The “Flow”
Often my DJing has been described as “having a good flow.” Though how I DJ has morphed over the past few years, I found myself explaining to friends two specific concepts I think about when choosing songs to play. The first is the BPM and the second is the Level of Energy. I seem to apply these two concepts consistently, and therefore want to share with you the details about these concepts that I believe help me create a good “flow.”
BPM
First, note the definition of wave components:
Next, let me show you a BPM graph of two sets I’ve recently DJed:
Do you see the following characteristics:
- BPM chart looks like one large wave.
- The peaks trend upward initially making the crest of the large wave, then downward.
- The troughs trend downward throughout the entire large wave.
- The amplitude trends larger initially, then smaller.
After looking at other BPM graphs of my DJing, I have found they share the above characteristics almost all the time. Of course there are exceptions here and there. I believe that by choosing a song with a BPM that varies as such allows me to create a nice “flow” or wave in my DJing.
In addition to considering the BPM which results in the waves above, I also take into account the “Level of Energy.” For example, after I play a song, my next song will have either a lower or higher level of energy. Choosing songs this way also results in a Level of Energy wave, in addition to the BPM wave. For the most part, I avoid playing songs with similar energy twice in a row. Here are examples of song characteristics throughout my set:
- Faster, higher-energy: Fireball by Pitbull.
- Faster, lower-energy: Firestone (Acoustic Piano Mix) by Neena Goh.
- Slower, higher-energy: Mistaken by Marian Hill.
- Slower, lower-energy: A Simple Go by Mar.
Besides varying the Level of Energy, I also try to avoid making a Level of Energy transition between songs that’s too drastic. For example, I usually don’t play a high-energy song after a low-energy song because it can be a bit shocking. Similarly, I usually don’t play a low-energy song after a high-energy song since that can resemble “crashing.”
The End Result
To summarize, I use the current song’s BPM to decide on a BPM range to consider. Once I’m in that BPM range I’ll then use the Level of Energy to further eliminate songs. After taking a few other things into consideration, I pick a song to play next and observe how the dancers react.
Is this enough to be a great DJ? Probably not, but I believe that it can be a great start. With the frequent inquiries and the reasonable success I’ve had as a West Coast Swing DJ, I decided I want to start sharing some of the things I think about. BPM and Level of Energy are just the beginning. Other concepts come into play when I pick songs, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the future! :)
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
