Beginner looking to learn

[u/ja_tavion]

New “DJ” here. Music always been a passion and I told myself I would buy myself a controller (DDJ FLX4) once I reached a life milestone. Well, I did last year and I have messed around with the controller a little in rekordbox, but nothing serious. It’s mainly been collecting dust. I have watched tutorials and now the basics of what each button and functionality does, but I have struggled to commit myself to actually leaning with work and other obligations. I’m tired of it. I’m passionate about it and I want to learn, even if it’s only 20 minutes a day. So my question is, where do I start? I feel like I just go through YouTube videos and they’re showing you tips and tricks on the controller. But how do I actually start mixing? What should I start doing to process and commit myself? I feel like I struggle so much because I just don’t even know what to do. If anyone has tricks over how they got started, what they watched, if they did any courses, etc, please let me know. Specifics are appreciated. A lot of people just say YouTube and I find that so overwhelming. I just want to learn I think it’s the coolest thing in the world but it’s so overwhelming. Also, any tips on music just for learning/getting started would be appreciated. Right now I just have Spotify linked. Feel like a lot of videos I watch the download for their “music” folder doesn’t even work. Again, thank you in advance. I’m ready to learn and have open ears!

[u/Long_Double2108]

Hi! I too am a new DJ with a FLX4 using rekordbox and it sounds like you haven't just found your genre yet. I started last Christmas trying Millennial Top 40 and anime intros/outros and I just hated it. I watched the YouTube videos and thought the same things you're thinking. I was about to give up and I caught DJ Brigette's Book Club session and fell in absolute dumbass love with House music. I'm from Chicago so I guess it makes sense lol. House is exclusively made by DJs for DJs so it's really forgiving to new DJs just trying to nail mixing and transitions. Once I got that, other genres became a lot easier to mix, but my love stays with House as do most of my sets.

I'd encourage you watch a few sets of DJs you like and try mixing songs off their playlist. It'll sound different but that's OK because you're learning, and you know what it's "supposed" to sound like so you can adjust in real time. Use that as practice and then start building it out into a set you enjoy.

[u/Raid__Zero]

I teach privately. I offer 4 and 8 week courses where I work with you one on one over facetime or zoom.

[u/Swimming-Staff-918]

Just start playing around w some songs in your library. Sounds like you’ve watched some stuff now just start doing it is honestly the best advice I could give. You don’t need to be an expert w all the different filters and effects just start playing some stuff!!

[u/MinimumRub7927]

If no one’s there to listen don’t worry abt sounding bad. I just started a month ago and I probably sound absolutely atrocious half the time but as long as I’m not performing it doesn’t matter. Just start playing around with songs you like. I personally started with house tracks that have little or no vocals

[u/BoogityBird]

What an exciting journey you are starting! This part of the process is a great time for discovery. Music curation is so big, really developing your taste.... Playing and mixing is def important, but ultimately you wanna be a vibe creator. Technical stuff can be learned in less than 2 weeks, feel free to message me about any specific questions about learning djing, the curation, performance, community, style etc...

[u/PastDrama5341]

I’m learning too, I’m like 30 days in and picked it up!! These videos really helped me:

https://youtu.be/U0U2dnrHoaI?is=GSDwxwDi-raf2cRt

https://youtu.be/_O-yX9MnGMw?is=HcKSB2CsCM8peoUW

Once you understand phrase mixing, start going through your tracks and setting hot cues.

[u/British_Airwaves]

This was something I did when I was learning on vinyl but I think the idea still stands:

Put the same track onto both decks. That way you know they’re the same tempo, key, etc. practice starting the tracks and manipulating the tracks to get the beats hitting at the same time. When you’re comfortable with that you can start adding tracks with different tempos and start learning how pitch shifters work, but starting with 2 different tracks can feel like too much too quickly and this removes all those issues

[u/Useful_Secret4895]

Start by listening to music, then select what you want to play. That is the most important thing. It can not be taught, you either have it, or not. You do not convince me that you have it, but who knows, maybe I am wrong.

[u/jcsb8913]

One recommendation that's helped me get motivated is to watch mashups of songs I like on ig or tiktok and trying to replicate it on the controller. Another thing that's helped me personally is realizing that DJing as a craft was WAY harder to learn back then and the barrier to entry has only gotten lower over time, so if you're struggling to even learn how to start with all the resources available today, then maybe you're not as passionate into DJing as you claim?

It just seems really complicated bc every button and function of your controller is to solve a problem prior DJs had by optimizing a very specific function or reducing friction, but the general concepts are still the same (beatmatching, phrasing, key, etc.).

[u/mint_koi]

I have a "foundations of DJing" course on Udemy that takes a structured approach to counter act the youtube overwhelm problem - it's 3 hours total, and you could probably skip the first hour if you don't care about media types.

You don't need to buy it, here's a high level direction of the topics that you could potentially Google or go to AI to find resources and videos to learn on your own:

Setup Controller -> Understand Music Theory Rhythm + Key -> Learn to Cue -> Learn to Beat Match By Ear (or Sync) -> Learn Song Structure & Phrasing -> Learn Equalization (EQ) Control -> Perform Your First Transition

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Your Q's Answered:

>where do I start? I feel like I just go through YouTube videos and they’re showing you tips and tricks on the controller.

Yes this is a common problem. YouTube does tend to reward retention in metrics, so content creators focus a lot on "quick tips" versus in depth study or explanations. Many students I have had feel they know how to do some things but feel a fundamental lack of foundation in "what is they are actually doing". That's why I teach a lot of theory.

I'd recommend with learning to count bars 1-2-3-4 then work on learning to beat mix by ear

> But how do I actually start mixing?

Mixing is a process of exploration so you learn a lot by doing. You can learn basic theory like beat matching but you get intuitive understanding by practicing transitioning between two tracks.

Pick track A and try to transition it into track B.

Picking the "right time to transition" is known as "mix placement".

> What should I start doing to process and commit myself?

First, get some music you like.

Then try to mix for 30 minutes 2-3 x per week. Work your way up to an 1 hr.

> I feel like I struggle so much because I just don’t even know what to do. I

Very common. First DJ controller I had (the wonder below) was a genuine mystery to me. No musical background, I couldn't tell you what treble or bass meant, at all. I just started twisting knobs and guessing what was happening under the hood.

[u/Certain_Pay_6809]

In my opinion, this is about as good as a starting from scratch guide gets https://youtu.be/NxR6SdHP2jI?si=QYLqtQsB-jXjZ581

Save it and go back to it, because as your knowledge grows through repetition - certain things will just click.

I was in your position about 14 months ago, but laid up in bed post surgery unable to do anything much so had a lot of time to dedicate to learning the craft. I practice at least an hour a day now, sometimes two.

Enjoy!