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So you’ve decided to roll your sleeves up to avoid hiring a professional DJ, but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, it’s super easy to create a great party playlist that’ll keep your guests entertained all night, just follow these tips! If you’re looking for other party music ideas, check out our ultimate party music guide!
Where to Start
You don’t need fancy or complicated equipment, just a phone, AUX lead and some speakers is enough!
Apple Music is the perfect way to create a party playlist. It’s intelligent recommendation feature makes it really quick to add songs to create the perfect track list and it’s cross fade feature makes seamless song transitions. It’s only $9.99/ £9.99 per month and you can get a free 3 month trial to check it out. And don’t worry, you can use it on Android devices too!
How Long Should your Party Playlist be?
It’s a good idea to make your playlist about 10-20% longer than you think it needs to be. This way you won’t be stuck if the party lasts longer than expected. It also means you can skip a few tracks if they fall a bit flat.
Make your Playlist Flow
Make sure you have shuffle turned off and crossfade turned on! You need to make sure your party playlist flows and shuffling your songs will ruin it. If you go into your settings on Apple Music, you’ll be able to turn crossfade on super easily. It’s another really important step to help your playlist flow. We’d recommend setting it to about 4-6 seconds, but play about with it and see what sounds good to you.
Start Strong
Although you don’t want to use up all your best songs at the start, it’s important not to start on a flat note. The longer your guests are sat in their chairs, the harder it is for get them on their feet and dancing. It’s fine to start with a slower (but not slow) tempo, just make sure it’s with songs that your guests know and enjoy.
Selecting the Perfect Party Playlist Songs
Make sure you keep the age of your guests firmly in mind when choosing your songs. But if your guests don’t fall into a particular age bracket, there’s no need to worry. Just pick songs that from a range of decades and mix them in together. You can still gradually build the tempo to make sure everything flows, but there’s no need to clump decades together.
Make sure you start strong and gradually build up the pace. Pack your party playlist full of dance classic anthems to keep your guests on their feet. If you’re struggling for some ideas, check out some pre-made Apple Music playlists with similar vibes. And have a look at dance party playlists, and the top hits from each decade.
Wind Down
So you’ve filled your party playlist full of great hits that you know your guests will love. But all good things must come to an end, and that includes your party. Your guests won’t want to leave if you’re playing hit after hit so make sure your playlist starts to wind things down. We’re not saying play terrible songs for the last 30 minutes, but you definitely need to slow the pace. This way, your guests will get the hint that it’s time to grab their coats and head home!
Play it Back
Now you’ve gathered all your songs and put them in an order, it’s time to listen to your party playlist. You don’t need to listen to the entire thing, but you need to check the crossfading and flow of the playlist by listening to the first and last 5-10 seconds of each song so you can re-order or add any tracks if you need to!
So now you’ve got your party music sorted, remember to have a look at our ultimate party planning checklist. Like our Facebook Page and follow us on Pinterest!