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So you’ve decided you want to learn to DJ but don’t want to spend your hard-earned cash on a DJ course. Why not do a free online DJ course?
Some of the established online DJ schools offer online DJ courses for free – so you can get a taster of their premium course. Although doing an established DJ course will help you learn faster, you can easily learn the basics and art of DJing online for free. I’ve gathered a few of the best free DJ courses below with links to DJ YouTube channels and DJ blogs so you can teach yourself to DJ.
If you want to learn more details about the functions of DJ software like Traktor, Serato, and Rekordbox, or learn DJ skills like beat matching, how to mix, and how to use a DJ mixer, these free courses and blog articles will show you. You will also find a list of useful DJ YouTube channels that I’ve collected that will help you learn to DJ online for free. 😉
(If you’re looking for a paid course, check out my article on the best online DJ courses).
Table of Contents
Summary of Free Online DJ Courses & Blogs
The best free course is Club Ready’s free mini DJ course – offering a great overview of DJ basics. Their Youtube Channel also offers a lot of free content. Crossfader’s How to DJ course is another great free resource, their Youtube channel is useful too. The following Youtube DJ channels are also recommended:
Club Ready DJ School – Free Mini Course
Point Blank Music School Youtube Channel
Pyramid Youtube Channel
Crossfader How to DJ
Crossfader Youtube Channel
DJ Digital Tips YouTube Channel
DJ Tech Tools Youtube Channel
Pioneer DJ Youtube Channel
Numark Mix Academy
DJ Mag Youtube Channel
Run more about each blog and suggested playlists and videos below 🙂
Club Ready DJ
View: Free Mini Course
Club Ready DJ School is a solid favorite for premium DJ courses; however, if you want to learn to DJ for free, check out their free mini DJ course.
The free DJ course is designed to give you the tools needed to get started as a DJ. It includes 16 videos with mini-courses on how to DJ, a setup and support section, and a bonus section on how to mix different genres of music.
There is also a bonus video on creating and setting cues to take full control of your mix transitions. A nice touch is that you’ll also be emailed cheat sheets, and free e-books that go hand in hand with the videos! A superb free online DJ course!
You can also learn a lot for free from their YouTube channel Club Ready DJ
Club Ready DJ Channel
View: Club Ready DJ Channel
The Club Ready DJ channel has been around since 2017 and has a load of useful free DJ videos for beginners and advanced DJs.
Here are some recommended playlists from their channel that will help you learn to DJ:
Related: Best YouTube Channels for Producers
Digital DJ Tips
Visit digitaldjtips.com
Digital DJ Tips is an established DJ course site that has been teaching people djing skills since 2010. Founded by Phil Morse, a former DJ & club promoter from Manchester, UK this site has a wealth of information for beginner DJs.
Although they don’t offer a free online DJ course you will be able to begin to teach yourself a lot from reading the free tutorials on the blog. The blog section has a lot of information! You’ll be can learn about picking the right DJ controller, transitions, mixing, track selection, connecting with your audience, beat matching and DJ equipment.
Phil also wrote a DJ book called “Rock the Dancefloor; you can buy a hard copy on Amazon… or get the pdf for free on the website. (You’ll have to sign up to their mailing list).
Related: Find more DJ Books here.
Also, check out The DJ Test, it’s an online learning tool that helps you work out where you most need to improve as a DJ! If you complete the test it will offer you personalized free training based on data from your results.
If you find it easier to learn from videos, check out the Youtube channel. There’s tons of great DJ content and a Free DJ Tutorial playlist.
Digital DJ Tips YouTube Channel
As mentioned above Digital DJ Tips Youtube channel has a load of quality free DJ tutorials. Get started with their Free DJ Tutorial playlist.
Here are some other playlists from their channel that will help you learn to DJ for free:
Crossfader
View: wearecrossfader.co.uk
Founded by DJ Jamie Hartley in 2014 Crossfader is another well-known online DJ school. They have an extensive range of online DJ courses – all paid for. However, if you want to learn how to DJ online for free their blog is a great resource!
Similar to the DJ Digital Tips Blog, they have lots of content that will help you teach yourself to DJ. Look out for posts about DJ skills and techniques, gear such as DJ mixers & controllers, mixing, how to get dj gigs and track selection. There are a lot of articles on this blog to keep you busy.
The best part of the website is that they also offer “The Complete DJ course” – for FREE!
Their free DJ course covers the core skills you need to become a DJ. It goes through basic skills to help you promote yourself, find gigs and use professional DJ gear. They offer nine free DJ lessons that have been taken from their paid course – Complete DJ Package. So take advantage of the taster session – you are under no obligation to purchase the full course.
Crossfader has a great Youtube Channel too, with a Playlist that features free dj lessons
Crossfader YouTube Channel
View: Crossfader Youtube Channel
More great DJ videos about decks, music, the art of mixing, free DJ and mixer lessons and DJ career advice.
Check out the following playlists:
- Career Advice
- How its Done: DJ Lessons
- Serato Studio Tutorial Series
- Serato DJ Tips, Tricks & Mixes
- Denon DJ Tutorials & Mixes
- Traktor Tips, Tricks and Mixes
- How to DJ with a Laptop – Beginner DJ Lessons
- Rekordbox – Tips, Tricks & mixes
- DJ Tips & Tricks
DJ Tech Tools
View djtechtools.com
DJ tech tools are a great DJ & midi controller brand (i own the MIDI Twister and love it). There is a lot of good content on their blog for aspiring music producers and DJs – the only downside is that it’s a little hard to navigate the blog by subject. None the less, worth checking out.
DJ Tech Tools Youtube Channel
The Youtube Channel is a little more user friendly. Heres a selection of useful playlists:
Numark
View Numark Mix Academy
Numark are another leading DJ gear brand, so a part of their product promo they’ve put together a series of videos on “How to DJ”. The free lessons are located on their blog on the “Mix Academy” page. The only downside of these free DJ lessons is that they are Numark DJ controller-specific. You of course don’t need a Numark controller to DJ but it will help to get the most from this video series. You will still be able to pick up some fundamental techniques from these videos. If you are still searching for the perfect DJ controller – these videos will also be useful for your research.
Numark also has a Youtube Channel which provides tutorials on their DJ products.
Pyramid
View Pyramid
I’d not heard of Pyramid before researching this article and I was pleasantly surprised to discover them offering a free DJ course. Taken from their full DJ program, the free course gives you the first 3 sections of their 10-section course. This is provided via two videos on DJ fundamentals.
Pyramid YouTube Channel
The Pyramid YouTube channel has lots of music production and DJ tutorials to dig into. I picked out the following free DJ lessons playlis:
Pioneer DJ
View blog.pioneerdj.com
Pioneer is one of the leading name DJ equipment brands. If you’re not already familiar, they make the DJ software Rekordbox and industry-standard DJ gear such as DJ controllers, DJ mixers and the CDJs range. So to become a DJ you’ll need to learn how to use their DJ software and hardware. Most DJ courses use Pioneer gear in their lessons to teach you; you can, of course, always learn from the manufacturer themselves. They have a blog and a Youtube offering free lessons – of course the only down side to this is that is is oriented around Pioneer products. It is however FREE 😉
Pioneer YouTube Channel
Head over to the Youtube Channel for free DJ videos about Pioneer DJ Gear. If you’ve just bought a DJ controller from Pioneer this is a good place to learn about it, they’ve got gear tutorial playlists for most of their DJ hardware. Also of use are their free rekordbox tutorials:
Youtube
You’ll find an abundance of free DJ course videos on YouTube; some are great – others less so. I find it helps to go with established channels that have a proven track record for providing great DJ content. Many of the established DJ schools and brands have an introductory free online DJ course on their YouTube channels that is worth watching. I’ve listed them below.
I’ve also collated a few of the top DJ channels on YouTube that provide reliable DJ content that you can watch and learn from. The best thing… Youtube is free 😉
DJcity’s channel
If you are interested in DJ and turntablism then check out DJcity’s channel for great how-tos by Mojaxx and DJ TLM. Spefically useful if you want to pick up a few turntable tricks and learn how to scratch. Have a look at the following playlists on the channel:
Ellaskins
Ellaskins is the original DJ Tutor on Youtube Est. 2006. His channel provides free DJ lessons and other useful DJ content. Check out the following playlists and take advantage of the free courses 😉
- Beginner DJ Lessons
- Intermediate DJ lessons
- Advanced DJ Lessons
- Virtual DJ Tutorials
- Serato Demonstrations
Carlo Atendido
View: DJ Carlo Youtube
DJ Carlo has one of the most popular “How to DJ for Beginners” video on Youtube! At the time of writing this video was hitting 7.7m views! It’s not suprise his channel has gained a lot of follower, his videos are easy to watch and straight to the point. His channel is a great way to learn to dj online for free, check out the following playlists:
- Quick and easy DJ Tutorials
- How to scratch on a Controller
- Mix with me series
- Beginner DJ focused tutorials
DJ Mag
View: djmag.com
If you’re just starting out your DJ Journey – check out DJ Mag. It’s been a solid source of DJ news, music, and advice for decades. You’ll find all sorts of information about DJing on their website.
Specifically related to learning to DJ is their How I DJ series on YouTube. Although this may not show you the basics of DJ – it will give you a great insight into professional DJ setups and their approaches to DJing. Check it out.
Related: Best Websites & Blogs for Music Production
Point Blank Music School
View: pointblankmusicschool.com
Pointblank Music School is a Leading Music Production and DJ School. They boast impressive alumni of professional DJs such as Pete Tong, Claude Von Stoke, Goldie & Patrick Topping. They offer a comprehensive range of paid music production and DJ courses either online or in person at their academies. These might be something of interest in the future, especially if you decide to start making and producing music. You can have a look at their DJ courses here.
Meanwhile, whilst learning to DJ for free, you can check out the content on their YouTube channel. I picked out a few playlists of interest:
- Traktor Kontrol S8
- DJ Skills
- DJ Ravine DJ Vlog – (An overview of DJ Ravine’s learning experience at Point Blank)
Virtual DJ schools
Moving beyond free DJ courses, you might be considering paying for an online DJ course. If you want to be able to interact with a tutor and share ideas with fellow students, look for a DJ academy or online DJ school. Some of the DJ schools that provide free courses also offer paid ones, such as DigitalDJTips, ClubReady DJ School, Crossfader & Point Blank Music School. They tend to offer much more in-depth & structured programs. I wrote in more detail about the best online DJ courses here. Here are three highlights.
Point Blank Music School
View: pointblankmusicschool.com
Point Blank has been Voted ‘Best Music Production School’ by the readers of DJ Mag. You will find DJ classes suited to both intermediate and beginner DJs. Their courses will help you create amazing sounding mixes and make electronic music from scratch.
Point blank offer a wide range of courses, from music production, music business, to djing; all with the aim of shaping your electronic music career. Highly Recommended.
Club Ready DJ School
View: clubreadydjschool.com
Club Ready DJ School is a great option if you aim to go from a beginner level DJ to playing in clubs. Their DJ program navigates that journey for you, giving you the intro to the djing, getting you ‘club ready” and then finding DJ gigs.
Club Ready DJ School is run by Andrew Duffield, an experienced DJ and promoter of 15 years. He offers three courses that cover the core foundations, technical skills, and creative concepts of DJing, all with guidance from the industry. Check out the free mini course to get a taster.
Crossfader
View: Crossfader
Crossfader is a leading UK-based online DJ school and community run by DJ Jamie Hartley. Crossfader’s DJ library offers individual software and hardware-specific courses that will suit both experienced and bedroom DJs.
Related DJ Articles
The Best DJ Courses Online – Increase your technical skills and learn more about DJ promotion.
The Best DJing Books Every DJ Should Read – Geek up on DJ techniques & history.
The Best Beginner DJ Controllers – Start your mixing journey with a beginner-friendly DJ controller.
How to Make and Sell Merch – Boost your DJ brand & income.
How to get DJ Gigs – Follow these tips to get more DJ gigs.
The Best Music Marketing Books – Get your DJ marketing on point and get more DJ gigs.
13 Strategies for Better Music Marketing – Apply these strategies to grow your DJ brand.
FAQ
Where can I learn to DJ for free?
There are so many free resources available online for aspiring DJs. Club Ready’s free mini DJ course is a good place to start. Here’s a summary of the best websites and YouTube channels to start learning to DJ for free:
Club Ready DJ School – Free Mini Course
Point Blank Music School Youtube Channel
Pyramid Youtube Channel
Crossfader How to DJ
Crossfader Youtube Channel
DJ Digital Tips YouTube Channel
DJ Tech Tools Youtube Channel
Pioneer DJ Youtube Channel
Numark Mix Academy
DJ Mag Youtube Channel
Can you learn to DJ for free?
Yeah 😉
With a bit of time and patience, you can easily learn to DJ for free. A paid course will always help speed up the process, as you will receive feedback on how to optimize your practice. But, if you wish to learn for free the resources are available online to you.
Is it possible to learn DJ online?
Yup 🙂
Many DJ schools offer online DJ courses that teach you how to DJ. It depends on your learning style, if you are happy learning from videos, online learning will suit you fine. If you prefer some interaction with a tutor, ensure you find a course that provides feedback or consider learning in person. You are sure to find some value in learning from online videos, even if it compliments an in-person DJ class.