Eli5 – What is a DJ like Tiesto actually doing when performing a live show?

Question

I don’t really know much about the process of remixing a song but I can imagine it is a process that is like editing a video – layering tracks, adding beats, etc. They are clearly not doing that kind of editing live so they are basically playing something that’s already had some amount of that already done.

So what are they doing live besides maybe mixing between songs?

I just don’t understand what all the knob fiddling is about.

In: 285

Answer 1

The music is composed of multiple elements each with their own instruments and sound. Some of them are looping elements to create rhythm and some are triggered manually to add highlight or voice to the music. When you are mixing a song you are adjusting the values between these different tracks, starting and stopping the tracks at the right points, modulating the tracks in various ways, etc. And when a DJ is performing he is doing this live in front of the audience. Even if he is performing an already finished piece he can still be a bit creative with it live on stage and follow the mood of the audience. Maybe it fits a bit better to extend one part of the track a bit more, maybe the timing of the dropp can be a bit sooner with the current audience, maybe the buildup can happen over a longer time, perhaps it would fit better to go back to another part of the track and improvise an ending instead of the planned ending since this audience responded better to the first part rather then the one used for the end, etc. They can change and modify whatever they need and create new elements or remove old ones as they see fit. Sometimes you even get to hear music that is yet to be released as it is a work in progress, the DJ might be trying it out for the audience to see how they respond. There is a lot of things which can be done differently in a live performance then a recorded one.

That being said it is fairly easy for a DJ to just put on a prepared playlist and just do nothing for the rest of the night. It can be hard for most of the audience to notice when this is done. And most DJs do play prerecorded tracks for part of the night so they can get some rest in between their performances, but the music can not stop.