Beginner DJ Course

If you are interested in learning how to DJ and want a push-start then this is the course for you. Point Blank DJ school has been teaching students for more than a decade. Cueing, drop-mixing and beat matching are covered in detail, so you are confident in your mixing every time. You will learn how to record and upload your mixes to get personalised feedback from your experienced tutor each week.

Course Breakdown

The Set-Up

• The standard DJ set up
• How to position your decks (or turntables)
• Fitting and balancing the stylus (or needles)
• Connecting the mixer to the turntables

Understanding the Equipment

• The Mixer - Cross fader, Volume faders, Headphone cue/ volume, Master volume
• Gains and EQ, Line/Phono switches, Inputs and Outputs.
• The Turntable - On/Off switch, Start/ Stop button, 33/45 buttons,
• Pitch adjusters

Cueing

• Basic track structure: beats, bars and phrases
• How to find the first beat of the bar
• How to fast forward and rewind the record
• Cueing a track using faders and pre fade (cue) controls

Drop Mixing

• Introduction to fade mixing
• Using the crossfader for drop mixing
• Using the power switch for drop mixing
• Using the start /stop button for drop mixing

Basic Beat Matching Theory

• Introduction to beatmatching
• Beatmatching with 2 copies of the same record
• Understanding Tempo and BPM (beats per minute)
• How to use BPM counters

Beat Matching in Practice

• Introduction to beatmatching in practice
• Listening to two records simultanously
• Using pitch controls to adjust the speed of the record
• How to re-cue the record

Beat Matching in Practice - 2

• More beatmatching in practice
• Aligning phrases
• Using pitch control as accelerator & deccelerator
• How to fine-tune the speed of the record manually

Professional Mixing Techniques

• Using the cross fader
• Using the channel faders
• EQ mixing
• Volume mixing

Mixing/ Fader techniques

• Cut Mixing
• Using the cross fader to make a smooth transition
• What are crossfader curves for?
• Techniques for transforming and cutting

Teaser Drop-Ins and Effects

• How to work the crowd
• Building anticipation with "teasers"
• Punch phasing
• Using effects
• Rhythmic cuts and drop-ins

Constructing a Set and Promoting yourself

• Understanding your audience
• How to select tunes according to the type of event
• Neat hints for your first gig
• Recording your mix

Final Project

• How to create track markers
• How to record and edit your final mix
• How to upload your mix to a file-sharing site
• Personal feedback session with your tutor