There are tons of ways to learn DJing. You can spend your life on YouTube, or find an online course or even just jump in with live streaming. You can read up on new software. You can acquire new gear and hope that gets you places. But ultimately it’s about the practice. If you have a few hours a week to focus on learning to DJ online, here are a few ways to help you narrow the search.
Learn from multiple DJs
When you’re trying to create your own style, you have to unlearn. It’s a total win having a pro like Jon Sine or Laidback Luke giving you all their tips for free via their channels. But at some point, you’ll need to challenge your own teachers’ methods in order to create your own. So yeah, start with the free content to find your bearings. And when you’re ready to level up, select a course by other professionals with a different take on DJing.
Specific software or hardware
You might already have decided that you’re never going to be a turntable DJ. That narrows things down to software, hardware or decks. For example, check out this approach to DJing with Ableton Live. Take it further and decide where you’d like to start. There are a range of options available to first-time DJs. We recommend starting with the gear you already have. If that’s a laptop and a controller, find a course that suits your setup. Don’t pretend that once you have the gear you’ll automatically be good. You can expand your rig as you go.
Learn by music style
Only ever want to play house music? Makes things simpler, doesn’t it? And we love simple. So begin by collecting a selection of killer house tracks that reflect your style, and jump in. Pro career tip: when you’re starting out, you don’t need to have the skills and selection to please everyone. Just find a few people who love what you do, and do it for them. For free, at first. Then leverage.
The trick to making progress as a DJ (or anything for that matter) is to form a habit. To make it so that you’re never hunting RCA cable adapters. Everything should always be ready to go at the flick of a switch. Forget the numbers of followers for a while and focus on being good. Like, actually being good. Takes time, but that’s the way to ultimate DJ glory.