Last updated on December 31st, 2023 at 08:45 pm
Learning to DJ can be done in a multitude of ways, one of which is enrolling in online DJing courses. The benefit of these courses and online DJing schools is that they teach you specifically what you want to learn, contrary to going to music school and having to learn a lot of additional stuff that you may not need, plus they are much cheaper!
I honestly believe that you can become an excellent musician all on your own, without having to resort to music schools, and online courses are a great way of achieving this!
I created this list of the best DJing courses out there that should help you narrow down the search and I will also include a couple of freebies at the bottom of the post.
DJ Courses Online
Best service on this list because for a monthly subscription you get access to multiple courses.
Armin Masterclass
A Masterclass by the great Armin Van Buuren about electronic music production and DJing.
How to Become a DJ
One of the most In-depth courses about DJing currently out there aimed mostly at beginners.
Let’s get started!
Best online DJ Courses
In this section, I will list the best courses overall I could find, starting with the best one and then moving on from there!
DJ Courses Online
Best Online DJ Course Platform (Monthly Membership = All Courses)!
DJ Courses Online is by far the best online DJing resource out there that offers dozens of courses specifically tailored to anything DJ-related.
The great thing about DJ Courses Online is that it offers loads of courses for different levels, and there are also many instructors to choose from depending on your needs and likes, meaning that there is at least one course for everybody, no matter the skill level.
Plus, if you don’t like one style of teaching, just move on to the next course and see if you like the other instructor better since you don’t pay on a course-by-course basis like you would with many other programs.
You can pay monthly, or annually, or you can simply purchase a lifetime membership, and the pricing is $19/mo., $120/year, or $300 for the lifetime membership.
If you truly want to learn as much as there is to know about DJing, then DJ Courses Online is probably the best place to start since it literally offers a lot for everyone, no matter the level of knowledge, and the techniques you’ll learn are:
- Beat counting
- Beatmatching
- Syncing
- Song Structure
- Song selection
- DJ equipment
- EQing
- Effects
- Cue Points
- Looping
- Transitions
- Sampling
- Backspinning
- Among others.
Some of the best courses available are;
- How to DJ; Masterclass
- Advanced DJ Techniques and Tips (Divided into 3 levels)
- DJing Basics
- DJ Career Tips
As I just mentioned, I think this is the best place overall to learn how to DJ, and since it’s extremely cheap, I honestly think that they are offering a tremendous amount of value for the price!
So, find out more about DJ Courses Online here.
Armin Van Buuren Teaches Dance Music
DJing course by one of the greats!
I don’t think Armin Van Buuren needs any introduction since he’s a very well-known DJ, record producer, and remixer who makes some of the best electronic and trance music out there.
In this course, you will learn a lot about electronic music production; how to build tracks from start to finish, performing, and promoting your music, and more.
The class provides you with 33 lessons, a downloadable workbook, and audio stems from Armin’s projects.
The course can be accessed from your PC, Apple TV, and all mobile devices, meaning that you can even learn while commuting to work.
How much does it cost?
On Masterclass you don’t have to pay for individual courses but rather for a monthly subscription that provides you with access to all of the available courses on the platform.
The prices are as follows: $15 for an individual plan, $20 for a Duo plan (1 account, 2 devices), and $23 for the Family plan (1 account and 6 devices), but the Individual plan doesn’t allow you to download the content whereas the other plans do.
If you’re serious about trance music, then the Armin Van Buuren Teaches Dance Music course is definitely for you, so make sure to sign up for his Masterclass.
Find out more about Armin Van Buuren’s Masterclass here.
How to Become a DJ – Udemy
Short yet in-depth course for Beginner DJs!
This is the best-selling DJ course on Udemy. It’s a complete masterclass with over 11 hours of content, which is a lot longer than most other courses.
Ross Palmer, who is the teacher of this course, has spent 13 years perfecting his craft and building his DJ technique, starting from vinyl all the way up to CDs.
He worked at Armada Music with some of the greatest DJs in the world today, and he says that he even found out during that time that his skills were on par or even higher than the ones of most signed artists.
In this course, he will teach you the technical foundations and the skills necessary to be a top-level DJ that can perform in front of huge crowds.
If you want to learn what it takes to be a real DJ, how to become one, and learn all the essential techniques, then this course is a must.
You can find out more at the Udemy Website here.
Point Blank Music School
Most in-depth courses that last over 3 months!
If you’re looking for a long-term course offered by an actual music school, then Point Blank Music School has got you covered since they feature two different online courses for DJs, each lasting a total of three months, as well as a handful of general music production courses.
Since this is a proper music school, you will need to pay a reg fee and then the rest of the course that you choose which is more expensive than any of the other courses you can find in this article (about $700), but the truth is that you will be getting access 3 months worth of content instead of just 10 hours or so, which is what most other courses offer.
The DJ courses the Point Blank Music School offers are: DJ Skills, and DJ/Producer Career Development.
The DJ Skills course is ideal for people who want to begin their DJing career since you’ll learn all the fundamentals to being a successful DJ, including technical skills and an understanding of music theory.
The DJ/Producer Career Development is designed to help you break through and make DJing a full-time career, from creating your own sound, getting to know how booking agencies work, getting your music signed, and more.
How much does it cost?
As far as the pricing goes, both courses will set you back about $800, or £680, and they have specific starting dates (generally, every trimester).
If you’re dead-set on making the most out of your DJing career, then Point Blank Music School may be the best choice since they offer excellent courses, both for learning how to DJ as well as how to promote your music.
Oh and just as a side note, if you sign up for any of their courses you will be granted huge discounts on software such as 50% off of Ableton Live 11, 50% Komplete 13 y Native instruments, and much more!
So, find out more about Point Blank’s DJ Courses here.
Rekordbox Dj – Mix like a Professional! – Udemy
This curse is strictly geared towards beginners, and you will learn how to use the Pioneer software, which is one of the best ones in the industry.
The course starts completely from scratch, so no prior experience is required, however if you already own a controller, then that can enhance the experience.
Compared to the previous course I just listed that offers 11 hours of instructions, this one is only 2.5 hours long.
However, it covers all the basics and it goes straight to the point while still keeping it simple and easy to follow.
You can find out more at the Udemy Website here.
Questlove Teaches Music Curation and DJing
Great introductory course to DJing and Music Curation!
Questlove, or actually named Ahmir Thompson, is not only a very well-known DJ but also the Drummer of the band The Roots (yes, the one playing on the Jimmy Fallon show).
In this course, you will learn about the different DJing techniques and also expand your music vocabulary, and everything about hip-hop, neo-soul, jazz, R&B, and more, to curate your own perfect playlist.
In addition to this, you will learn about the equipment Questlove uses, how to plan your set in order to have a more successful night, how to train your ears, and much more.
How much does it cost?
On Masterclass you don’t have to pay for individual courses but rather for a monthly subscription that provides you with access to all of the available courses on the platform.
The prices are as follows: $15 for an individual plan, $20 for a Duo plan (1 account, 2 devices), and $23 for the Family plan (1 account and 6 devices), but the Individual plan doesn’t allow you to download the content whereas the other plans do.
If you want to learn from one of the best-known names in the industry and not just about DJing but also about curating your own music list, then definitely check out this course.
So, find out more about Questlove’s Masterclass here.
Millionaire DJ – Udemy
Millionaire DJ is one of the best courses for beginners out there that starts off with gear recommendations and all the equipment you need as well as the software, which is something that most beginners struggle with.
Note: You’ll need FL Studio for this course.
You can, however, use the Free trial version of the software, but it’s not recommended.
Just like with all courses, this one will take you a bit of time since you can’t just complete it in one sitting.
You’ll need to absorb all the concepts and learn to apply them, which is something that actually takes quite a lot of time.
In this course you’ll learn by creating 2 professional songs with your own melodies, as well as learn how to use FL Studio 12 properly.
Lastly, you will learn what steps to take in order to start making money off of your skills.
You can find out more at the Udemy Website here.
Now, I also wrote a post about the 29 best music production courses available, which you should definitely check out!
DJ Techniques with Ableton Live
Note: You will require some previous knowledge on how to use Ableton Live to fully take advantage of this course.
This is a course by one of Udemy’s best-selling instructors, Jason Allen, who clearly knows his stuff inside and out.
The course itself is geared towards beginners and intermediates, however since you need to have some pretty good Ableton Live knowledge, I think that even some advanced DJs should be able to get something out of it.
It’s one of the best courses to learn DJing in a comprehensive way.
What you will learn
- DJ and Perform music using Ableton Live
- Create a dynamic set for getting a crowd dancing
- Use effects and transitions to keep the music flowing
- Effect Racks
- Parallel Processing
- Performance Effect Racks
- Controllers
- MIDI Mapping
You can find out more at the Udemy Website here.
Free Online DJ Courses
Now, if you don’t want to spend any money on online DJing courses, I get you!
Even though all of the courses I listed are excellent and teach some of the essential concepts you’ll need to grow as a DJ and a producer, there are still some ways in which you can learn that for free.
I’d recommend looking for video content over written content.
The reasons for this are pretty obvious; You can see and hear what’s going on, which is much better for learning.
So, YouTube is your best friend here.
Let’s start with LaidBack Luke’s channel.
LaidBack Luke
Laidback Luke has made a big name for himself in the DJing industry. If there’s one guy on YouTube that you should probably learn from, it’s him.
The great thing about his channel is that he covers just about everything you need to know in order to become a better DJ;
From teaching you the basics all the way to the most advanced techniques you could ever learn.
If you like his style of teaching, which is really informative and to the point, then you will certainly like his channel.
The great thing about YouTube, besides being free, is that you can follow one teacher and learn everything from them, rather than having a different one in every course.
It all depends on what style you prefer.
Sadly, with YouTube, there’s no certificate to work towards…
But in all honesty, when it comes to music, I don’t think certificates are even important.
Most of my favorite musicians, no matter what style of music they make, are self-taught.
So, don’t think that just because it’s free and there’s no certificate that it’s not worth the time.
Moving on…
Jon Sine
Jon Sine is not only an experienced DJ, but he also knows the music industry inside and out.
On his YouTube channel, you will find information about just anything related to both of these subjects, and I highly suggest you watch his videos.
The video I just linked talks about all the essentials about DJing that a beginner should know, which just means that you won’t have to spend any cash on a course that goes over these things and you will still learn them.
Other very informative videos you should watch are;
Go check out Jon Sine’s channel and learn more about DJing and the Music industry for free!
My Top Recommendation
The courses I’d recommend the most are the ones available at DJ Courses Online since they offer great quality courses at an affordable price, especially since it’s subscription-based, which means that you can pay for a single month and do all the courses you want.
If you even want to get more bang for your buck, getting a yearly subscription will save you a total of 50%.
Conclusion
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on colleges if you want to become a good DJ, there’s just no need, and you can even do it completely for free by learning everything from YouTube.
However, I would still recommend that you enroll in some courses which focus on the key aspects that you need to improve on.
The site I would recommend the most is DJ Courses Online since it teaches everything there is to know about DJing and music production, and it’s also very affordable since by paying for just one month you can get loads of courses done.
I hope this information was useful.
Have a great day!
