What do you guys think about DJ Schools
I’ve been thinking about going to a DJ school for a few lessons what do you guys think of them?
what arent you getting?
I don’t have a problem with them. I never went to a dj school because they wren’t available when I was coming up, but if it makes people better dj’s, then more power to it.
Don’t do it.
Unless you want to totally remove the fun out of learning, and applying your own style to the mix.
Listen to other dj’s see what you like / don’t like to hear others do and try to emulate that, and then develop that by yourself.
Not saying dj schools are bad, I’m sure they do the necessary learning. But really, all the things you’ll be taught at a dj school are all online. Including here.
i think in this day and age with the way technology has enhanced DJing schools are a little irrelevent for me. I started over 16 years ago now and back then there wasnt much room for elaboration, you had to have 2 turntables and a mixer (CDJs were something that was just coming about in a viable form to use) - everyone used the same kit so the theory was pretty much the same - beatmatching, cueing up tracks, eq and fx etc etc, there were a few slightly different aproaches to it but the end result was the same. Now the technology varies from booth to booth and dj to dj so i would say find your own path, if your struggling to do that make your own, it is certainly way more accessable to it than it used to be. Is there anything in particular you feel you are not understanding or getting the hang of?
If you can afford it, you should do it.
If you can’t, do what the rest of us do.
I think it’s a great idea, sometimes within a learning curve there are points where you would really beneficiate from direct help from others. Or sometimes just to get a different approach. Being within a dedicated, learning environment, with like minded people (or at least people having the same goals as you) is absolutely great. You can make contacts, it’s refreshing, motivating, etc, etc…
It’s a lot of things a forum community of mostly hobbyists can’t really bring you via posts.
The two main issues are:
- is the school serious enough/ did the ‘teachers’ learned to teach/ is it structured
- define your need(s), make sure it’s understood by the school
I took lessons some years ago (after 10 years of djing) as I needed to work on some stuff I felt I needed help upon, and it was helpful.
Now if I had a school like dubspot near me and if I had the money, f..k yeah I’ll register right now. I need to work on scratching, producing, I like to learn the use of some gear, etc, etc… And no forums, videos, tutorials would be of greater help than direct lessons.
This.
And also lots of what Yul said.
I think I could get a lot out of a DJ school, I’d like to really get beat matching down plus I think getting trained by a “famous” DJ would be really cool lol.
I learnt beat matching by
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Ensuring the tempos were the same
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Listening by ear and practicing over and over (and I still don’t have it down pat)
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Good DJ >>>> Famous DJ
There’s literally nothing you can learn at a DJ school that you couldn’t off your own back with some YouTube searches and listening/watching a load of live sets. I guarantee you there isn’t a single thing they would teach you that you couldn’t learn from one of us here/
For decades, DJs have been learning the craft to excel without any help from others at all. You’re spoilt for information right now. Forums, video steams, mix hosting sites, digital music stores… I had none of that to learn from, and that was ‘only’ 1998! If I can learn with only a few Helter Skelter mixtape packs, a couple of second hand records and shitty belt drive turntables, you can damn well put in some elbow grease and learn from your own mistakes.
I hear you Dan, and I would love to give a long, drawn out response.
However, I will just say this:
If someone wanted to learn how to box (my former sport) and they told me that they could learn on their own as opposed to going to a gym, then they would get nowhere.
When you’re good enough you can train on your own. When you’re not good, you need advice a guidance (and it usually helps when it’s in the flesh).
DJing is the same. All pursuits which are skill based are the same.
DJing isn’t a competitive sport. You aren’t going up against anyone face to face, so the comparison is irrelevant. My point isn’t that everyone should learn to DJ locked in a room somewhere, its that with the resource on the web these days, DJ schools are just there to take money from suckers or lazy people. Like I said: There isn’t anything related to the art that we all on this forum couldn’t answer.
EDIT: and find some people in your area that you can jam with once a month or so. Just play 30 minute sets or three on three off b2b. You’d be surprised how much that helps. I can’t believe we’re even having this discussion in 2015.
OK mate.
I think the best advice was:
IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT, DO IT.
Denying someone a learning experience based on your own views is silly. It’s like saying to a child in school “Oh, you don’t need tuition because I don’t like it.”
Who are you to decide what’s good for others?
What’s the point of asking for advice if you don’t like what you hear? The argument for going is weak: “If you have money to waste, do it”. The argument against is a lot stronger: “There’s plenty of resources you can tap into otherwise, so save your money and buy something nice and shiny for your setup, or put it towards a newer laptop/PS4/Apple Watch/[insert cool toy]”.
I didn’t ask for advice, I just think that your view of learning (anything) is incorrect and rather oldfartish, as you said yourself 
Being given direct, physical advice by people who are better at something than you is rarely useless.
The real question might be: Are the DJ schools value for money? But denying that they might have some value is folly.
Is there a lot of material you can get from the web, yes. Is it better than a direct lesson from an experienced teacher, fuck no.
Imagine you learn scratching, you can watch dj angelo tutorials for example which are great and yes you can learn like that BUT who’s going to tell YOU to position your hand, your fingers in such a way, to correct your position to a perfect spot. The video? are you kidding me?
Now try to learn ableton, which has quite a learning curve (for me at least). Yes you can get help from others, yes you can find tutorials and a lot of stuff around. And yes maybe you can learn like that (as many have probably done) and that will take you 1 year to reach a specific point. But taking a course may well make you gain 6 months to reach that point too just for the sake of getting right away the correct practices and avoiding common pitfalls.
Likewise talking about motivation we’re all different, some may well work alone, others do need to find themselves in a motivational environment. It is how it is.
and just for the sake of it:
does that mean you’ll learn correctly?
Now if one think he can learn without any kind of feedback, he’s sorely mistaken. Nothing to do with being in 2015…
I’m out of this thread, it’s becoming stupid.
edit: back to the OP.
On the other hand, do you need to get lesson from a dj school for that specific point. Maybe not has nobody is going to train your ear. However you might get acces to gear you don’t have have home so why not.
I think you’re mistaken if you think you’ll find famous djs at dj school. Don’t get me wrong, some may be or were, but that’s just a very small percentage.
You guys both make valid points about going and not going. Personally I learn best by seeing someone do it if in person or on the web. I couldn’t say look at a manual and figure out beatmatching to save my life, But I leaned how to cook BBQ ribs (which I had last night and were absolutely delicious) from YouTube. I’ve looked at a dozen beatmatching videos on YouTube and have not come across one that I understood. As far as resources equipment wise I think Im more than adequate in that dept. On a side note I respectfully ask that we keep this thread civil so we can hear other folks opinions thanks.
Never went to school for a thing about music, I cared about it enough to do all of the research required for me to overcome any obstacle in the process.
Whether it be producing or DJing.. Start doing it, when you hit a brickwall, Google it and learn how to overcome the specific issue and continue on. Rinse and repeat. Going to those schools cost like thousands of dollars, do you have the money for it or would you put the burden on your guardians? I have this gut feeling you’re young so that’s why I ask that. I can’t justify the costs for those school for someone to teach you to keep the songs at the same bpm, find the first kick of the track and set your cue, 4 kicks = 1 bar, etc. It’s not something you write down in a notebook you just challenge yourself daily and you’ll get better.
I wouldn’t really do it but if it was with someone like rob swift or q bert i might be down.
But as alot have said, alot can be learned online.
