lastly, if you’re using a DJ controller, don’t be afraid of throwing out some different effects, samples, and filters to change up the pace and flow of the music.
This can naturally disrupt any “monotony” that may have crept in without you or the crowd’s noticing.
It happens.
Gearing this up not only changes the energy of the room immediately, but it also lets the audience know that you’re the one in control of the music and that you are the one that you’re the deciding factor on if they’re listening to something fun or something that isn’t.
Rather than a bad feeling, expect much of the crowd to appreciate this same level of control and knowledge that they have a competent great DJ at the helm.
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How Do DJs Interact With Crowds? Takeaway
We finish on our ‘how do DJs interact with crowds takeaway’.
As mentioned before, of all the things that truly matter during a performance, what truly is important for a DJ is understanding the crowd and knowing how to make sure they are having a good time.
After all, if they aren’t having fun, what’s the point?
By understanding how to properly gauge the crowd, by understanding what they want and how to best keep them engaged with the music, you can set yourself apart from the other DJs out there who, while technically skilled and more well known, are ‘audio crowd killers’.
