What Are Cue Points?
A cue point is a saved position marker within a track. When you trigger a cue point, playback instantly jumps to that exact position — down to the millisecond. This lets you start a track from a specific beat, drop, or phrase without manually scrubbing through the waveform.
Most DJ software supports two types: hot cues (triggered in real-time during performance, usually mapped to pads) and memory cues (visual markers that don't trigger playback but remind you of important moments in the track).
Types of Cue Points
Triggered live during performance via pads or keyboard shortcuts. Instantly jump to the marked position. Essential for creative mixing, acapella drops, and building tension.
Best practice: Mark the intro, first drop, breakdown, and outro of every track.
Visual markers that appear on the waveform but don't trigger playback. Used as reminders — "warning: key change here" or "this is where the vocals come in."
Best practice: Mark energy shifts, key changes, and tricky sections you need to watch.
A cue point that also sets the start of a loop. Triggering it starts playback and immediately begins looping a defined section — great for extending breakdowns or building tension.
Best practice: Set on the first beat of a 4- or 8-bar phrase you want to loop live.
A Standard Cue Point System
Consistency is key. If you use the same cue point layout for every track, muscle memory takes over and you can focus on the crowd instead of hunting for markers. Here's a system used by many professional DJs:
Software-Specific Tips
Rekordbox
- Export cue points to USB for CDJ use
- Use color-coded cues for quick visual scanning
- Memory cues show on CDJ waveform display
Serato DJ
- Hot cues sync across devices via Serato cloud
- Use flip mode to record cue sequences
- Color-code by energy level or section type
Traktor
- Cue points are called "Cue Points" and "Loops"
- Flux mode lets you jump to cue and return seamlessly
- Store up to 8 hot cues per track
Workflow: Preparing Tracks with Cue Points
Analyze the track first
Use BPM detection and key detection before setting cues. Knowing the BPM helps you identify bar boundaries precisely.
Listen through once
Play the full track and note the structure: intro length, drop position, breakdown, outro. Don't set cues yet — just listen.
Set cues on downbeats
Always place cue points on beat 1 of a bar, not mid-phrase. This ensures clean, on-beat jumps when you trigger them live.
Color-code consistently
Use the same color for the same type of cue across all tracks. Green = drop, yellow = breakdown, red = outro, for example.
Test before the gig
Trigger each cue point in practice. Make sure they land exactly where you expect. Adjust by a few milliseconds if needed.
Prepare your tracks faster
Use WavinTools to detect BPM and key before setting cue points — so you always know exactly where the bars fall.