Where did you guys learn to DJ or producing?

I don't know how am I supposed to start. All I have now is Serato DJ intro and the latest version of Garageband.

I plan to upgrade the Serato and I am getting a DJ controller in about one month from now.

Problem is, I had no idea how to start, I have the softwares and don't know how to utilize them. Here, I don't wanna spend money for the Serato upgrade and the controller without knowing anything, and I can't let them be useless once I get them. I wish to know from where did you guys learn how to DJ or produce, youtube doesn't seem to help, and classes are freakin' expensive. I'd rather buy hardwares rather than spending hundreds of bucks for classes. Do you guys have any alternatives for me? I just can't do experiments right away since it will take hundreds of years doing it. I need a lesson. I can't do it alone without someone assisting me at least the basics.

From my personal exeperience, I would recommend keeping it simple and start with a simple 2 channel controller. I used a vestax vci-300 and loved learning on it (very inexpensive now). It doesnt have the capabilities for effects, so I simply focused on blending one song to the next. I just learned what sounded well, and what didn't. The best way to learn is to just practice, practice, and keep practicing. You sound like you want to know it all as quickly as possible, but with anything worth doing well is going to require time, patience and percerverance.

Youtube is great if you know where to look. Ellaskins and djbolivia are great channels to get some explanation. Especially the series djbolivia made for beginners. It helped me a lot. He explains everything about different generations, what each knob and fader does on the mixer and he teaches you the basics of beatmatching.

Apart from those basics it's mostly about learning what sounds good, acquiring your own taste and the good old practise hours. All I can tell you is take it on one step at a time and that good knowledge of the basics saves a lot of time in the long run.

I got a copy of magix music studio when i was twelve for my birthday. It was on from there. I then discovered Orion Platinum in a couple years then hopped on Fruity in High School.

For DJ'ing, I got my first pair of belt drive numark 1510's for Christmas in 2001. It wasnt until a month later that I ordered my first two records = (Dj Glen - Jumpin Motherfuckers and Switch24 - White LAbel). It was on from there.

You practice....

You research online....read...watch Youtube Tutorials....and you practice.

Watch other DJ's....try to understand what they are doing. (real DJ's...not knob twisting EDM fools)

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Originally Posted by sarasin

You practice....

You research online....read...watch Youtube Tutorials....and you practice.

Watch other DJ's....try to understand what they are doing. (real DJ's...not knob twisting EDM fools)

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what are knob twisting EDM fools? sounds real mediocre.. lol

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Originally Posted by SuperDude8547

From my personal exeperience, I would recommend keeping it simple and start with a simple 2 channel controller. I used a vestax vci-300 and loved learning on it (very inexpensive now). It doesnt have the capabilities for effects, so I simply focused on blending one song to the next. I just learned what sounded well, and what didn't. The best way to learn is to just practice, practice, and keep practicing. You sound like you want to know it all as quickly as possible, but with anything worth doing well is going to require time, patience and percerverance.

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not at all. i just wanna know how to start. i know its impossible to do something out of my league. but everyone should start somewhere with some assistance right?

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Originally Posted by drewjonn

what are knob twisting EDM fools? sounds real mediocre.. lol

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sxfp_Cycvg
I'm not saying these are fools, well, at least two of them. But this is faking it, looking like you're doing stuff on channels that are not on air.

The book How to DJ Right gets suggested occasionally. It's probably woefully out of date with regard to equipment, but I'd still give it a read.

YouTube tutorials can be good. Look at ellaskins. Search for basic tutorials and put up with them generally being recorded by people with insanely boring voices.

Then, once you at least know what most of the controls do, what beatmatching is, the general idea of how a mixer works....go on YouTube and find videos of DJs you like that actually show what they're doing. Boiler room is good for this. So is the pioneer djsounds show. Get the user manuals and pictures of all their equipment and figure out what they're doing, listen to what happens to the music, and figure out why they did it. This works best with DJs who don't use computers, 'cuz you can rarely see the screen and don't really know how controllers are set up.

After that, you kind of just have to experiment. And practice. A lot. And record everything you do so you can listen and evaluate it.

Online research and practice practice practice for both DJing and production (try copying songs you like in your favourite DAW, it's a nice exercise in both sound design and and arrangement and will make your head click on how certain stuff is done).

A lot of controller mfgs have tons of tutorials on how to use their equipment which is a good place to start. Then join a forum like DJTT of course and post questions. Then serch on YouTube for QBert, DJTLM, DUBSPOT just to name a few DJs that have videos on YouTube showing how to DJ, Scratch etc. Ive been thinking of taking a private course at DUBSPOT on how to DJ since they are in my city.

Back to the original question, I learned how to DJ mainly off YouTube and DJTT and some of the above methods.

My bad, I meant no disrespect. But simply put its going to take a very small investment and lots of practice. Some small monitors and like the others said, the Ellaskins youtube channel is loaded with tutorials.

Watch, read, listen to really good DJs and practice. But most importantly, go back and listen to your mixes and "review" them closefully. You'll know what you did and when in your mixes and you'll hear where you screwed up and know what to work on next time.

I can also recommend How to DJ Right. I've read it and it's great for beginners. Don't worry about the gear and software in the book being outdated, things haven't really changed that much over the years. All the controls are mostly the same and so are their locations. The book is written in a way that lets you skip chapters, so you can skip the section on cueing with vinyl for instance.

i personally reccomend using a dj in a box kit... one of those kits with 2 turntables/cdj's and a mixer. keep it as simple as possible. learning to mix with limitations is a good thing :D

Self taught. Trial and (a lot) of error until i found some mentors here at DJTT :)

Self taught for DJing and production. After I forced myself to understand the basics, that's when I started looking at tutorials for ideas and more advanced techniques.

Find a mentor. I learned a ton real fast because I was working with a mentor. It's amazing how things click real fast when you have somebody say "this way is easier" or pushing you to improve your song selection. 2 places I would look... locally, by making friends with your local DJs, or on the internet, through forums and blogs. The first is preferable, but the second will do.

Practice, practice, practice. Not only that, but practice smart. Watch a video on youtube teaching 1 concept, and spend an hour or two on that one concept. Rinse and repeat. One of the things I see is people trying to do advanced stuff (present company included) when they don't have the basics of "track A mixes into track B" djing mastered. Work on mastering the basics and you'll be miles ahead of a lot of DJs.

I taught myself everything :) started from a mixtrack pro 2 years ago and moved on to having 2 cdjs and 2 turntables with serato :)

Production wise, started with reason 3 and over the last 6 years been on and off learning how to do it. In the last year since I switched to Ableton (DAMN YOU MAVERICKS) I've pushed myself a lot harder to try and learn everything I can, including some neat little tricks I came up with myself :)

Self taught for DJing, started with Mixtrack Pro 2, then moved to 2 Cdj's (1000MKIII).

Currently on some Vestax turntables with A&H X:one42 mixer, buiding a vinyl collection.

I would start by reading beginners guides & then testing what you have learn't from these reads on physical gear. You are not going to be a "pro" right off the start but alot of learning how to dj is "doing hands on work" and after tons of time spent you will develop a style in the how to department.

This forum as well as djforums.com will be alot of help to you if you look through previous posts and read what is already there.

You will find alot of help in these forums but if you don't put the effort fourth into learning whats already put infront of you, you will find that people won't be as inclined to come to your aid.

As for producing, that is a whole different ball game.
Don't mistake djing and producing for the same thing but they can integrate themselves once you've sorted out the difference.

youtube.com is a really good feature if you need a visual guide on how to. You can probably find a video on how to via youtube for pretty much anything you need to know about djing and producing.

Partly mentored, partly self-taught for DJing. Friend moved in with another friend who had a DJ residency at a club, learned on his decks and then let me have a go, then I gradually got my equipment, experimented, then had quite a few back-to-back sessions with him to refine my techniques and then gradually started adopting a few things like mixing in key. Initial setup was a pair of CDJ-400s and a Numark DXM-09 mixer, have upgraded the mixer to a Traktor Z2 and looking at getting a second X1 Mk2 to match the one I got earlier on this year.

Don't know what genres you're interested in, but I learnt through mixing progressive breaks and electro house, which are pretty unforgiving genres to learn from in their own rights, so I would go with something like techno or house that are a bit easier to beatmatch if you're planning to do so manually without syncing at all, then go from there, though you could learn from scratch on breaks and so forth if you're persistent enough like I was.

You teach yourself, buy some music, find out what you like, watch or listen to others, go clubbing, get inspired and see where it takes you.

Today's gadgets make it easier than it's ever been to become a DJ. I believe anyone can do it.

I honestly think you can learn to DJ in a matter of minutes with todays technology, especially with EDM.

If it's hiphop then it takes a bit more time and you ideally need specialist equipment but again, the basic techniques really don't take long.

I think courses are a good idea for some but maybe it takes the fun out of learning it yourself? I don't think I'd take a course unless I spent some time learning the art first then see where you need to improve if at all.

I can understand taking a course on how to produce music as there are so many layers to the process but a DJ course for EDM for instance sounds a bit lazy to me.

When I was doing my A-levels I started hanging out in a record shop. I eventually made friends with the guy who owned it, learned to DJ on his in-store decks and in return fixed a bunch of broken stuff for him because i have a knack for that.

I went on to work in IT, he went on to DJ/Produce/Remix for a living and is apparently doing pretty well, I eventually started producing for a hobby in Ableton. A friend of mine running a small event got stitched up and needed a DJ fast, so I offered to DJ using Ableton, and I somehow end up with a residency. Things have basically gone from there although I'm not planning on giving up the day job.

How am I supposed to be a self-taught DJ. Too bad, I still can't find dudes who DJ so they can mentor me. I will be learning with Serato DJ (not intro), where can I find tutorials which provide basic to intermediate levels using the software? I am expecting to start a beating evening in 1 year :)

On youtube you can get a lot of info from Ellaskins and Djbolivia. Those were the guys that taught me a lot. But look around in your area if you can find dj lessons, I took some of those to get familliar with CDJ's. Going towards a liveset as soon as possible helps a lot as well. You can be able to do the craziest of things in your bedroom, but if there's an actual crowd things change. Just playing out at a bar or something (just playing music without mixing is fine) can help you read crowds and become comfortable with playing live.
But apart from that, just experiment a lot, listen to livesets and record your own performances to find flaws.

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Originally Posted by Scalage

On youtube you can get a lot of info from Ellaskins and Djbolivia. Those were the guys that taught me a lot. But look around in your area if you can find dj lessons, I took some of those to get familliar with CDJ's. Going towards a liveset as soon as possible helps a lot as well. You can be able to do the craziest of things in your bedroom, but if there's an actual crowd things change. Just playing out at a bar or something (just playing music without mixing is fine) can help you read crowds and become comfortable with playing live.
But apart from that, just experiment a lot, listen to livesets and record your own performances to find flaws.

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I would really like to take some actual DJ lessons since I can get to learn the basics faster and start experimenting right away. The thing is, they might cost a lot. A few hundred bucks for one level that I'd prefer spend on gears. May I know how much did you pay in total for those lessons? The crowd is actually my goal anyway so I am planning to do it real soon. I just need to learn for a few months, perform in front on my dudes first, then go for a nightclub. If it's free online lessons, then I might need those who teach DJing for a particular software or controller, that will help me a lot. (Ex. Serato software and SX2/NS6).

The place I regularly play once a month couldn't pay the dj's in cash anymore, but if you wanted training they could get you in for free or at a discount. That's how I got into some lessons. They were for four people, one hour a week for about six weeks. The training was on CDJ2000's and a DJM2000. Normally such a training costs €85, but that's below the average price in my area.

Don't worry about the gear you use during lessons, it's actually easier once you go back to your Serato setup. Most controllers and software imitate a CDJ setup anyway (ie. all controllers with jogwheels).

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Originally Posted by Scalage

The place I regularly play once a month couldn't pay the dj's in cash anymore, but if you wanted training they could get you in for free or at a discount. That's how I got into some lessons. They were for four people, one hour a week for about six weeks. The training was on CDJ2000's and a DJM2000. Normally such a training costs €85, but that's below the average price in my area.

Don't worry about the gear you use during lessons, it's actually easier once you go back to your Serato setup. Most controllers and software imitate a CDJ setup anyway (ie. all controllers with jogwheels).

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I thought you took training in USA, lol. I've done some researches about those lessons and they cost extremely expensive $500 bucks a month and I don't think that kind of price is affordable for me. I wish to learn free online such as Ellaskins, etc if they have such particular gear to teach with. Are you saying that once you get along with the CDJs, it's gonna be easier with the controller? I don't think I am going to get any actual lessons because they are overpriced, so free youtube tutorials or a friend might be my only source of learning I guess. I am moving to CA next January and I don't know if I can have some affordable classes there, or friends who might be willing to teach me at least the basics.

Nope, I live in The Netherlands. I agree, I don't think $500 a month is worth it. You'll never get enough in return to justify such a price. But still, I started the same way you did. The class I took took place just two months ago. Before the class I was already quite capable of mixing in front of a live audience. It's possible to learn to dj from youtube videos if you know where to look, and we already told you where to look as well. Just look at all the people in this thread alone that were self taught.

One more recommendation: how to dj right by Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster. It's not expensive, fun to read, has a lot of useful technical info and gives you more appreciation for djing.

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Originally Posted by Scalage

Nope, I live in The Netherlands. I agree, I don't think $500 a month is worth it. You'll never get enough in return to justify such a price. But still, I started the same way you did. The class I took took place just two months ago. Before the class I was already quite capable of mixing in front of a live audience. It's possible to learn to dj from youtube videos if you know where to look, and we already told you where to look as well. Just look at all the people in this thread alone that were self taught.

One more recommendation: how to dj right by Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster. It's not expensive, fun to read, has a lot of useful technical info and gives you more appreciation for djing.

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Exactly why I am trying so hard to find free online lessons now. Is it a new released e-book or is it an old manuals teaching with some old school gears? I find that it was released long ago, is it still worthed to read these days?

It was released in 2003 or something. But the fact that it's still the number one recommendation to this day says something about how good it is. It goes into turntables, but also CDJ's so that's useful for controllers as well. The rest didn't really change that much, eq's are still eq's, effects are almost the same and even samples are mentioned.
I found it useful and I've never used a turntable.

You just need to understand the basic fundamentals of beatmatching and phrase matching. This is fairly easy stuff to get a grasp of from youtube or even reading about them. It is fairly basic music theory.

Once you obtain this information and start to DJ you will craft a style. A mentor will mostly teach you his style and how he does things and that is only one way(or multiple, depending on the teacher) of how to do things.

I've taught a couple people the ropes and see them playing gigs regularly these days. It is a good feeling to see others progress from your teachings.

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Originally Posted by drewjonn

Exactly why I am trying so hard to find free online lessons now. Is it a new released e-book or is it an old manuals teaching with some old school gears? I find that it was released long ago, is it still worthed to read these days?

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It is "old fashioned" gear, but when you really get down to it, nothing has changed.

Computers beat match for you....big deal.

Samples and drum machines are easier to use...whoopie!

You still need the big picture idea of what you're doing, and that hasn't changed....ever, really. What makes one DJ good and another bad hasn't changed in fifty years and probably never will, or at least not any time soon.

Some people try to incorporate "live production" and "next level" techniques, but if you can't throw a set, none if it matters. And when you really understand the ideas and can beatmatching by ear to a basic level, it doesn't matter what gear you use or are presented with. If you're good, the set will be good.

Learn that first, and you'll be ahead of the game.

Back in the day, people used to ask how well you could make a playlist for a party....if you can't do that and be confident in your selection skills, then there was no reason to teach technique. I still think that's the first step.

Trial and error... Handing a promo to someone and them laughing hysterically at the transitions?

If you're looking for something structured and free, Digital DJ Tips has a course: https://digitaldjtips.leadpages.net/yt-optins/?1