Four of the Best DJ Courses Online in 2022

ByJoseph Parker

DJing is continuing to surge rapidly to become a pastime, profession, hobby, and career for millions worldwide. It’s fun, creative, flexible and it provides many awesome opportunities. DJing is also highly accessible and let’s not forget, it’s super fun!

DJing can also easily be practiced within one’s home, which is a tremendous asset going forward. There is no better time to hone your skills and learn to unlock your DJ potential.

Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced DJ who wants to take your skills to a new level, it’s time to grow and develop with some of the best DJ courses online in 2022.

1. DJ Courses Online

DJ Courses online is highly professional and features a great array of superb courses suitable for all types of DJs. They have you covered for everything from the basics taught as part of the How to DJ: Masterclass to their 4 part advanced DJ courses and a separate course designed to help DJs further their careers and roles in the industry, all designed by hugely successful DJ TLM.

There are also 4 separate courses on everything to do with DJing authored by the site itself which provide a different take on DJing basics and foundational techniques. This is awesome as it allows you to switch between the two if you want a fresh perspective. You can cross-check and revise different elements of your DJ learning to really improve drastically.

There are also 5 courses covering Serato, Traktor, Ableton Live, and Mixed in Key. Each course is broken down into detailed sections and are very well thought out. DJ Courses Online is cost-effective too with monthly costs of just $19. You get access to every course for the price. Videos are highly professionally produced and the site UI is excellent – intuitive and smooth.

How to DJ: Masterclass – Created and narrated by DJ TLM, this course covers everything from listening to music and counting the beats correctly through to beatmatching, EQ, effects and even some basic scratching. It’s great because it gives you the foundation without playing down the importance of aiming for more advanced techniques.

Advanced DJ Techniques and Tips – A 4 part course by DJ TLM, this course teaches DJs the stuff they need to know to aim for greatness. Elevate your mix beyond basic levels and get a name for yourself for mixing music with skill a cut above. The modern DJ scene is pretty busy – you need these techniques to unlock your potential and cut through the noise!

DJing Basics and Techniques – DJ Courses Online also provides 4 courses on DJ basics and intermediate techniques that contain much of the same content as the courses written by DJ TLM. They take on a different style, though, so give you the chance to mix up your learning, which is great.

Other Courses – Other courses cover software like Mixed in Key, Traktor, Serato and even Ableton Live. This is perfect for those learning to DJ across different platforms.

Pros

  • Array of highly professional courses
  • Covers everything from DJ basics to advanced techniques
  • Relevant to users of all equipment
  • Cost-effective

Cons

  • None

2. How to Become a DJ – Udemy

Udemy has been a household name in courses for a few years and this is its bestselling DJ course with thousands of downloads. It’s content-packed and contains no less than 11 hours of footage. Whilst some lessons are more-or-less duplicates or re-runs, the attention to detail and thick coverage might suit some people well.

Written by Ross, a professional DJ with years of industry experience, this course comes from someone who knows the game, and that counts for a lot. This course is designed for Pioneer users only and it recommends you own CJD1000s or an XDJ-RX, or better. Obviously this omits a wide range of DJs that aren’t using that equipment or currently don’t own it and are looking to move onto it. Ultimately, how many beginner DJs own an XDJ-RX?

Section 1 and 2 – This covers DJ fundamentals and basics such as beatmatching, EQ, and fading between tracks, etc. It lays the groundwork well and pays attention to modern dance music and how it has changed DJing

Section 3 – Aims at teaching you how to work towards 1 hour of continuous decent mixing. It’s geared towards events and shows which is useful for modern club DJs.

Section 4 – Delves into advanced techniques including Mixed in Key, scratching and more. There’s an impressive level of content here, it’s just a shame it’s mostly confined to Pioneer gear.

Pros

  • Big course with plenty of content
  • Great for Pioneer purists
  • Advanced techniques content is impressive

Cons

How many beginners own high-end Pioneer gear or even Pioneer gear at all? Not many!

3. Armin Van Buuren – Masterclass.com

Armin Van Buuren needs no real introduction. He’s quite simply one of the most famous people in electronic dance music and has been at the top of the DJ industry for over two decades. Obviously the chance to learn from the greats is enticing and though this course is very limited in scope, in that it will only appeal to those who wish to DJ genres like EDM, House and Trance, it’s exceptional at what it does.

Of course, there is a lot of content here and it gives all types of DJs an insight into how a top DJ operates. It’s worth mentioning here that DJing only forms a smallish part of this course, it is more orientated towards everything DJ encapsulates including production.

This course has 6 sections:

Philosophy and Career – Armin speaks of the past, present and future state of the DJ industry.

Engineering and Technical – A pretty useful section that some courses cover only fleetingly. This helps explains what decks, mixers, software, etc, actually is and how they combine to form DJ setups.

Melodic Elements – Armin discusses melodies and their role in modern dance music.

Rhythmic Elements – The same but with bass and percussion.

Vocals – The role of vocals in DJ performances and production.

DJing – The part of the course designed specifically for DJing and performance. It’s a pretty big section.

Pros

  • The Masterclass platform is a joy to use
  • Excellent for DJs also interested in producing
  • Learn from a DJ great

Cons

  • DJ section could be further developed

4. Crossfader

Crossfader is a DJ course and online learning portal that hosts DJ lessons and courses that cover pretty much every technique and platform. The high-tech learning portal looks awesome and the attractive interface is easy to work with. There are courses on Serato, Traktor, RekordBox, and Pioneer gear like CDJs and RX controllers.

Each platform has around 3 different courses which are superb quality. The upshot is this allows you to home into an area you need to improve and improve it well, but on the downside, these courses are expensive at some $100 upwards each. It’s not ideal for those that want to spread their learning out over different platforms and levels ranging from beginner to intermediate and advanced.

Serato – Learnt to DJ on Serato-enabled DJ controllers. Serato is probably the most popular DJ software around right now.

Traktor – The resurgent Traktor will always have a place in some DJ’s hearts. This course teaches Traktor and some of its niche features

RekordBox – The new kid on the block, RekordBox is quickly replacing Serato and Traktor on DJ’s laptops everywhere.

XDJ/RX2 Courses – Tailored to Pioneer controller users, these are also useful for those that use CDJs.

Online Performance DJ Courses – Take detailed looks at advanced techniques.

Pros

  • Specific courses for those that want to learn about specific elements of DJing
  • High-quality portal and courses
  • All platforms covered

Cons

  • Expensive and inflexible

To help them learn, DJs are now able to access amazing online courses that provide expert tutorials, knowledge, tips, and tricks on how to practice and perfect the art. It’s a great way to learn, you can set your own pace, skip to areas you want to focus on, revise what you already know, and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses in order to improve.

DJ courses online have become a tremendous resource for all sorts of DJs, they don’t just teach you the fundamentals, they can also teach you about DJing’s hardest and most respected techniques, e.g. scratching. If you want to really give yourself the best chance of becoming pro and standing out from the noise, an online DJ course is for you.

But what are the benefits of learning online and what are the best DJ courses around?

The Benefits of Learning Online

Learning online is awesome for so many reasons but it’s particularly well-suited to DJing. DJing revolves around music selection, technique, and structure. Everyone wants to find a signature style, they want to learn on their own equipment and with their own music. This makes DJing ideal to learn alone in your own time. That way, you can learn in a way that suits you and your goals.

Suits Any Level DJ

There’s always something new to learn when DJing. Online DJ courses cater to every level of DJ. Maybe you’re new to the game and are simply looking to build a foundational knowledge of DJing to start mixing some tracks, DJ courses compile everything you’ll need to get to grips and progress onto the next level.

Beyond, DJ courses provide tutorials on advanced techniques ranging from scratching to using Mixed in Key software to bring your melodic mixing techniques to new levels. The granular detail involved and dedication to covering every base makes the online DJ course far superior to other resources like YouTube.

Self-Paced Learning

Learning to DJ online allows you to pace yourself. It’s flexible and you can dip in and out when it suits you. This is excellent for learning at home in your own time. Load up your setup, switch on a tutorial, and get mixing! Once you feel you’ve covered an area, simply move on to the next stage or start to investigate new and exciting techniques like scratching.

Detail and Coverage

Online DJ courses are created by real pros and they don’t leave anything out. They cover everything in superb detail, from beginner techniques through to the upper echelons of scratching and beat juggling. Nothing is left behind and each and every installment of a good DJ course is crafted to be accurate and useful. Also, many courses cover different platforms and gear including vinyl, CDJs and controllers, as well as DJ software for introducing new DJs to the art.

Summary

There are some great courses here and all of them provide a great opportunity for DJs to learn at home. Online courses allow you to obtain a high standard and with content that covers everything from the basics to niche advanced techniques like Mixed in Key, there’s really something for every level of DJ. Online courses allow you to use self-paced learning to progress at your own rate, which is great also.

DJ Courses Online provides the widest array of DJ courses for the best price. It blends professionalism with a laidback style which is easy to follow and learn from. The platform works very well and there are selections for every DJ platform, no one is excluded.

How to Become a DJ on Udemy is great and 11 hours of content is pretty insane but, and it’s a big but, it’s exclusive to Pioneer owners – particularly those that own Nexus or equivalent controllers like the RX2.

Armin Van Buuren’s course is awesome and it provides something a little different by focussing on DJing as part of the package of what makes a great electronic musician and performer. For EDM and trance lovers, this course probably proves hard to resist.

Crossfader has created an awesome high-tech platform with plenty of great courses. They’re tailored specifically to smaller areas of DJing, which is great for exploring techniques in great detail. It does, however, end up being pretty expensive.

Your choice depends on your budget, equipment, and scope. Either way, you’ve made a great choice by learning to DJ with online courses. Good luck!