33 & 1/3 Rule for Song requests and sets

The 33 & ⅓ Percent Rule

The worst part about a family and friend function is the range of Ages of the guests. They go from newborns to the elderly. So, the party lacks the same taste in music. The kids like new stuff, and the grandparents like oldies. A DJ can't possibly please everyone with anyone song.

It's all because music is a personal thing. Every song that's ever been recorded appeals to some people and irritates others. And most songs irritate most people. Each one of us can tolerate only some of the seemingly endless set of songs pause. It all has to do with the beats per minute, the baseline, and the singer.
A slight change in any variable can considerably alter our mood. For example, we've all cleared the dance floor with songs we thought would work. It's a difficult job to know what people want.

So, he DJ has to constantly deal with a group of guests who simultaneously like and hate every song that get played. This is where we applied the 33 & 1/3 percent rule; A song will appeal to one third of the guests, irritate another third, and bypass the final third. The rule acknowledges that some people will always be irritated. Or, looking at it a different way, everyone will probably be irritated at some time. Hopefully, you'll never irritate everyone at once. Your objective, then, is to minimize the amount of time each person is irritated. Optimally, you want each person to dance so frantically to the songs they like that they appreciate the rest during the ones they hate.

The selection of songs at the start of a party gives the guest an idea of what the DJ is into. The DJ has to quickly attract the kids and the grandparents and the people who want the fast music and the people who want the slow music, or they won't like anything that's done the rest of the party. To attract each one of these factions, the DJ should rotate sets of slow, old, and new music. Chorus, each one of these set has subsets. For example, old has 50s 60s Motown 70s and 80s and even 90s. New pop could be rap, club, Rock, or alternative. And slow has old and new.

to attract each faction as quickly as possible, the DJ should play two songs in a row from each set at the start of the party. The first song of the set gets into it, and the second one goes with it. The first rotation of six songs should have at least one that appeals to everyone. That's pretty good. It's a lot better than a DJ who starts a party with a slow song and then 5 oldies. According to the 33 & 1/3 percent rule, that DJ one third of the guests. Of course, that one third will be more excited after the first six songs than everyone else at the party. But at the start of a party, you don't want to totally excite only one faction. You want to give a little excitement to everyone and then build it as the party progresses, peaking at the time you approach the client for overtime.

The rotations that follow this first rotation will vary in time, but they should still go from slow to old to new music. If the two old songs in the first rotation appealed to more than one third of the guests, the DJ should play more than two in the second rotation. It, then, might be too slow, for old, and two new. You don't want to play any more than six songs in a row from anyone set. 20 minutes of the same kind of music can irritate anyone.

As the party progresses, the amount of time between slow songs should increase. In the first rotation of too slow, too old, and too new, there were four songs between slow songs. The DJ noticed the old songs attracted the guests. So, the second rotation was too slow, for old, and two new, six songs between slow songs. The DJ then noticed even more dancers for old songs. So the third rotation was , six old, and one new, seven songs between slow songs. Once they're up, keep them up. Play songs from the same set until they down, usually because of fatigue. Dancing is a tiring exercise, and departing dancers will appreciate the rest. They won't even care what you play next. They just want a drink. This is when the DJ should play the next set to appeal to another faction.

Slow songs are the key to the 33 & ⅓ percent rule. The DJ should play at least two in a row but never more than three. The first one in a set should always be popular. It doesn't matter if it's old or new. If two people want to slow dance, they'll dance to anything. And people will always slow dance, even if the floor was empty for the previous fast song.

The reason a DJ should play at least two slow songs in a row is because of the shy guy. Imagine a shy guy who's been scoping out a girl at a high school dance. he hears a slow song and figures he should ask her. He gets the courage and considers his approach, and then he goes to her. He asks her; she accepts, and then they go to the floor. By the time all of this happens, the song is over. And that's the beauty of a slow song. Once two people are slow dancing, they'll continue to slow dance to anything. So, you can play whatever you want for the second slow song in a set. It doesn't matter if it's old or new, popular or obscure. They'll dance to it.

Slow songs allow us to continually appeal to each faction as the party progresses. For example, the DJ might experience a Family and friend function that loves oldies. The rotation might be two slow, six old, and zero new (they just won't dance to new, fast songs). The 33 & ⅓ percent rule states that some guests still like new music. so, the DJ should play a new song for the second slow dance. The slow dancers will continue to dance, and the faction of guests who want new music will appreciate the song.

The reason to DJ shouldn't play anymore than three slow songs in a row is simple too many slow songs bore people.