Mastering the basic DJ techniques is essential for delivering impressive sets, and these DJ tutorials are the perfect introduction.
Covering everything from the core DJing transitions for house and techno to practicing scratching, they’re invaluable resources for beginners.
In this guide, we’ve selected a broad range of tutorials aimed squarely at beginners to help them avoid common pitfalls and develop their skills.
The 10 Best DJ Tutorials For Beginners In 2024
Beat matching, transitions, and using effects are just a few of the considerations DJs have to consider when learning to mix.
We’ve designed this guide to ensure it covers all aspects of learning how to DJ, whether you’re playing electronic music or you prefer the latest hip-hop.
So, fire up your DJ controller and playlists, and let’s begin this list of the best DJ tutorials for beginners in 2024:
10. Alison Wonderland – How To DJ For Beginners
We’re getting the ball rolling with this guide to the best tutorials with a comprehensive guide to DJing for beginners.
Beginner DJs can often feel overwhelmed with the many options available, and this tutorial helps you learn the core basics of DJing.
There’s a detailed breakdown of the gear you can expect to work with on your DJ journey and how these interact with one another.
The tutor then breaks down their favorite settings to help you understand what works best when setting up your DJ equipment.
Next, there’s an explanation of the play and cue buttons and how these can be used to line up music and prepare for a mix.
Tempo and basic mixing functions are also covered in detail, as well as how you can use the cue button in conjunction with the controller’s jog wheel.
These functions are essential for performing basic DJ transitions and understanding how the DJ plays music through DJ software.
It’s a great introduction for beginner DJs to refer to when planning their sets for house parties and ensuring everything is the same tempo.
9. DJ Carlo – How To DJ With A Laptop
Another great entry-level tutorial for people learning how to become a DJ explores everything you need to know about using laptops.
A laptop is essential for running DJ software; these lessons outline how to use the settings to your advantage.
For this lesson, the tutor has selected Pioneer DJ’s Rekordbox software, but the general principles can be applied to Serato and Traktor.
First, they recommend bringing up the mixer section in the display and setting the crossfader curve to smooth by dragging the knob left.
Next, the tutorial outlines the importance of setting Activate Sync and Quantize to help aspiring DJs keep their tracks lined up.
There’s a breakdown of the importance of understanding the structure of your tracks, which is an absolutely essential skill to learn.
The tutorial also explains how to use various DJ tools when mixing one track into the next and paying attention to intros and outros.
If you’ve just started DJing and have chosen Rekordbox as your DJ software, this tutorial is a must-see to help you get started.
8. Chris M – How I Built The Ultimate DJ Library
Building a comprehensive music library is vital for delivering interesting, unique sets that get the crowd dancing on the dance floor.
Whether you’re learning to play vinyl or using DJ pools to build up a collection, you’ll need to organize it effectively.
This tutorial begins with an overview of how to acquire music through DJ pools to gain instant access to a huge archive of tracks.
It then moves onto a variety of tips for correctly tagging your tracks by genre and subgenre to make them easier to find during sets.
Adding ratings is also covered, which allows you to quickly identify music by popularity, as well as using vibes for the best settings.
There’s also an analysis of how you can use BPM, key, and other track attributes to create playlists of compatible tracks.
Whatever your level of experience, knowing how to organize your playlists is fundamental to being on the ball when performing live.
Following the advice outlined in this tutorial, you can create great playlists that break down your music library into their core categories.
7. Crossfader – 3 Ways To Mix Techno
Techno DJs developing their mixing skills can avoid paying for an expensive online DJ school and cut to the chase with this tutorial.
Covering three of the most popular mixing techniques for techno DJs, it’s a succinct and valuable lesson many DJs can learn from.
The tutorial begins with slow EQ blending, a common method used by the best techno DJs to slowly blend one track into the next.
This technique will help you to develop a mastery of how different frequencies interact with one another and avoid clashing mixes.
The second skill outlined here covers swapping drops, an easy-to-perform mixing strategy that can be performed on all DJ equipment.
The tactic of layering rounds off this DJ tutorial, which can be effectively combined with EQ blending for more creative results.
With the future of techno promising more exciting developments, this tutorial is a welcome addition to help the DJ community evolve.
6. Wired – 15 Levels of Turntable Scratching – Easy To Complex
If you love music from the history of hip-hop, chances are you’re seriously considering learning how to scratch DJ in style.
While there are lots of good tutorials to help get started, our pick is this outstanding breakdown by DJ Shortkut for Vice’s YouTube channel.
The tutorial begins with some of the basic DJ scratch techniques before progressing to more advanced skills you can learn.
Stab, chirp, baby, and tear scratch techniques kick off this tutorial and cover some of the basic techniques DJs perform.
The tutorial then dives into some of the more in-depth approaches to scratching you can try once you’re more experienced.
This includes the skill of beat juggling, with detailed insights into how you can then combine the various methods explored.
What makes this tutorial stand out is DJ Shortkut’s comprehensive knowledge of the history of scratching and the key players.
5. Crossfader – Mixing Ideas For DJs – Transition Techniques
Another great tutorial for people learning how to master their DJ software is this entry from Crossfader, exploring transition techniques.
The host delivers the information in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, with full HD video showing the techniques in action.
It’s a comprehensive tutorial exploring some of the best DJ mixing techniques to help you stand out from the competition with stunning sets.
Beginning with filter in mixing, the tutorial shows you how filters are ideal for cutting out and fading in various frequency ranges.
This is followed by the simple yet effective technique of using a vinyl brake, a handy “get out of jail free” trick many DJs fall back on.
Understanding how to use loops is then explored in detail, something most DJs will be familiar with when DJing electronic music genres.
Rhythm timing and the proper use of hot cues are also covered, making this a must-see tutorial for club and radio DJs alike.
4. Crossfader – Transitions All House DJs Need To Know
We’ve covered a useful tutorial for new DJs interested in mixing techno, so now we’ll move on to the essential basics for house DJs.
One of the most popular electronic music genres of all time, house music is played in many clubs and bars around the world.
House music requires a knack for crafting smooth, buttery transitions that don’t interfere with the overall flow of a DJ set.
This tutorial shows you exactly how to accomplish this and deliver a consistently compelling DJ experience for your audience.
Using hot cues and looping tools are covered, as well as an overview of the basics of tempo and when to introduce a new track.
If you master these core skills, you’ll be able to perform a seamless transition between two tracks without breaking a sweat.
It’s a solid foundation to start DJing house music before moving on to advanced DJ techniques such as key matching and infinite loop mixing.
3. DJ Shortee – Scratch DJ Practice Routines
Another essential tutorial for DJs learning how to scratch comes from DJ Shortee, covering a range of techniques you can learn.
There are twelve different scratching techniques covered in total, each broken down into its core elements to perform.
Baby, release, skribble, stabs, and chirp are just a selection of these techniques you can practice, thanks to this tutorial.
What makes this tutorial stand out from the competition is how DJ Shortee helps you understand each step of the process.
This makes it an invaluable resource for scratching with all types of samples, from beats and vocals to scratching with a musical instrument.
If you’re considering spending money on traditional turntables, this tutorial will make the investment well worth your time.
2. DJ Carlo – The Correct Settings For DJ Software
When using the best DJ controllers, it’s important to have a solid grasp of the various settings you can use when performing a set.
DJ Carlo runs one of the most popular YouTube channels for DJs and draws on his extensive personal experience as a gigging DJ.
His tutorial exploring the correct settings for your software is the go-to point of reference, whether mixing house or your own music.
It begins with a breakdown of the correct use of hot cue settings to line up two tracks for consistent and reliable results.
Next, he breaks down the right vinyl break settings to use, followed by a handy overview of how you can use stem settings for your sets.
Stems are just one of several new features bridging technology and creativity, so mastering these will help you stand out from the crowd.
The tutorial then moves on to understanding how to use quantized settings, along with a detailed overview of sectional mixing.
There are also sections for more in-depth mixing techniques to try out once you’ve mastered the core basic techniques.
Harmonic mixing settings are outlined in detail, as well as how to set up your controller’s pad FX settings for the best results.
There’s also valuable information relating to specific software, such as Rekordbox and Serato DJ Pro, depending on your setup.
1. Crossfader – 30 DJ Hacks That Will Change Your Life
Our final pick for DJs looking for great tutorials to help with their DJing journey comes from Crossfader and explores thirty DJ hacks.
This tutorial covers a lot of ground, with plenty of DJ performance tips to help you develop a stage presence on the DJ decks.
It begins with the optimal ways to load your previous tracks and transfer your playlists from Spotify ready to play.
Next, the tutorial dives into the reset and beat tap FX tools, which are great for adding more texture and vibrancy to a set.
The tutorial covers pertinent information about the use of samples and a basic introduction to learning how to mix in key.
Mastering identifying and saving loops is also covered, as well as how these can be combined with hot cues for a smoother workflow.
If you’re mixing with CDJs, there’s a section in this tutorial dedicated to building playlists around this format for quick access to tunes.
Promoting and sharing your DJ sets online are also covered here, whether you’re uploading to social media or a streaming platform.
With many more tips and insights to work with, this tutorial exploring DJ hacks will help you launch your DJ career on the right foot.
Summary
Learning how to DJ and master your hardware and software can be daunting, and we hope these DJ tutorials will help with the process.
There are many great techniques you can develop over time, building up your skills and combining them to create unique DJ sets.
Once you’ve mastered the basics outlined in these tutorials, you’re ready to try your hand at next-level DJing tricks in your upcoming mixes.
Establish multiple playlists with a ZIPDJ subscription to use when learning the techniques explored in these tutorials.