So you want to learn to DJ. Maybe you’ve always wanted to, and it’s finally time. Maybe you’ve seen somebody else doing it and thought, “I can do better than that!” – and it’s finally time to prove it! Or maybe you’ve been asked to DJ (or volunteered to) and now you’ve got to learn, fast…
Whatever the reason, a course can hugely accelerate your learning, and in this article, you’ll learn about the best way to teach yourself to DJ online, as proved by over 30,000 successful students.
We have over 30,000 students in 163 countries. Here’s what some of them had to say on our social channels..
Nothing quite beats that feeling when two tracks meld together perfectly and it’s you that’s in charge. Or when you look out at a full, happy dancefloor, all smiling your way – and cheering and stamping for “one more” when the lights come up at the end of the night. Or, simply the joy of sharing music you love, and feeling validated when others love it too.
DJing is great fun. We’re excited you want to learn.
Ways to start DJing
But what’s the best way to start? Should you just buy the gear and force yourself to do it? Maybe ask a friend who’s already a DJ to help, or try and learn with someone else who wants to?
Should you binge-watch YouTube videos, to try and pick up some tips of “how it’s done now”? Or, should you “go back to school”, finding a DJ school in your area that can help?
The risks of not learning professionally
Learning to DJ is going to be a big investment in time and money for you, and it’s also a big risk. What if it doesn’t work out? What if you get disillusioned before you really start? What if everyone laughs at you, and although you set out to prove them wrong, it turns out that they were right all along?
The truth is that choosing to teach yourself takes a lot of willpower, and inevitably takes a long time. Choose to learn from or with a friend, and you’re asking a lot of them with regards to their time (and their patience). And uncovering the gold on YouTube every time you sit down to practise when you don’t know where to start is pretty much impossible (you already know this, I’m sure).
Why an online DJ course is best
So for most people, the best course (if you excuse the pun) is an online course. If you learn online, you can:
Learn at your own pace, without feeling either held back or rushed
Do it when you have time, making it easy to fit your new hobby into your busy life
Do it from your home, which unless there’s a DJ school next door to you, is bound to be more convenient
Our Founder Phil Morse and DMC World champ DJ Angelo on set at Digital DJ Tips HQ, teaching students inside our course DJ Angelo’s Tricks & Transitions.
However, learning online comes with its own dangers. After all, at least when you’re browsing YouTube, the stuff you find is free!
Sometimes, online DJ schools can feel a little like you’re just paying for “more of the same” – something rushed together by the YouTube channel you’re watching as an afterthought to making those free YouTube videos. It can feel like you’ve got all the good stuff for free, and many DJs report that courses from these places can feel incomplete and disappointing.
To try to avoid this, when trying to find the best online DJ course for you, you should make sure that:
The people you’re learning from are well-known and respected throughout the industry, so you’re learning from the best
The course or courses you buy are proven and of high quality, so you can be sure they’re going to work for you
You’re not simply being sold a username and password – you’re joining a real community of students, a genuine school (that just happens to be online)
Why Digital DJ Tips Is The Best Online DJ School
Digital DJ Tips has been teaching people to DJ since 2010. As well as being the people behind the website you’re on now, which is Europe’s biggest DJ tech website, we teach 25 online DJ courses, and run the world’s biggest DJ subscription training programme, Digital DJ Lab.
We are also the people behind the best-selling book on Amazon on how to DJ, Rock The Dancefloor!, that has sold tens of thousands of copies.
We are all DJs – between us we have worked for Ministry of Sound, DJed at clubs including Privilege in Ibiza, had radio shows, and played countless parties in bars, lounges and at corporate events.
Only we have Jazzy Jeff, James Hype & more…
Our Pro Tutors, left to right: DJ Jazzy Jeff, Laidback Luke, DJ Angelo, and James Hype.
But it gets better – not only do we have reams of experience “in house”, but we also work directly with the biggest names in DJing. Want to learn from Jazzy Jeff, James Hype, Laidback Luke, DJ Angelo, and more?
They are all course tutors for Digital DJ Tips. Actual tutors. It’ll be them teaching you.
Sample lesson from James Hype’s Mixing Skills
But – are our courses actually the best online DJ courses? As in, do they get you the result? Well, we’ve sold nearly 30,000 courses since 2010, and additionally helped 1000s of DJs via Digital DJ Lab, our subscription training programme.
The testimonials, feedback and comments from our community speak for themselves. We’d love you to browse through some of them as you learn about our courses.
You’re joining a community, not buying a login
When you join Digital DJ Tips, you’ll immediately get access to our large online community. Via our StudentHub private community and StudentLive “virtual classroom” sessions, you’ll feel a part of the school from the off.
Our community is vibrant, welcoming and broad, and is the best advert for our school (and our “secret teaching weapon”). Others promise this kind of thing, but we simply invite you to compare. Our community rocks – period.
Now, some people just want to “knuckle down and learn”. We get it – that’s great! You get to dip in to the community as much or as little as you want, as you take our online DJ courses. But when you do, you’ll find plenty of people just like you, to encourage you, hold you accountable and make you feel you’re not taking this journey on your own.
Which Is The Best Online DJ Course For Me?
We understand that this is an important decision, and that you may at first feel a little overwhelmed looking at our courses page.
But it’s really quite simple, so now I’ll explain how to choose your first course with us, and your next, and your next… in fact, we have five types of course for you to choose from as you journey through your DJing life.
1. The Complete DJ Course & our other “complete” courses
It takes you from beginner or nearly beginner, to pro level. It coaches you on the gear (including what to buy), the music, learning the techniques, how to play out/perform, and how to get gigs.
It is the single course that will be your companion from thinking about this, to playing successful DJ sets. It works for club, bar, lounge, mobile DJs, and with all gear and software.
Our course lessons contain follow-along annotated and slow motion demo videos, making it easy for students to implement new DJ techniques.
However, there are a few circumstances where you may be better starting with one of our three other “complete” courses:
If you primarily want to produce music to DJ with, the right course for you is Dance Music Formula
Finally, if your primary interest is setting up a mobile DJ business, Mobile DJ Blueprint is the correct choice for you
(But you know what? Even DJs who take one or more of those courses often start with The Complete DJ Course. It’s that effective at teaching the all-round skills, that it actually makes all the others that much easier.)
2. The “mixing” courses
Already got the gear and the music? Maybe you’ve even made a mix or two, or played some gigs? Interested in simply adding new techniques to how you DJ? You need one or more of our mixing courses.
Whether you learned on vinyl/CDs and want to learn how digital DJs work, or you want to learn how to mix with modern music, or you just want to stretch yourself, these courses will teach you next-level tricks you can only dream of!
Taught by names like Laidback Luke, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Angelo, James Hype, DJ Rasp, and our in-house team of Phil Morse and Steve Canueto, they’ll cover you whatever style you want to learn and whatever gear you use.
They won’t turn you from non-DJ to DJ (did we mention that The Complete DJ Course does that?), but they’ll ramp up your skills and give you more of what you need to get noticed out there, 100%. And they’re GREAT fun.
Sample lesson from House Mixing Mastery
https://youtu.be/AghfF2XAhWI?rel=0
3. The software & hardware courses
Today’s DJ systems are incredibly powerful – but they’re not getting any simpler. For some people, figuring out what everything on their hardware does, and what every feature of their software controls, is all part of the fun. But for others, these things are a real issue.
If that’s you, you’ll want to check out our software and hardware courses. Consider them additional help – they can be bought alongside The Complete DJ Course, or any of our other DJ courses, and you’ll find courses specifically for Serato, Traktor, Rekordbox and some of the most popular DJ hardware, too.
Learning to DJ should never end. There is always new gear, there are always new techniques and new personalities, and there are always fresh ways to approach the things you thought you knew, in order to do them even better.
That’s why we founded Digital DJ Lab, way back in 2017. Digital DJ Lab is the world’s leading online subscription training programme, and helps you to stay up to speed with the way DJing is done today.
Mix deconstruction of DJ AM’s famous “Wonderwall” routine, from inside our Digital DJ Lab training programme.
Typically, DJs choose to join Digital DJ Lab around when they buy their first course, or when they complete it – and treat it as their constant companion through their DJing journey, a place to learn what the best DJs are doing right now, month in, month out, as well as somewhere to brush up on cutting edge DJ skills, new tech and other things not taught or talked about elsewhere.
Digital DJ Lab is 100% material you will not find in any of our other DJ courses, and is a phenomenal extra investment in your DJing journey, over and above our other courses. Find out what thousands of DJs already know about this programme:
Want the takeaway shortcut? Get The Complete DJ Course – it works for the vast majority of DJs, and is a great place to start. Then, consider our Digital DJ Lab programme.
If at any time in your first year of course ownership you decide it’s not for you, just tell us and we’ll refund you with a smile. Nobody else offers a guarantee like this.
All of our courses come with our industry-leading 12-month money-back guarantee. We stand by our training, and want you to have enough time to get the results. Additionally, all of our courses are yours for life, including all future updates.
Don’t leave your DJ learning to chance – the best online DJ course for you is from the best online DJ school, Digital DJ Tips.
What To Do Now…
Go and choose a DJ course, and start your journey with us to becoming a better DJ or DJ/producer.
