Why DJs Need To Play “Tune-Up” Gigs

Recently, I was helping a Complete DJ Course student with how to best prepare for playing in a big club about nine months from now, and I shared with him the concept of DJing what I call a “tune-up” gig (or gigs).

I think this is a useful concept for anyone who’s planning to perform for the first time in public to keep in mind, so I thought I would share it with you here as well.

What are “tune-up” gigs?

A tune-up gig is essentially where you play in public at some point between where you are now and a big event you plan to play at, in order to get used to what it’s like to actually perform: Things like travelling, setting your gear up, having everything positioned slightly differently because it’s not how you’re used to it at home, just the volume of the venue, of course having people around you, personal nerves and jitters about the whole thing, playing that kind of music, playing for that length of time, and so on.

Compared to practising at home, all of these things are going to be different when you perform in public, so it’s a really good idea to add in these tune-up gigs to your schedule as you lead up to something really important.

This is something that will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who’s ever (for instance) trained for a marathon race, because hopefully you wouldn’t turn up at the start line of New York or London without having at least one or two experiences of, say, a park run or a 5k.

Read this next: 6 Ways To Spot DJs At Running Races

We’re talking something where you’re getting used to having other runners there, you’re getting used to putting your kit on, and you’re getting used to the adrenaline and nerves of being in a race…but of course it’s not as important, because it’s not the one that you’re really training for. I think this concept carries over really nicely to DJing.

How to get “tune-up” gigs

There’s more about it in the accompanying video (where I also ask you to share your thoughts on tune-up gigs – on ones that you’ve played or ones that you could slot in), but essentially, we’re not thinking about having to hustle for extra performances, which we all know are hard to come by.

It could just be playing for friends and family, maybe DJing a private event, or throwing a free party for people. Really, it’s just ticking off a few of those boxes that I mentioned – things like setting your gear up, playing for that length of time, having a crowd involved in what the music is going to be, and so on.

It really doesn’t have to be close in style or scale to the main event you’re going for (after all, a 5k park run is not the same as the New York Marathon!), yet it will give you an awful lot of the skills that you’re going to be calling on when you get to your “A race”.

Share Your Thoughts!

Do let me know about your tune-up gigs either underneath this article or in the comments under the video, and if you want to learn more about how we approach teaching the five areas of DJing (of which this belongs in the fourth, “Performing”), take a look at our global best-selling book on DJing, Rock The Dancefloor!, or the all-new Complete DJ Course.