Ableton Forum

i was just wondering if its considered "cheating" if ive been practicing and find songs that work great together one after another and write them down on a set list that i would later use live. i think its great because i can almost pre-plan where i want to bring the crowd musically but on the other hand i kinda lose that connection with the crowd in way by not knowing how theyre going to react on what i play.

what do u guys think?

um, thats called planning your set, i do it everytime.

lol prwned

i think its funnier that the question has now transferred from "is djing with ableton cheating?" to "is planning a dj set ahead of time in ableton cheating?"

fookin prawns!

DJ Z-Trip has been doing this for AGES!!! And I doubt if there's anyone out there who considers him a cheater.

Obvious Alias wrote:DJ Z-Trip has been doing this for AGES!!! And I doubt if there's anyone out there who considers him a cheater.

i consider him a shitty dj though.

writting little notes on the sleeve can do the trick, while keeping your musical freedoom... lots of dj's are also using the "Mixed in key" software to organise there playlists.

sorry to change the topic but has anyone used 'mixed in key' ? it looks sick! ez to use? make a difference in your sets? im curious

i always mix in key, but i have to do it manually

I didnt DJ any other way. respect to crowd pleasing, but my sets were MY sets.

Live changed everything for me, and yes when I perform I will have a heavily prepared set, but still the ability to change style on the fly.

ajargy wrote:sorry to change the topic but has anyone used 'mixed in key' ? it looks sick! ez to use? make a difference in your sets? im curious

yeah a friend of mine has it, its very easy to use just run your tunes through and it adds a number 1-12 + a letter A or B to to tracks title

the basic idea is that you can mix A to B if the number is the same or go one number higher or one number lower if the letter is the same.

so for instance a 5A will mix with a 5A 5B 6A 4A no doubt their is some advanced manouvers as well.

using ableton live is cheating.
planning a set list is cheating.
pre warping tracks is cheating.
using mixed in key is cheating.

im a big fat cheater.

There's a pretty easy question that will help answer the 'am I cheating if I....' question.

Do you feel like you are cheating?

It's all subjective, what feels like cheating to one is perfectly acceptable to another. So basically do what makes you feel like you gave your best efforts and got the most enjoyment from doing.

Sorry to say it but...being a DJ is cheating!

You can have all the stardom of a live act but without having to put all the hard work in, it's just playing 'someone elses' music.



(and before you all lynch me...I've been spinning / DJ'ing for nearly 17 years!)