How many tracks do I need for a one-hour DJ set?

Divide the slot by how long you let each track play. At about three and a half minutes each, an hour is around 17 tracks. Bring a third more as spares.

How far ahead should I plan a set?

Build the first version a few days out, then play it through once before the gig. Leave the last day for swapping a few tracks, not starting again.

Guides · Planning a set

How to plan a DJ set

A slot, a start time and a few thousand tracks. The night goes better when the hard choices are made before you arrive.

A one-hour Peak time set. Each bar is a track, its height is the energy. Illustration.

ZOOT builds this from the music on your phone. Get ZOOT on Google Play. Free to start, no login.

Why plan at all?

Order beats tracksGreat records in the wrong order make a flat set.

Searching causes clashesWith a minute left, you grab whatever is close enough.

Your eyes stay on the roomThe joins are already checked. You choose, you don't hunt.

Seven steps

The slot

Read the slot first

When you play, who is before and after you, how big the room is, how long you have. An opener at nine and a closer at three need different sets from the same records.

The shape

Choose the energy flow

How the energy moves from first track to last. The slot usually decides it.

Warm up

Peak time

Low key

Journey

Festival

Cool down

The number

Count the tracks, then add spares

Slot length divided by how long each track plays, plus a third as spares at the same energy.

Slot (min)

Per track (min)

17 tracksplus 6 spares

The peak

Place the peak, then work backwards

Pick the track the set builds to and the minute it lands, like the 0:38 flag above. Fill backwards, each track a little lower. Building forwards is how sets peak too early.

The joins

Check every pair

Each track should sit with the one before it, on three things:

Key8A→8A7A9A8B

Tempo124→122–12662 half time

Energy6→5678

Neighbouring wheel codes, small tempo steps, one or two energy points at a time.

The variety

Spread the artists, dig deeper

Keep the same artist apart, and look past the forty tracks you always play. The forgotten ones make a set sound like yours.

The run-through

Play it through, plan a way out

Listen to every join once and swap what jars. Mark a track either side of the peak, one higher and one lower, in case the room is not where you expected.

Why ZOOT plans this way

ZOOT Quick Vibe: choose an energy flow, a length, a music range and a genre — Shape and length first.

ZOOT library view: each track scored against the one playing, with the key move named — Every join scored.

ZOOT playlist editor with the energy bar across the top — The energy line shows sags.

It listens to your own filesEdits, promos and bootlegs no catalogue has heard still get a key, tempo and energy.

Shape first, tracks secondPick an energy flow or draw one, and the set is filled to it.

Every join is scoredKey, tempo, energy and genre, with half and double time. One clash breaks a flow.

It fills to the minuteSlots are fixed. Ten minutes short is a problem you find on the night.

It digs for youOverplayed tracks are held back. The forgotten ones that fit come forward.

You get a draftSwap and reorder, then export so your DJ software finds every file.

What to expect, and what to avoid

Expect

A draft in minutes after a one-time library analysis (about 20 minutes for 900 tracks).
Joins that hold: neighbouring keys, close tempos.
A peak where you meant it, with sags visible before the gig.
A few swaps of your own. That is you making it yours.
The odd wrong key. No detector is perfect. Trust your ears on the big ones.

Avoid

Playing the plan to the wrong room. Use your spares.
In key, but flat. Let the energy move.
The early peak. Everything after sounds smaller.
Exactly enough tracks. Slots run long.
Tempo jumps and the same artist twice in ten minutes.

Questions

Should you plan a DJ set or play it live?

Plan the shape and the joins, then play the room. A plan is a map, not a script.

How many tracks for a one-hour set?

At about three and a half minutes each, around 17. Bring a third more as spares, or use the calculator in step 3.

How far ahead should I plan?

Build the first version a few days out and play it through once. Leave the last day for swapping a few tracks, not starting again.

Go deeper

Energy flowThe six shapes, and which slot each is for. Harmonic mixingWhy some joins clash, in one picture. Warm-up setsThe slot where planning matters most. Mixkey wheelTap a key, see what mixes with it.