DJ Course

Perfect if you are starting out as a DJ or need help with your mixing. Point Blank DJ school has been training students for more than a decade. Cueing, drop-mixing and beat matching are covered in detail, so you are confident in your mixing every time. We'll also show you how to record your mixes and upload them so that your tutor can check on your progress and offer expert advice each week.

Course content

Week 1: Setting up the Equipment

• Positioning your turntables (or decks)
• Fitting and balancing the stylus (or needles)
• Connecting your turntables to a mixer

Week 2: Understanding the Equipment

• Mixer controls
• Gains & EQ, Inputs & Outputs, Line/Phono switches.
• Turntable controls & pitch adjustment controls

Week 3: Cue the Music

• How tracks are structured - beats, bars and phrases
• Finding the first beat of the bar
• Cueing a track using faders & pre fade (cue)controls

Week 4: Drop Mixing

• Introduction to fade mixing
• Drop Mixing using the crossfader
• Drop mixing using the start /stop button

Week 5: The Theory of Beat Matching

• Introduction to beatmatching - theory.
• Beatmatching 2 copies of the same record
• Tempo and BPM (beats per minute)

Week 6: Beat Matching in Practice

• Listening to two records simultanously
• Adjusting the speed via pitch controls
• Re-cueing the record

Week 7: Beat Matching in Practice part 2

• Phrase alignment
• Making manual adjustments to the speed of the record
• Using pitch control as accelerator & deccelerator

Week 8: Mixing Techniques

• Cross fader technique
• Volume and EQ mixing
• Using the channel faders

Week 9: Mixing/ Fader techniques

• Cut Mixing, transforming and cutting techniques
• Using the cross fader to make a smooth transition
• Crossfader curves - what are they for?

Week 10: Teaser Drop-Ins/Effects

• Using "teasers" to build anticipation
• Rhythmic cuts and drop-ins
• Punch phasing & use of effects

Week 11: Constructing a Set & Promotion

• Building a DJ set - know your audience
• Hints and tips for your first gig
• Preparing to record your mix

Week 12: Final Test

• Creating track markers
• Record and edit your final mix assignment
• Get personal feedback from your tutor