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Workflow

Prepare a Set

I have a gig on Saturday. How do I build the set?

Plan the shape — tempo, key, energy — then leave enough slack to read the room on the night.

intermediateset planningenergyharmonic

The path

  1. Slot
  2. Crate
  3. BPM curve
  4. Key path
  5. Energy arc
  6. Escape routes

Step by step

How to run it

  1. Define the slot honestly

    Warm-up, peak and closing are three different jobs. Play the job you were given.

  2. Pull a crate twice the length of the set

    Two hours of music for a one-hour slot. Never more — choice paralysis is real.

  3. Sketch the BPM curve

    Decide the start tempo, the ceiling, and where you reset.

  4. Lay out a key path

    Use the Camelot wheel to keep neighbouring tracks compatible without locking yourself in.

  5. Rate the energy 1–5

    An arc with one dip beats a flat climb.

  6. Mark escape routes

    For each track, know two possible next tracks — one up, one down.

  7. Verify metadata on the media

    Export, then check the USB actually plays on the club's players.

Toolkit

Everything this workflow uses

Mixed In Key

Key and energy detection with Camelot notation written back into tags.

Paidkey detectionenergyFeatured

Tunebat

Look up BPM, key, energy and danceability for a released track in seconds.

FreemiumbpmkeyFeatured

Mixgraph

Visualises a planned set as BPM and energy curves across time.

Freemiumset planningenergy curve

AudioWrench

Track analysis and set-planning views built around energy and structure.

Freemiumenergystructure

rekordbox

Pioneer DJ's library manager and performance software; the CDJ standard.

FreemiumcdjlibraryFeatured

Songdata.io

BPM, key and Camelot lookups plus playlist-wide analysis views.

Freemiumbpmkey

Keep going

Where this leads