Seems like absolutely nothing is changing to the music when they’re doing all of this. Is it just for show?
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The main thing a DJ does is mix in the next track so it sounds flawless. So that involves listening to both tracks, getting the beat in sync, and adjusting volume to get them sounds matched.
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This video is a good demonstration of what basic record switching/transitioning involves
Some DJs do much more and actively mix several tracks, levels, filters, effects.
Others literally have a playlist and are there to provide a more visual source for listeners.
Depends, if its fully prerecorded they can fake it. Most often, its song and sample selection, loading, beat matching, key changing, filtering for transitions or drops, adding effects. It is waaaay harder than it looks and takes a lot of preparation and skill.
They cue up a single lossless audio file, then gyrate around like they are doing something.
Musical performance is dead.
They’re getting the next track ready to transition and maybe changing the speed of the current track to match the next. The headphones they wearing usually is the next song they’re prepping
Depends on the type of DJ.
A wedding DJ for example (which I used to work as), if I’m interacting with the equipment, I’m either adjusting the levels of the current song (bass, treble, volume etc), or more likely I’m choosing and then preparing the next song. A smooth transition from one song to the next is actually quite complicated to get right, the process is:
* Find the correct track. Something that matches the current mood and pace, and is within 10 bps of the current song (anything more/less than this will result in a noticeable beat sync).
* Find the correct entry point. I need roughly 6 seconds of repetition that isn’t noticeable (no lyrics) so I can create a loop to transition into.
* Beat match the loop to the current song (so the percusion is in sync). Used to have to do this manually, now software does it for you.
* Transition. 6-12 seconds in which I fade in new song (lower treble and volume so the entry isn’t noticeable), fade up new song (increase treble/volume of new song), fade out old song (lower volume, but relative to the new song so the overall volume doesn’t drop), completely transition to new song by leveling it correctly and removing the loop, and then step up/down the beat to the original bps of the new song.
This is all for standard songs. DJs who do their own mashups etc would have more to do. Honestly, a diligent wedding DJ spends at most half their time of the equipment. A lazy one could get away with a quarter.
Performing DJs (big names), a lot of it is just showmanship and entertaining the crowd.
For the record, if people are actually using those buttons, it could be likely any of the following things:
-Changing the EQ (making it sound very thin or muffled, usually to make the next part of the song sound more intense)
-Changing the tempo (making the song faster or slower)
-Changing it from one song to another (either by making one song go quiet while the other one becomes louder, sudden transitions, or even playing both at the same time)
-Adding effects like reverb or delay (echo)
-Choosing to either let you listen to something, or just them (the DJ) listen to something, so they can prepare the next song and line it up with the beat of the previous song.
Mostly, all the dancing and twirling is just for show. When they’re actually doing something, they tend to move around a lot less, and look really focused on what they’re doing.
My favourite DJ/producer has a great article on his website on what he does on stage:
https://www.bassnectar.net/2012/06/pushing-buttons-or-pushing-boundaries/
The answer same short not simple. A DJ can be doing very little, but a good DJ is getting the next track ready, transitioning, layering vocal samples on top of the track, mixing, etc. A lot of uninformed people say that a DJ just pushed buttons. Well, so does a pianist. It’s the way they push those buttons and turn those knobs that makes what they do special.
It depends on the type of DJ. I’m reading the story of King Hubby, inventor of the dub, who worked with U Roy. In that book they’re explaining the role of the DJ in Sound Systems, which is, additionally to choosing the next song and the preparing the transition, also about commenting the song, making its promotion, fading the voices or the sound behind the vocal part to end up making the sound unique.
But that is only in the reggae/sound system cases.
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