Cue
A preparation point, or the pre-listen function.
Detailed explanation
“Cue” means two things in DJing. 1. The CUE button: jumps to the cue point you last set and pauses there, so you can start precisely from a given position. 2. Headphone cue: the pre-listen function that lets you hear a channel in the headphones without the crowd hearing it. The cue button is pre-fader — it works even with the channel fader all the way down.
In practice
Cue means two different things on the gear, and that confuses everyone at first. On the player, the cue button sets a start point and jumps back to it. On the mixer, the cue button sends the channel to your headphones without the room hearing it. You need both in the same movement: monitor the channel, set the start point, match the tempo — and only then push the fader up.
Assessment by the DJLearn editorial team — experience, not a sourced factual claim.
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Where to learn this
DJ cueing
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