While prepping is evidently very important and will help your memory (which slowly goes down with the years, I can tell you :-p), the key for me has always been “KNOW YOUR MUSIC”.
Back in the pre-digital days, there were no storable cue points (heck, no cue points whatsoever), no loops, not fancy on-screen waveforms. But you knew every track you owned. In your head you would hear where the break was, where the vocals came in, wether the outro was long and faded or short and abrupt and if the tempo held or not. You’d pretty much be doing the prep in your head. Listening to what was playing and determining where and how to bring in the next track. Remember, no FX section on your mixer either. So no covering up with filters, flangers, beatmashers, jets or what have you. The good thing about it was, you could be playing a relatively new song and in your head you’d get all these “oh, that song will go well with it -or- I could use the acapella from that song in that break next time”-thoughts.
In effect, what you now call on the spot mixing, was the only kind then. And I think the basics still apply.
“KNOW YOUR MUSIC”
Greetinx and good luck with it,
C.
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