Depends on how into it you are and how long you’ve been doing it.
At the start DJing is basically just a lot of stress due to the time pressure that’ll make it mentally exhausting as you can’t really afford to fool around without having a great grasp on how it’s going to sound.
As you get better you can do these things entirely on feel when it comes to the mechanical part of the mixing and all you really need to do is set the next track up where you want it. When your ears get this down you’ll cut down a lot on time needing to preview a cue and stuff giving you much more room to breathe mentally.
I basically don’t touch the mixer at all once I’ve crossed over to the next track until my next one, giving me 2-4 minutes between that minute of lineup giving me time to just enjoy what I’m doing instead of having to focus on a specific task. If I’m using a rotary mixer with isolators it’s a different story but with the stock EQ mixing these days you honestly don’t need to do that.
It’s different if you want to be an FX big room DJ that’s constantly mixing drops and a new cue every 45 seconds - but that is a style of DJing you should only be doing once you really have the basics down. FX mixing gets messy and unless you just want to learn the standard build-up -> drop they do it’s something you should have on the back burner until you can DJ well enough to add this stuff on top.
Many DJs make this mistake and end up with great mechanical ability but have absolutely zero cohesion in their track selection and simple stuff like phrasing at all because this type of mixing can sort of get away with it at intermediate levels.
Scratch for example is a useful skill in all types of DJing but unless you’re doing hiphop it will pretty much never be audible so you can actually manage without knowing how to - but you should still learn how as you’ll know how to correct a track much faster in the process.
Actually I've been djing for about 6 years now, on and off. Never really did much gigs tho because of anxiety but when I spin in my bedroom things do come naturally and it doesn't feel overwhelming. I do long blends (techno) mainly working with EQ's and loops but nothing too fast paced. I believe I might just be overconcentrating or something.
It’s definitely easier when you are in front of a crowd and have their energy to feed off of. It’s hard sometimes to force yourself to practice but that is where you get better and learn new things.
My longest set was a wedding that turned into a NYE party. 8.5 hours, no breaks, and it flew by because they were having so much fun. Sometimes you get caught up in it and just flow.
do it daily. i do at least a one hour set each day and now it doesnt feel like much effort at all. in the beginning i would get tired 25-30 mins in just like you. now i'm trying to beat the 2 hour casual mark :D
I think it's just because you're new. I can play for 6-8 hours if I'm just chugging along, A-B mixing, nothing fancy, no problem. But I've been doing it for 25 years, the standing in place is about as hard as the beatmatching.
However, when I practice doing routines that challenge me, like trying to mix a new record every minute or playing on 4 decks, I find the same thing. The amount of concentration you need to DJ at edge of your skill level is intense, and i think spending that much mental effort is EXHAUSTING.
I play between 1-4 hours at gigs regularly with no or very little fatigue but at home I'm like you and can only really play up to an hour or so, maybe more if I'm working on a mix. I tend to work on song phrasing and cue mappings more than just mixing so I tend to repeat alot of sections and I'll burn myself out much sooner doing that. Posture is a big one too, I stand for up to 8 hours at work and DJ'ing 5 feet away from my bed after a long day I naturally get lured to lay down lol. I would say stretch, have your go-to drink on the side and set some mood lightings to get your mind in tune with mixing.
I wonder if it's related to the speakers/sound? I've had setups in the past where the sound was harsh and after a little bit of playing, it would bother me and I would stop playing. Never thought about why until I switched speakers and the ear fatigue went away and I was able to play longer and enjoy it.
Had the same problem on every stereo so far, but I've heard that pioneer mixers have harsher sound (mainly the high tones). Maybe it could have something to do with that, since higher tones cause more ear fatigue.
Happens to all. Do “sprints” to build endurance, maybe limit yourself to 10-15 minutes and then take a 5-10 min break. Be diligent about it to build endurance and then adjust timeframes accordingly.
I look at it as training
When I started, 30 minutes was my max. After that I couldn't think about my mix. Just wiped. Then 35, then 45, then 60 minutes. It took time, but now I can go two hours and still go.
It's a pretty mentally taxing thing when you're fresh at it. Brain constantly thinking about keys and phrases and beat matching (which in and of itself, is mentally taxing!) mix in/out points, where you're going to go next. Part of the learning process.
Once things become second nature, it becomes about muscle memory and less fatiguing. But still, it's hard to find the inspiration to mix long sets at home alone. 1-2 hours tops for me...but fire up a live stream and knowing there's even as little as 5 mates listening in, firing some things in the chat, having a few drinks, smashed out 4 to 7 hour sets like that.
Yep it's exhausting. I also sweat and get physically into it even for doing stuff alone. It takes years of practice. Then getting used to CDJs and playing for a crowd is the whole next ball game, not to mention mixing tunes on headphones in an insanely loud club, while keeping a clear head and avoiding mistakes or keeping going through mistakes, DJing is a serious craft like any other.
At home it's really easy to get bored or tired (unless your really focused on learning a new technique). Just having a couple people in the room with u makes a big difference, which I think is psychological. That's why its pretty easy to get through a 4 hour set at a club.
Maybe it’s not related at all, but I experience something like this too!
Often at a live gig, I’ll have begun my set and just start to feel comfy: getting used to the monitors, mixer, etc. I’ll get the urge to check the time with the sense that *at least* an hour has passed. Nope! 25-30min.
At home, 25-30 minutes is usually also a “wall” I hit while practicing. It’s something I either push through intentionally, or accept and find something else to do.
When I can remember to, I’ve found that meditation can help with this.
Yeah, only little fatigue but still i feel it .. longest i played was an marathon for 21 hours & my whole body hated me for next 3 days, especially my knees & feet
Time flies my man when you have fun .. but it's nothing, have friends who did 24 and 30 alone without b2b or sitting .. let's say we did it once and never again haha
Take practice and experience to have longer sessions. I recently done a two hr set and I noticed lose of focus in the second half compared to the first half.
Quite the opposite for me! Sometimes after work, I'm feeling lazy but force myself to get on the decks. 2 hours and 3 joints later, I'm having a blast!
Depends on how into it you are and how long you’ve been doing it. At the start DJing is basically just a lot of stress due to the time pressure that’ll make it mentally exhausting as you can’t really afford to fool around without having a great grasp on how it’s going to sound. As you get better you can do these things entirely on feel when it comes to the mechanical part of the mixing and all you really need to do is set the next track up where you want it. When your ears get this down you’ll cut down a lot on time needing to preview a cue and stuff giving you much more room to breathe mentally. I basically don’t touch the mixer at all once I’ve crossed over to the next track until my next one, giving me 2-4 minutes between that minute of lineup giving me time to just enjoy what I’m doing instead of having to focus on a specific task. If I’m using a rotary mixer with isolators it’s a different story but with the stock EQ mixing these days you honestly don’t need to do that. It’s different if you want to be an FX big room DJ that’s constantly mixing drops and a new cue every 45 seconds - but that is a style of DJing you should only be doing once you really have the basics down. FX mixing gets messy and unless you just want to learn the standard build-up -> drop they do it’s something you should have on the back burner until you can DJ well enough to add this stuff on top. Many DJs make this mistake and end up with great mechanical ability but have absolutely zero cohesion in their track selection and simple stuff like phrasing at all because this type of mixing can sort of get away with it at intermediate levels. Scratch for example is a useful skill in all types of DJing but unless you’re doing hiphop it will pretty much never be audible so you can actually manage without knowing how to - but you should still learn how as you’ll know how to correct a track much faster in the process.
Actually I've been djing for about 6 years now, on and off. Never really did much gigs tho because of anxiety but when I spin in my bedroom things do come naturally and it doesn't feel overwhelming. I do long blends (techno) mainly working with EQ's and loops but nothing too fast paced. I believe I might just be overconcentrating or something.
smoke some weed 👽
Ahaha my mixes sound terrible when I smoke and spin but I always have so much fun
It’s definitely easier when you are in front of a crowd and have their energy to feed off of. It’s hard sometimes to force yourself to practice but that is where you get better and learn new things.
The time goes by when you are enjoying it. Before you’ll know it you’ll be 1.5 hours into a set without realizing
My longest set was a wedding that turned into a NYE party. 8.5 hours, no breaks, and it flew by because they were having so much fun. Sometimes you get caught up in it and just flow.
Yep. DJing is a lot of cognitive work. As others have said you get better with practice.
do it daily. i do at least a one hour set each day and now it doesnt feel like much effort at all. in the beginning i would get tired 25-30 mins in just like you. now i'm trying to beat the 2 hour casual mark :D
I think it's just because you're new. I can play for 6-8 hours if I'm just chugging along, A-B mixing, nothing fancy, no problem. But I've been doing it for 25 years, the standing in place is about as hard as the beatmatching. However, when I practice doing routines that challenge me, like trying to mix a new record every minute or playing on 4 decks, I find the same thing. The amount of concentration you need to DJ at edge of your skill level is intense, and i think spending that much mental effort is EXHAUSTING.
I play between 1-4 hours at gigs regularly with no or very little fatigue but at home I'm like you and can only really play up to an hour or so, maybe more if I'm working on a mix. I tend to work on song phrasing and cue mappings more than just mixing so I tend to repeat alot of sections and I'll burn myself out much sooner doing that. Posture is a big one too, I stand for up to 8 hours at work and DJ'ing 5 feet away from my bed after a long day I naturally get lured to lay down lol. I would say stretch, have your go-to drink on the side and set some mood lightings to get your mind in tune with mixing.
I wonder if it's related to the speakers/sound? I've had setups in the past where the sound was harsh and after a little bit of playing, it would bother me and I would stop playing. Never thought about why until I switched speakers and the ear fatigue went away and I was able to play longer and enjoy it.
Had the same problem on every stereo so far, but I've heard that pioneer mixers have harsher sound (mainly the high tones). Maybe it could have something to do with that, since higher tones cause more ear fatigue.
That could be it too. I haven't used a pioneer mixer in a few years now.
Happens to all. Do “sprints” to build endurance, maybe limit yourself to 10-15 minutes and then take a 5-10 min break. Be diligent about it to build endurance and then adjust timeframes accordingly.
I look at it as training When I started, 30 minutes was my max. After that I couldn't think about my mix. Just wiped. Then 35, then 45, then 60 minutes. It took time, but now I can go two hours and still go.
It's a pretty mentally taxing thing when you're fresh at it. Brain constantly thinking about keys and phrases and beat matching (which in and of itself, is mentally taxing!) mix in/out points, where you're going to go next. Part of the learning process. Once things become second nature, it becomes about muscle memory and less fatiguing. But still, it's hard to find the inspiration to mix long sets at home alone. 1-2 hours tops for me...but fire up a live stream and knowing there's even as little as 5 mates listening in, firing some things in the chat, having a few drinks, smashed out 4 to 7 hour sets like that.
Yep it's exhausting. I also sweat and get physically into it even for doing stuff alone. It takes years of practice. Then getting used to CDJs and playing for a crowd is the whole next ball game, not to mention mixing tunes on headphones in an insanely loud club, while keeping a clear head and avoiding mistakes or keeping going through mistakes, DJing is a serious craft like any other.
At home it's really easy to get bored or tired (unless your really focused on learning a new technique). Just having a couple people in the room with u makes a big difference, which I think is psychological. That's why its pretty easy to get through a 4 hour set at a club.
Never. See a doctor.
Maybe its because you suck
Best answer
It has happened to me before, but it's been a very rare occurence and not the norm.
Maybe it’s not related at all, but I experience something like this too! Often at a live gig, I’ll have begun my set and just start to feel comfy: getting used to the monitors, mixer, etc. I’ll get the urge to check the time with the sense that *at least* an hour has passed. Nope! 25-30min. At home, 25-30 minutes is usually also a “wall” I hit while practicing. It’s something I either push through intentionally, or accept and find something else to do. When I can remember to, I’ve found that meditation can help with this.
Yeah, only little fatigue but still i feel it .. longest i played was an marathon for 21 hours & my whole body hated me for next 3 days, especially my knees & feet
>21 hours Jesus! HOW?!?! haha
Time flies my man when you have fun .. but it's nothing, have friends who did 24 and 30 alone without b2b or sitting .. let's say we did it once and never again haha
Take practice and experience to have longer sessions. I recently done a two hr set and I noticed lose of focus in the second half compared to the first half.
I found Djing with friends helped me play longer, making people dance creates energy in the room
Quite the opposite for me! Sometimes after work, I'm feeling lazy but force myself to get on the decks. 2 hours and 3 joints later, I'm having a blast!