Depending on how good you are with music. They could teach you the technical stuff that you probably won’t find online. I have been DJ’ing since 1992 (self taught) but if the school was available back then, I would have gone.
Here is a video someone made about beat matching:
nothing will ever be better than…PRACTICE!
I contemplated attending one of these dubspot schools, but decided against it. First reason being just the cost and second being I have to travel to NYC for it which is a 75 minute train ride. I just didn’t have the time to do that. If I had the money I would probably do it. For me, djing is a hobby. I just enjoy playing my records in a fashion I like to hear and making mixes for myself to workout to. Its fun to invite friends over for a few drinks and we can all just spin some records. If I was more serious then maybe I would make time, but if I just slowly learn more and more over time then thats fine with me. I don’t play in clubs by my house because I don’t want to restrict myself to just top 40 and hip hop. I like spinning house/techno/trance.
But what I’m trying to say is if you feel its a good enough investment, then do it. You’ll learn a whole lot more in less time at a school with an instructor than just watching videos.
I would much rather pay for a course on Logic or Ableton because the programs are more complex than learning how to dj imo.
I don’t know, because I’ve never been to a DJ school before. Everything I’ve learned I have done so from YouTube, books, other DJs, and trial and error/experimentation. I would try these methods first and, if after a lot of time and effort, you’re still not picking things up yet wish to learn, enroll in a school. I highly recommend ellaskins/DJ Tutor on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ellaskins
You dont learn a physical craft by watching, you learn by doing.
Beatmatching is a very simple technical skill. Its not even remotely near the scale of difficulty of picking up an instrument, and people have been doing that without instruction for centuries.
All you need is concentration and focus.
Get two tracks. Start them at different tempos and get them matched using only your ears. Do this every day. There is nothing to understand. You have two platters, each with a track of a different speed, and each platter has a slider that controls its speed. To learn this mechanical skill takes practice, not understanding.
Do not play with fx. Do not buy tracks. Do not check email. Do not watch screen. Do not use keylock. Disable Sync so you cant be tempted.
Do this for two hours every day for a week and youll be able to do it manually in a fortnight.
You are going to have to do this practice regardless of whether you pay someone to show you or not.
Ask yourself, are you really not getting it, or are you just lazy and unfocussed? Thats not an insult, its a question aimed right at the heart of your problems with beatmatching. It takes dedication and focus. Do you have these?
Be honest, how many hours have you spent this week just practicing beatmatching, not mixing?
I’ve taught a couple people to spin by using a headphone splitter. They would just sit there and listen while I spin. After a while they started understanding and participating. Sometimes they would train wreck me and other times they would be spot on. After a while it would sink in what they were listening for. I could step away and they would have it under control. They all seemed to say it helped.
I find both with DJing and with Producing is to work together, do a B2B set or collaborate on a track… just seeing the “teacher” produce with you is a great help. Also i find DJ schools to be a waste… if anything study music production if thats your thing, but for DJing I would practice at home half hour to hour every day as well as potential find a local DJ/artist to teach you…
This is a way of teaching that I never thought of. I’m working with a new DJ this week that I’m going to have to try this on.
To the O.P. - If it were me, I’d do it.
The only reason I got good quick was because I worked in an environment that gave me 2 mentors that I worked with every time I DJed (3-4 nights a week). It took years off of my learning curve. In my current position I end up training 2-3 new DJs a year. The ones who get good, do it in about 6 months. They work with me 1-2 times a week.
You can learn a lot from youtube. I actually use it a lot as my “textbook.” Having a teacher is better. They can see your weaknesses and what is holding you back. Nothing can replace working with someone who can see where you are at, and where you need to go.
I’ve loved every minute at Dubspot I’ve been there. Sure it’s expensive, sure you could probably learn it online, but it is a fun experience and you get to meet and network with tons of similar people.
I think you have to have some sense of music, rhythm, and creativity. There are certain things that just can’t be taught. For me, turntables and a mixer were just the tools to do what I had in my head. Before that, I was making remixes on a dual cassette deck, essentially I was audio editing, I didn’t know that at the time, I was 14, I just figured out a way to do something cool with what I had. I remember having the cassingle for Michael Jackson “The Way You Make Me feel” and it had the acapella and I edited between the original and the acapella to make it sound like I was dropping out the music and at that time that was the coolest thing. Every time I see threads asking about mixing techniques, and transitioning and where and when and how to use effects I’m thinking, there is no set manual, play with it and figure it out. It seems like nowadays everyone wants to be told exactly what to do and how. With everything so easily accessible today, I don’t see why you can’t go to youtube, watch videos, listen to other mixes, and practice practice practice and then practice some more that you couldn’t learn everything that an actual school would teach you. I’m sure its fun to be there with others, meeting new people but taking that part out of the equation, you could learn on your own.
What is it about beat matching that you don’t understand? You layer the beats on top of each other so they match in time with each other. If the 2 tracks are not the same tempo you slow 1 down or speed 1 up to make the tempos match each other.
DJ School
DJ schools are great for finding mentors and networking, honestly though the amount of great tutorials online makes learning the technical side of things there not quite as useful. On top of that is track selection is 90% of what makes a great DJ and you can only really learn that through practice.
I F’in hate this reply. You can learn how to do absolutely anything online from building a cabinet to raping a goat. Having personal guidance by a qualified teacher can never be compared to watching some youtube videos. No matter what topic you are referring too.
OP, If you can afford it, do it.
I think the dj school would be great when starting off. It took me a while to understand phrases etc I think if a dj showed me face to face I would picked things up a lot faster. If you have the money go for it!
I went to Dubspot 4 years ago. Awesome, awesome place. I can’t say enough good things about it.
