What Do DJs Do On Stage? Everything You Need To Know Before Becoming A DJ

This is a question that has puzzled me for a long time, I am extremely curious about the importance of a DJ at a party. I’ve been to parties with and without a DJ, and I can see a big difference. So what do DJs do on stage? We researched some famous DJs and observed the parties come to today’s conclusions.

If you read this article because you are curious or you want to be a DJ, it will help you. What do you think the DJ will do on stage? How do DJs influence the music of the room and how do they control the music? We will answer all these questions for you today.

Many people think that DJs just need to turn on a pre-recorded track and then adjust the volume up and down. It sounds quite simple, but not sure, you know, every job has its difficulties, the DJ’s job is to fill the room with excitement. That takes a lot of musical thinking and a lot of practice.

Things DJs Do On Stage You Probably Don’t Know

“DJs are just button pushers.”

You may have heard this saying somewhere, or something similar, I must say it is not wrong, there are some famous DJs who agree with it. However, this saying is only a very small part to describe the job of a DJ. You know, everyone has their own musical taste, that breathes inspiration into the knobs, you can’t just turn around the buttons then a piece of good music will be created. More than that, you need practice, passion, a sense of music, and the ability to draw crowds.

Feel the crowd and create the track

A great DJ won’t turn on his favorite music, not just put on headphones and mix existing music together. On stage, they need to grasp the psychology of the audience very quickly to choose the right music. This is hard to do with pre-designated music and then playing at the party, you won’t know what your audience loves until you try some of the music they like. That’s what DJs do. 

Moreover, a qualified DJ can capture the music the crowd is interested in after just a few seconds of trying out the music, which makes it easier for them to lead the crowd and keep the party going. You can see, when the band plays a song that the whole audience doesn’t like, the atmosphere will become gloomy and no one cares and responds. DJs need to grasp that and have different alternative music available to constantly change the musical atmosphere of the whole room.

what do djs do on stage


The simplest thing can be said that the DJ’s job will be to keep the tracks mixed together in a smooth and gentle way, smooth and seamless so that the different types of sounds do not overlap and break the vibe of the dancefloor.

Beatmatching will be something you need to learn more to do on stage. You know, every song has different bass, rhythm, treble, you need to measure the beat per minute and make sure that the 2 songs are at the same speed before being remixed, otherwise, they will into a mess.

With the old DJs, you know, they would have headphones in their ears, one side they would listen to one track, and the other side would play the other, to make sure that the two tracks would have the same speed. same. In the old days when there was no digital, we would have to rotate the knob manually and make adjustments more difficult, but now it is much improved. However, you also need to practice this part for a long time to master it, so you can start here.

what do djs do on stage

Digital Beatmatching

Reading the above I wrote, you will understand that nowadays DJs do not need to manually adjust with headphones anymore, they will adjust by eye and by parameters displayed on the digital screen. So the exact mixing of the audio will be accurate to 0.01BPM, so mixing the tracks together won’t be difficult.

What’s more, the control panel will also have a sync function, so you won’t even need to manually adjust the mix.

what do djs do on stage

Transitions of tracks

When the tracks are played at the same speed, the DJ can adjust which music fades in and which fades out. You can use the intro of one track and the outro of the other to put it together. These two parts are the most recommended because they will have the least amount of voice and the least busyness, it won’t leave you with a lot to choose from. You should be careful with adding vocals to the track, as it may not match the beat and break the flow of the song.

DJs often choose songs that sound the most natural at the beginning, which will start smoothly, and when you add songs with different tones in, it will be easier for you to mix together. Today people use a channel equalizer for this, but in the past DJs would use a fader.

what do djs do on stage

Signaling the transition – stir the crowd

” 1 … 2 …3 ” do you find this sound familiar? Every time you hear the DJ counting, you will know right away that you will dance with the crowd. That’s how DJs signal they’re about to change the tone of a song. Usually, there will be four bars of music for you to move in succession, and after each transition, the music is louder than before. 

The track will usually have 16, 32, or 64 bars, it’s your job to determine how many bars are between the different pieces of music. You’ll get to play around with these tunes to your heart’s content, usually, the music will be kept on top like an inflated balloon to keep the atmosphere as boisterous as possible.

what do djs do on stage

Handling technical problems

Technical errors are not uncommon on stage, and even professional DJs cannot avoid them. There will be many times when the power cord connecting the speaker to the control panel will be loose, or your mic will have problems, confusing you, but that’s okay, this is normal, you should work with this often regularly and practice chasing like on stage. In order for this not to happen, you also need to choose good speakers specifically for DJs.

While on stage, try to capture the pulse of the audience and follow it, if there is a technical error with the knobs on the control panel, make sure you always have a backup plan in mind. , for example, a pre-mixed playlist, redundant wiring, or a backup console.

what do djs do on stage

Building a set

Set here we want to talk about as a journey of music, you know it is not enough to mix songs together, you need to mix them into a set, a reasonable journey for listeners to go. from low to high. You should choose the right opening and end for the show. The highest part you should also choose songs that can make the whole audience stand up.

Just as a complete song has a beginning and an end with a climax, so does a musical set. A complete DJ can create connections and smooth transitions between songs. For this, you need to practice and try out many different genres of music and see which one suits which one. Moreover, you also need to choose a great time to switch between different sets, so that the audience does not lose interest when they are in the climax.

what do djs do on stage

Working with the vocal and the show’s MC

If you want to have a performance that requires coordination between singers and program MCs, you need to discuss it with them in advance. There are parties, I see that instead of DJ, music MC will help you manage the audience’s excitement. There are times when the party is too big, the audience is too busy and they flood the stage, affecting your work. So you need partners to help you manage, and talk to them if there’s any part you need them to stir up the crowd, great, right?

Usually, the DJ will do everything himself but there are new DJs, you don’t know how to handle a big stage and hall, then you need big support. My advice is to ask experienced DJs in the industry, and they will give you the most realistic experience.

what do djs do on stage

Adjust EQs

Adjusting the EQ here is that you will adjust the balance of the music. During a live music broadcast, instrument players can adjust the volume to the singer’s voice, but when the DJ plays a set, you won’t be able to ask them to play down the guitar.

So, you are the one to adjust the balance in the track, you will need to adjust the volume knob in the DJ control panel. The control panel will allow you to work with the sounds of different instruments and it will make it possible for you to adjust the bass and treble of the music.

For example, when you are playing a part of a song that has a lot of pianos, you want to bring out the piano sound, then you will need to use the EQ knob to be able to create the sound you want to emphasize. Practice and consider which EQ knob you really want to adjust. This part, I cannot go into depth and guide you right in this article.

Entertain the audience

The audience interaction is really important, music is key while performing on stage, but you need some other skills to get the audience’s attention. So what does the DJ do on stage to achieve this?

First, if you want to transmit energy to others, you must be full of energy and ready to burn with the stage. DJ on stage they will prepare a very good spirit and ready their own ways to communicate with the audience. Often they will repeat a chorus of the song for the audience to follow along. Otherwise, they will leave the audience with a short sentence for the audience to answer, then they will play the appropriate music that has been prepared.

There are many ways to DJ to get the audience’s attention, but the best way is to use your own energy and body language to convey it to everyone. Just follow the music yourself, the audience will see your enthusiasm and will follow.

what do djs do on stage

Create the stage spotlight

Often the colorful stages will attract a large audience, this is not the main job of the DJ but if you want, you can do it. You just need to prepare LED lights with speakers that can flash to the beat of the music, and it will help you create extremely eye-catching stage lights.

Stages are often prepared with very loud led lights, but few people prepare the LED lights to flash to the beat of the music, but the DJ’s music will become extremely wonderful if there are more lights. So here’s a little DJ work that you might need to do while on stage.

what do djs do on stage


Do you find what a DJ does on stage is different from your imagination? What do DJs do on stage is a question we get a lot. The data for writing the article is compiled by us from many sources and many different authors, so you may find it a little overlapping somewhere, but that’s okay, the more references the better. are not.

I believe, a lot of you before think that DJs just need to get on stage and adjust the knobs, but actually there is a lot of things they need to do before and after they go on stage. You should also prepare yourself the necessary props for DJ such as USB, speakers, control panel, mics, headphones.

This article will be very helpful if you are curious about DJing and you are a DJ beginner, it will give you an in-depth look at what you need to practice before going on stage. If you have any questions please leave a comment below. We’ll also give you a short video of a DJ you might be interested in:

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