How Long Should a DJ Play a Song?

There are many challenges a DJ has to face, but the big challenge is how long should a DJ play a song? A DJ must understand his/her audience. Sometimes, the audience demands different types of music, such as short or quick music. Some audiences demand extended DJ mixes. Therefore, a DJ has to read his audience and play the mixes according to the crowd’s reaction.

In this article, we will discuss how long should a DJ play a song and will give all the answers.

How Long Should a DJ Play a Song?

It depends on the event. The DJ has to decide what type of audience it is. To determine the kind of audience, play some mixes of 3 to 4 minutes. This will help a DJ to assess the audience’s diverse music tastes. 

A DJ has to create a piece of dynamic and engaging music for the audience to grab the complete attention of the audience.

The wrong and right amount of time for the various genres will also affects the attention of the audience.

What is the Average Length of a Song?

• If you are playing pop songs so the length should be between 3 to 4 minutes. 
• If we talk about rock songs so the length should be between 5 to seven minutes. 
• Jazz songs should contain the length of approximately 7 to 8 minutes. 
• The classical songs should contain the length 10 minutes

How Many Songs?

How many songs should a DJ play? This is an essential question for a DJ. First, play music according to the audience’s demand, then grab their attention. If one audience loves the genre you played and some say it’s ok. Then, the first audience demands the song to play longer.

You must find the balance and determine what your audience wants to hear. To perform live in front of an audience, a DJ must keep various music in the library. Check the audience’s attention after playing one song. If the audience is enjoying it, then let the track play.

If the people are losing interest, slowly cut off the song and if the people are not enjoying this, it might be because the song you are playing could not be more interesting.

How Long Does it Take to Mix a Song?

Well, it depends on which song you are mixing; before mixing the song, organize your tracks properly. The mixing is entirely dependent on the size of the project. If the project contains 15 to 20 tracks, it will be arranged within half an hour. Meanwhile, the editing takes a long time. For example, a project of 20 to 30 tracks can be edited in 60 minutes. In editing, many things, such as vocal tuning and music correction, need to be set. The average editing time is 3 to 4 hours.

Musical Structure

This can greatly impact the audience of what types of songs a DJ plays during the summer and how long does it take to make a song. If you are playing high rock and roll or the high-energy songs come with high bass buildups and drops.

There are other genres as well, such as tech. Tech acquires repetitive beats. These repetitive beats help in the mixing of the different tracks. Playing the tech music means playing long mixes rather than cutting music after one or two minutes. This means you are going in and out of the music during the entire run time.

You want to grab the audience’s attention, so play a track with hyped anticipatory bass music.

YouTube Mixes 

Many DJs upload their mixes on YouTube to gain views, likes and subscribers to grow their channel. But the YouTube mix is designed by its owner in his/her own taste. Playing someone’s YouTube mix on live performance can cause problems during the live play because these mixes are made on their own genres, not according to your live audience, what they are demanding at the moment.

The YouTube mixes are not applicable outside of YouTube. 

Live Mixes

Live mixes during the concert, depending on the equipment available, such as sequencers and synthesizers. If the DJ plays his tracks live, he should perform the vocals and beat the drum machines perfectly to engage the audience. 

Beat Matching 

Beat matching is the tremendous technique where a DJ aligns the beats of a couple of songs. But the DJ should keep in mind that the tempo and beat position of both tracks have to be perfectly matched. Matching the beat is a vital skill in DJing. It is a great way to engage the audience towards your music. It is great to cut the track.

Methods of Beat Matching

There are two methods of beat matching given below.

1. Traditional

2. Software

Traditional (by ear)

DJs usually match the beat entirely by ear. Traditional beat has an advantage in that it offers the cleanest and most lined-up beats for a couple of tracks.

If you are a beginner, finding a relatable track that matches your project’s tune will take some time. As you do the traditional beat-matching day by day, you will become a pro at it, and ultimately, it will take less time to match the tune, and the audience will also appreciate your pace.

Software (SYNCING)

The easiest method of beat matching is software syncing because DJ uses the SYNC button. This syncing button allows you to align the beat properly.

Both methods are suitable for beat matching, but the software (sync) has an edge because you can mix a couple of songs and add a song during the matching of songs.

Conclusion 

DJing is an art which you can learn through practice. A DJ knows how long should a dj play a song. It depends upon the audience what they are demanding at the time. Understand your audience and then choose a great mix to engage them. For entertaining, a DJ should know the beat matching and methods to do beat matching, which I mentioned above. Most of the DJs do not prefer YouTube mixing because the channel owner did the mixing by his/her thinking and genres. If you perform live, your audience may demand different music than the YouTube mix.

FAQs