“I want to learn to DJ, is there a DJ school near me?”
This is the question that kicks off many people’s journeys into learning to DJ.
But before you look for a DJ school, you should know some of the limitations of learning to DJ from a local DJ school, and why learning from an online DJ school may actually be the best route for you.
Whether you choose to learn from a DJ school near you, or instead choose to use an online school, there are important questions you should ask yourself, alongside “is there a DJ school near me?”. Here they are:
“Is there a GOOD DJ school near me?”
Here’s where most people come unstuck, because unless you live in a big city with lots of choice, chances are there simply isn’t a DJ school near you, or if there is, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
After all, despite the popularity of DJing, learning to DJ is still a niche thing, and so unfortunately the chance of there being a great teacher, in a great school, conveniently near you, is pretty slim – unless you live in LA, New York or London etc, they’re going to be basically nil.
“Can I afford to pay them for the lessons I need?”
DJing can’t be taught in a few hours, meaning the skills you need have to be acquired over time. There’s a lot of “going away and actually doing it” when it comes to learning to DJ.
Learning DJing is a little like getting fit. Most recreational runners, cyclists and so on don’t really need a “crash course” to learn how to do it (although “boot camps” can definitely be fun!).
Instead, what they tend to do is join a club, where they can take classes when they need or want to improve in a certain area, but where otherwise they have a support group on tap 24/7, a community of like-minded athletes to grow with into as they improve year-on-year.
Frankly, if I were for some reason asked to to find a DJ school near me to teach one of MY students, knowing what I know about the skills you need to learn to DJ, I’d expect the fee to run to many thousands – because intensive school lessons just aren’t a cost-effective way to DJ.
In short, you end up paying a lot to learn the basics.
“Will they teach me what I actually need to know?”
DJing nowadays is done in SO many different ways. “Pro” DJs in clubs use a single type of gear, which hasn’t really changed in decades, since vinyl was replaced by CDs and digital music. Yet most amateur DJs and semi-pro DJs use a totally different type of set-up (laptops and controllers). So what do they teach on – “pro” gear, vinyl (turntables), laptops and controllers? Is that what YOU want to learn on?
Want help choosing DJ gear? Grab your free download: The Digital DJ Gear Buyer’s Guide
And then there’s the skills themselves. To some of us, DJing is all about scratching. To others, it is all about fast performances like the “60 tracks in 5 minutes!” videos you find on YouTube. To others, it is about keeping three generations of people dancing all night at family events. To others still, it’s about uncovering hidden gems in obscure genres and crafting them into uncompromising DJ sets that only those who “know” will even understand.
What are the skills YOU are after? Where do YOU want to DJ? To whom? What type of mixing do you want to do, and what type of music do you want to play? There are no right and wrong answers to this – but schools will usually have their way of teaching, and that’s what you’ll end up learning.
So as you can see, just typing “DJ school near me” into Google and hoping that a good school, that understands the type of DJing YOU want to do, and that can teach you at a good price over the time it really takes to learn, PLUS offer you a community to connect with and learn from long after you’ve take your lessons, is a pretty tall order.
Learning with an online DJ school is the answer
Back in 2010, I identified three things that led to the formation of my company Digital DJ Tips, the world’s biggest online DJ school:
- There was a gulf between what “hobby” DJs want to learn and what pro DJs have to know
- The revolution in digital music was changing everything
- Nobody from the “pro” world was teaching hobby DJs what THEY needed to know to learn to DJ
Since then, Digital DJ Tips has grown to completely change the way DJing is taught, helping nearly 30,000 students in 163 countries to learn to DJ, and working with some of the biggest names in DJing, including Laidback Luke, James Hype and DJ ANGELO.
Why we’re the right DJ school for you
Our method is unique, and it recognises that there are five areas you need to work on to become a great DJ. They are:
- Gear – The “geeky” stuff – What gear you need, how different types of dj gear differ from each other, how it all plugs in, and so on
- Music – How to find, buy, organise and prepare a killer music collection so you always have the right track to hand, whatever the occasion
- Techniques – What you do with the gear and the music! Mastering great DJ mixes and transitions, doing the things you see other DJs doing
- Playing out – What to do when you’ve got a crowd. How to “read a crowd”, programme a DJ set, handle the public and other DJs, and do the job correctly
- Promoting yourself – People will hear you’re a DJ, and ask you to play for them. But how do you attract the right people, so you can play what YOU want to play? This is the step that turns you into the DJ you want to be
Once you realise that you need to follow all five of these steps to start mastering DJing, you’ve got a framework around which to plot your path. Sure, you can buy specific training to help you – but how you learn all of these things is different, and it doesn’t make sense to trust a local DJ school to teach you all of this stuff, for all the reasons we’ve talked about.
Read this next: Learn To DJ: The Proven Method That Will Work For You
That’s why the way our DJ school teaches is different from any other DJ school, near me, near you, or near anyone else!
We realise that you need to be able to pick and choose lessons for you, when you need them, but that equally you need the community and support available to you 24/7, without it draining your bank account.
It’s like when you join a gym. Sure, it’s nice to have a personal trainer working with you for a few sessions to craft a plan. But your job is to work on the plan – you don’t need to keep paying the trainer!
Becoming familiar with the five steps
The first thing to do if you’re serious about learning to DJ is to learn more about the five steps above.
You can read about them by clicking the links in the list above, but I also want you to have a free copy of our book, “Rock The Dancefloor!”, which is the best-selling Amazon book on how to DJ. It’s free to you today when you join Digital DJ Tips.
Click here to join our community for free and get your PDF copy of the book.
(If you prefer to have the book in another format, you can get the paperback in all good book stores or from Amazon, you can get the Kindle version, and there’s an audiobook too – but most people start by joining the community and grabbing the book.)
Choosing a course
The way our DJ school operates is by offering courses that can coach you on specific skills.
Most people start with The Complete DJ Course, which is the “course version of the book” and a great general intro to DJing – but there are dozens of courses that you’ll want to look at over time – they’re all listed here.
Read this next: Beginner’s Guide To Digital DJ Tips Training Courses
However my advice is simply not to rush! As soon as you sign up, I’ll give you the book, and you should read that first. I’ll also send you a weekly update email with free training in it to help get you excited about this journey.
Joining the community
Maybe the biggest single thing you can do apart from the above, is tap into our private DJ education community. That is the equivalent of “joining a gym”, as opposed to “hiring a personal trainer” – and unlike a gym, it’s free.
This private Facebook Group is the place you’ll get help and support, and the resource you’ll tap into when you’re happily chipping away at your DJing, in your own time, on your own terms. This is the crucial part of the puzzle that no DJ school near you can offer, and that you need.
It’s called Global DJ Network – click here to apply to join today. It’s free, but your application will be approved manually, so please be patient.
Finally…
You probably typed “DJ school near me” or something similar into Google to reach this article. Most people start out that way.
But hopefully you’ve realised that the chances of learning that way are low, and that instead it’s better, cheaper, and more fun to work with an online DJ school with a proven teaching methodology, a big, supportive community, AND the DJ courses you’ll need to improve.
Read this next: How To DJ – Play Your First DJ Set In Just 4 Hours!
We are that school for nearly 30,000 students worldwide. Discover what they know.
Click here to join Digital DJ Tips, get your free book, and start your journey with us now.
Phil Morse
