David Guetta Answers DJ Questions

WIRED

World renowned DJ David Guetta joins WIRED to answer the internet’s burning questions about DJing. How do you learn to match beats like a DJ? What is it so powerful when DJs drop the beat? Do DJs practice their sets in advance? Whats the difference between DJing at a festival as opposed to in the club? Answers to these questions and many more await on DJ Support with David Guetta.  Director: Jackie Phillips Director of Photography: AJ Young  Editor: Alex Mechanik Expert: David Guttea Line Producer: Jamie Rasmussen Associate Producer: Brandon White  Production Manager: Peter Brunette Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark Talent Booker: Jenna Caldwell Camera Operator: Seth Craven Sound Mixer: Paul Cornett  Production Assistant: Liliana Starck Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Additional Editor: Samantha DiVito Assistant Editor: Billy Ward

Transcript

00:00Hi guys, I'm David Guilla and I'm gonna answer a few questions from the internet.

00:04This is DJ Support.

00:11From Kuru the Guru. What is your theory behind drops? Music is all about contrast.

00:18If you want something to sound loud, it needs to be quiet before. If you want

00:25something to sound very wide and stereo, it needs to be mono before. So this is kind of

00:32announcing that something is about to happen, but at the same time you don't use

00:38kick, you don't use the bass, you don't use the elements that are really driving

00:45the song. So really you miss them. So when they come back that's the drop and it's

00:53gonna feel like an insane energy because you know the volume was there and in all

00:59seconds it's there. This is the trick. Even if I would play a very simple beat

01:05like that and I I put an EQ, I use a filter and there is no you cannot hear the kick very well

01:17because there's no low end. And you know a second I'm gonna put it back and people are

01:23gonna scream because if I leave you like this, it's like a tension. Tension, tension, tension, tension.

01:33And then when you hear that, woo, it's like you know. So it's really as simple as this. It's just the contrast.

01:41So from DragDoc, do most DJs create and practice sets before a gig or they just know their library incredibly well?

01:52When I started, we would never play the same set because it was about the journey. So you read the people.

02:01And for me, this is the essential art of DJing. The technical part of DJing is really easy to master today,

02:08thanks to technology. When I started, it was vinyls. Today, everything is done on computers,

02:13so the beat is always perfect. It's very easy to beat match today. When I play a festival like Ultra

02:20or Tomorrowland, you have 10 DJs playing one after the other and they're all the biggest DJs on the

02:25planet and they're all playing one hour or 90 minutes. We cannot have even a one minute that is so-so.

02:33It has to be on point perfect all the time. So in that case, yes, we prepare our set. I never played a

02:41pre-recorded set. I hear so much about those stories of pre-recorded set. I think it's absolutely

02:48ridiculous because beat matching is so easy. Like I can teach a kid that is 10 years old how to beat

02:55match in a couple of hours because today it really became easy. So I don't know why people are talking

03:03about this, but what I can say is that yes, we prepare. When I play a festival like Ultra,

03:10I probably work one full month every day on that set to make it perfect. I would create a skeleton

03:20and then when I play, I see are people reacting more to this or to that. Let's say I'm playing my set that

03:28I prepared, but I see that when I play an underground record, they're really into it. So I have my

03:35underground playlist. I'm going to add some of this. Or let's say I play an underground record and it's

03:41a disaster. The only one hits and sing along and feel good music. Okay, no problem. I also have my list

03:49and I'm going to add that more into the skeleton of my set. So yes, more sets are prepared. From DJ

03:57Frankis, why do DJs always act like the knobs on the mixer are hot? If I'm totally honest, some of it

04:04can become like a tick to do that and some of it is a little of a part of the show. I put the EQ

04:11straight because you have the craziest engineers that are coming into the club. So unless really the club

04:18sucks, you don't need to do all this show with the EQ. So then there's a little bit of the creative

04:26EQ. So in a mixing and also like you can like, ah, I don't want to speak bad about my colleagues.

04:35But I think a lot of this is for the show. Let's say it like that.

04:39From Lexan Beats, how do you read the crowd when the club isn't vibing? That's a good question.

04:46Actually, this happens even to me. What you would do is try different things until one thing is

04:55reacting. And when that record is reacting, well, you know you have your different playlists. And let's

05:03say you play a Tech House record and it's reacting when you've been playing techno when it was not

05:10reacting. Well, then you go to best of Tech House of 2025 and your playlist and then you play more of

05:19that style. And this is why pre-recorded set makes no sense because you need to be able to try different

05:25things until you win. And when you win, you make them happy. And once they're happy, then you can take

05:31them where you want. From Nap Lover, what's the difference between playing at festivals or clubs?

05:38So usually when you start to DJ, you do parties with your friends. And then when you become more

05:45professional, you play clubs. And if you become very famous, you play festivals. I started as a

05:50resident. I would play eight hours every day, six days a week. When I play a festival, I play 90 minutes.

05:59Because people want to hear my music. The same way you have a festival. Imagine you have the Rolling

06:04Stones and ACDC. Well, you want the Rolling Stones to play Satisfaction. You want the ACDC to play Highway

06:13to Hell. They're not going to do in a festival a little jam and play their favorite records from

06:20different artists. Well, it's the same for festivals. When you play a festival, people want you to play

06:27exactly your sound. Because this is why they're buying tickets. And usually, because the crowd is

06:34so much bigger, you have to play more energy. Because of course, you need more energy to move 100,000

06:42people than to move 200 people. So really, underground music is coming from the clubs. Sometimes it goes to

06:51the festival. But in my opinion, when you play to 20,000 people, it's not underground anymore, even if you

06:58call it underground. From Throwaway, best way to start to learn to beat match. Honestly, beat matching is

07:06really easy today with the technology of today. So I just took loops

07:12for you to understand. So let's say that this record is playing and I need to get into the next record.

07:27So what I would do usually is turn down the bass because it's just a mixing principle. If you have

07:36too much bass at the same time, it's going to sound horrible. So now, that two records are playing

07:53and it's beat matching. Okay? If it was a bad mix, it would do that.

08:01If you do that, it's horrible. People are confused. They don't know how to dance, like where to dance.

08:13So then you need to adjust it. And now, okay, again, I'm going to do that.

08:21And then I can go to the other one. So I kept the beat steady so that people can dance.

08:36And now let's go to the next level of, let's say, when you learn how to DJ, the first step is to beat

08:45match correctly, the way I did. And the next step is also to respect the key. So then you need to know

08:54a little bit about music theory. So this is in C minor. This one is in F sharp minor. So maybe you

09:07don't hear it, but it's off key. It's not pleasant. So I'm going to now put it in G. Now listen.

09:19This is pleasant. So not only is beat matched, but it's also in key because G is in a chord. We call

09:30this a fifth. So it's a perfect chord. C and G goes perfectly well together. So if I hear a DJ do that,

09:40I'm like, okay, this guy is good. Someone asked what they're hearing in the headphones when they're

09:45playing a set in a loud venue. Again, let's say I'm playing record A, which would be this one. I would

09:54use my headphones to listen to record B and make sure that I started the record at the right time

10:05and that it's beat matching correctly. And I'm going to check this in my headphones

10:11because I don't want to mess it up and just launch it and put it there. And I think it's right,

10:18but maybe it's not right. So it's like an insurance policy. You want to make sure that your mixing is

10:27is on point. And also when you're looking for the next record to play, well, sometimes you have an

10:35hesitation. You feel like this is going to feel good after record A, but let me double check how it feels

10:41in the headphones. So one ear is listening in the headphones to the next record. And one ear is

10:49listening to the monitor to what's playing on the sound system for everyone. Mr. X DJ asked,

10:56what were the biggest mistakes you did when starting out to DJ? First, there's always a fine line in

11:04how to create your own identity. In order to be successful, you need to have your own style,

11:11your own music. Sometimes it's the music you create yourself, or sometimes you just play a

11:17lot of the same style. And when it's unique, it makes you famous for that. And this is cool.

11:23But what I see a lot is sometimes people so want to create the identity and so want to be cool.

11:32They don't even care if people are liking it or not, especially in the time of today, because it's

11:38filmed. They care more about social media and how people are going to perceive this behind their

11:43computers or their phones instead of playing for the people that are in front of them. So, okay,

11:50you want to be cool and unique, but you don't want to forget why people are paying you. You're getting

11:56paid to give a good time and entertain the people that are in front of you. That's what I see a lot. DJs that

12:02are playing like this and they never look at the crowd. That's madness to me because our job is

12:11before anything to entertain people, give them a good time. So you need to be able to read them.

12:18So if you don't look at them, how can you read them? Doesn't make sense. From Ray Donius,

12:24playing my first gig at 3am, how to not be tired. Oh, I feel you. This is something you need to accept,

12:31because this is part of what we do and it doesn't get any better ever because first there's working

12:40at night and then when you become very successful, you need to travel and be jet lagged. So yes,

12:45it's a, I'm sorry, my friend, there's no perfect solution, but there is one okay solution, which is

12:53what I do when I play late nights. I do what I call a disco nap. I sleep one hour, no more,

13:01before the show. And then I take a half an hour to, so I don't arrive like a zombie. This is a big

13:07problem in our community because we all have the worst sleep patterns because of course,

13:14when you sleep before, you know, before you showed and when you go home, you're not sleepy anymore,

13:21man, don't take Zolpiden. It's not good for your health. From Keep the Bronze Sheep, can someone help

13:26clarify the difference between mixing, remixes, and producing. Some people think that DJs are

13:35creating the music live with the turntables, which is not true. Some people think that when I make a

13:43record, I'm just remixing it or mixing it, which is also not true. Let's be clear. So mixing two records

13:51together means there's one record that is playing. Most DJs are playing other people record. You play

13:58one record and then you need to do a transition to the next record. So you mix the next record in,

14:06and there's a technique for that that is called beat matching. So that's mixing. Remixing is when you

14:14create a new production around an existing vocal. You take a famous song that everyone knows, but instead of

14:24playing the original version, you play a version that you created yourself with your own style of music. When

14:33you say someone is a producer, it usually involves all the different steps. Composition is usually simply

14:42chords played on the piano or the guitar, a little melody. Songwriting is the song, its melody, and then

14:51later when you have that, you produce it. The production is the choice of sounds, the choice of arrangement

14:59that is going to make the song go into this style or that style. So for you to understand, if a song

15:11is great, I can produce it in so many different ways. I can make it a ballad, I can make it an EDM song,

15:19I can make it a reggae song. This is only due to production. From Totally Nota Girl,

15:28how do you make a set? I compare this to a fashion show a little bit. Let's say that there are two,

15:35three or four seasons in a year. So when it's the beginning of the season, in my case, usually it

15:42would be around March. This is what is going to be my summer collection. So before Ultra, I work like

15:50maybe a full month creating a set and then I'm playing it at Ultra. I see what works, what doesn't

15:57work. Then I have my season in Vegas. I see what works, what doesn't work. Then I'm using some of

16:05this to play my season in Europe, in Ibiza. And I have then probably 50% of my set. I have to play a

16:14little more underground for Ibiza. So then at the beginning of the season, I have a set and every

16:21time I'm writing down what works and what doesn't work. And then I'm like, okay, this record out.

16:28This one works really well. Okay, that hot new sound, I was not expecting it to work that well.

16:34I'm going to put more of that style. And then what happens is every week, the set is getting better and

16:41better and better. And then in August, it's going to be so perfect. I'm getting bored of it.

16:48From G-Jig. Are jog wheels essentials? Well, I guess this is the jog wheel. This is actually coming

16:57from the idea of vinyls because it was a similar way to mix. And you know, you would like, if it's not

17:06perfectly beat match, you would move the vinyl a little bit forward or backward until it's perfect.

17:13This is one technique that comes from the old school way of mixing. There would be a possibility

17:19to use other ways, but I think this is very practical. So yes, it's useful. Okay. Those were

17:26all the questions. Thank you for watching DJ support.

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