Assuming you are on a controller (or any half serious DJ mixer) you will find one of two things:
1) Cue knob. It should have a setting on one side called CUE and on the other side MASTER. When you turn the knob all the way to the CUE side, all you will hear from your headphones is the CUE signal (which is the setting you would need if you had monitors :-). If you turn it all the way to the MASTER setting, you will hear – oh big surprise – only the master signal on your cans. Now, I guess you see where this is going. By turning the knob somewhere in the middle, you get both your master and cue signal on your headphones. There is one drawback, it’s all in stereo. So you really hear the master and cue in both ears. The advantage of this way (as opposed to using two cue buttons) is that you can balance the level between master and your cue track.
2) Cue knob PLUS Split Cue. On some controllers/mixers there will be a cue knob, but also a SPLIT CUE button. When you press this, what essentially happens is that the cue signal is sent to one side of your headset (let’s say Left) and the master signal to the Right. This, of course, is much nicer to beatmatch with. The knob will let you change the balance again.
So, depending on your gear it can be done. Sometimes you even have to. We had someone recently who played at a silent disco. No monitors allowed. Had to do everything on headphones. I have to say it always takes me a bit of practice to get the hang of it (again), because it is different from cans with monitor mixing, but it can be done for sure.
Good luck and greetinx.
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