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For DJs planning a set before they play it — especially warm-up and opening sets. Ordering, energy jumps, and what to do when your tracks carry no BPM or key.
15 articles
27 September 2026
Serato crates and Rekordbox: what a crate is, how a DJ moves one, and why there is no text export
A Serato crate is a playlist stored as a .crate file. What that means when you want it in Rekordbox, as text, or want a Rekordbox playlist in Serato.
seratorekordboximportingcrates
27 September 2026
Rekordbox export to USB for DJ players, and what to do when Export is greyed out
What Rekordbox writes to a USB stick, which library format it picks, and the file-system reason the export option goes grey, from Pioneer's own guides.
rekordboxusbexporting
27 September 2026
How a DJ prepares a set, and how to organize your music so the preparation is fast
Preparing a DJ set is choosing, ordering and checking before the night. What each stage needs from your library, and how to organize music so it is there.
set orderpreparationlibraryenergy tags
27 September 2026
Export a Traktor playlist to Rekordbox: what survives the move between DJ programs
Traktor exports a playlist as a folder plus an NML file, and Rekordbox does not open NML. What actually moves, what does not, and how to keep the order.
traktorrekordboximportingexporting
26 September 2026
What is a DJ set? A definition, the kinds there are, and what makes one good
A DJ set is a continuous, ordered performance of other people's tracks, played live in a slot. What that means, the kinds by slot, and what makes one good.
dj setdefinitionset prep
26 September 2026
How to structure a DJ set: the shape of a night, in order
Structuring a DJ set means deciding how energy moves from the first track to the last. The shape, three checks, and the mistakes a curve makes visible.
set structureenergy curveset prep
26 September 2026
How does a DJ set work? The mechanics, from one track to the next
A DJ set works by joining tracks so the music never stops and the energy has a direction. What happens in a transition, and what happens across the hour.
dj settransitionsenergy curve
22 September 2026
Rekordbox, Serato and Traktor: where each one stores a DJ's energy tags
Energy tags live in different fields depending on what wrote them, and the field decides whether anything else can read them. A map of where yours are.
energy tagsrekordboxtraktorserato
22 September 2026
What is a DJ set energy curve, and why it matters more than BPM
An energy curve is the shape your set makes over time: where it lifts, holds and lands. A different question from tempo, and the one a floor answers.
energy curvefundamentalsset prep
22 September 2026
How to order a DJ set from a plain text list (no Rekordbox needed)
You do not need Rekordbox or Serato to analyse the order of a set. A list of track names pasted into a plain text box is already enough to start.
set orderimportingno library
22 September 2026
Is my DJ set in the right order? How to tell before you play it
Every guide explains how to build an energy arc. None tells you whether the order you already have is good. Here is how to check it, with real criteria.
set orderenergy curveset prep
22 September 2026
How to order a DJ set by energy: the warm-up DJ's guide
A warm-up is a different job from a peak-time set: the constraint is a ceiling, and most advice about set order assumes you do not have one.
energy curvewarm-upset prep
22 September 2026
How much energy jump between two tracks is too much? A DJ's guide
Rules like 'never change BPM by more than 8%' help less than they promise, because the jump that ruins a transition is often not tempo at all.
energy curvetransitionsBPM
22 September 2026
Your DJ tracks have no BPM or key in the tags: what to do
Almost every set-prep guide assumes a tidy library. If you have wavs and flacs with no tags, here is what can be recovered and what simply cannot.
BPMkeyimportingno library
22 September 2026
Analyse your DJ set before you play it, not after
Almost every tool reads energy off the recording, once the night is over. Analysing the set beforehand changes what you can actually do with the result.
energy curveset prepanalysis