As an aspiring DJ, you’ve often encounter one question. As you’re spinning tracks in your room, listening to the latest mixtapes of your heroes, you’ll wonder, should you take a DJ course? DJ courses are controversial across the Internet.
Many DJs think they are unnecessary. Other DJs credit taking a DJ course, as key to their development into a better DJ.
So what’s the truth? Today, this will be a special article. Last month, I bought A LOT of the CrossFader DJ courses and went through each of them. In total, I spent nearly ~$700 dollars at Crossfader. Was it worth it? Or did I just throw my money down the toilet?
Read on and hear from my experiences with each of their courses.
Often considered as the coolest profession to ever exist, DJing requires a lot of skill and knowledge.
Do you need a DJ Course?
First, let’s tackle the elephant in the room. Do you even need a DJ course? I know when I first started, I shunned courses.
“I can find all of the information on Youtube or Reddit” I thought. Sound familiar? And to an extent it is true – you can find a LOT of really helpful information on Youtube and Reddit. R/Beatmatch and R/DJ are great communities to learn and get feedback from.
As I’ve grown as a DJ though, I’ve started rethinking my stance on courses. I struggled for months to a year at a time to master a new skill or technique while I watched some of my friends blow straight past me as a DJ. I saw them save so much time by taking a well structured course instead of simply browsing the Youtube recommended videos.
Now, I think DJ courses have a couple of advantages.
- Well structured information – In a course, everything is laid out in an easy to follow fashion. Each skill builds upon the last and there is a clear path to progression.
- Taught by an experienced instructor – Youtube videos are great (and there is a lot of great information available for free) but the best instructors often compile their best stuff together into a course
- Helps eliminate plateaus and keeps you progressing – It’s so easy to master the basic skills as a DJ and then never get any better. A course helps you push the envelope, pushing you to experiment with new techniques and become a better DJ.
Crossfader DJ Course Review
Starting first as a prominent blog in the DJ industry, Crossfader has developed their own courses for DJs. Each of their courses is tailored towards different pieces of equipment and takes you from 0 prior knowledge to an intermediate level.
If you’ve ever googled how to DJ on Youtube, you’ve probably come across some of Crossfader’s tutorials like the one below. After watching each of their (free) videos on Youtube, I was convinced to try one of their paid courses.
Crossfader DJ Courses
Before delving deep into the course I took, let’s talk about what courses they offer. Crossfader offers courses on each piece of DJ software along with specific brands of DJ controllers.
With the help of CrossFader’s courses, me and many of my pals have learnt some amazing tricks when using Serato DJ, Rekordbox DJ, Traktor DJ, Denon DJ, and Pioneer XDJ. These courses are designed to help you get the most out of your DJ equipment. These courses cover everything from beginner DJ lessons to advanced tips and tricks.
The most remarkable thing about Crossfader is, the courses not only teach how to use a particular function but also how to use it creatively. The flow of the course is designed in a chronological order which links all the lessons. This enables you to use the previously learned lessons in the next tutorial.
Crossfader teaches you to combine different performance features and use them creatively to boost your confidence. This makes you qualified to play in the different types of parties, clubs, create routines, and enjoy mixing your favorite songs.
Besides course access, you also get access to the Crossfader community where you can connect with other students and tutors while learning.
The course also lets the registered members access the extensive student resources and exclusive content that can take your learning a step ahead further.
Serato DJ
If you are new to DJing and using the DJ controller for the first time or have been mixing for years Crossfader’s Serato DJ courses can help improve your skills from beginner to advanced. In this course, you can learn things like fundamental mixing techniques, EQ control, and transitions to sophisticated mashup mixing, acapella hot cue play, using effects, mixing between genres, and more.
Every DJ tutorial in the course has screengrabs and overhead shots of the equipment so that you can follow the tutorial step-by-step.
The Serato DJ courses on Crossfader are divided into three parts: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each of these courses teaches you the different things about DJing such as technical operations, mixing the different beats, and using the software creatively for DJing.
My Recommendation: Stay away from the Beginner Serato DJ course (watch this on Youtube instead) but the intermediate and advanced courses are worth the money for DJs who want to step up their Serato game.
While most of the Serato information for beginners can be found on Youtube, I would highly recommend the Intermediate and Advanced tricks. As you become a stronger DJ, a lot of the “beginner” advice on Youtube won’t apply to you. I found that Crossfader’s advanced courses contained a lot of tips and tricks on techniques and features in Serato that helped me to instantly start improving my mixes.
Rekordbox DJ
Crossfader’s Rekordbox DJ courses enable you to master DJ controllers like Pioneer DDJ 400, DDJ 800, and DDJ 1000. The course consists of fundamental mixing techniques, EQ control, and transitions to advanced sampling, sequencing, and mash-up mixing
Just like the other courses offered by Crossfader, the Rekordbox DJ course is also divided into three parts i.e. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Traktor DJ
If you are looking for a way to add a touch of creativity and uniqueness to your beats, Traktor DJ can be of great help. The software comes with a plethora of features like stem decks, remix decks, and effects.
Crossfader offers you the courses in three parts beginner, intermediate, and advanced. These packages comprise only the essentials that are required at different levels.
Pioneer DJ
You can also learn how to mix creatively and confidently using the various equipment making your sets unique. Crossfader’s Pioneer DJ courses provide you the complete knowledge of beat matching and mixing along with the advanced cross-genre mashups and using effects creatively.
There are two courses for Pioneer DJ on the Crossfader website, beginner and advanced. The basic course gives you an idea of how to use the software while the advanced course helps you with the necessary tips and tricks of the software.
Crossfader’s Pioneer DJ courses teach you how to use the software and also operate any DJ booth that has a CDJ and DJM set up confidently.
I took both the beginner and advanced courses and being honest, I had mixed feelings. The beginner course was ok but for the money, I didn’t feel it was worth it. You can find a lot of the same information on Youtube. The course just presents it in a better way.
I was impressed with the advanced course though. The advanced Pioneer DJ course focuses on advanced mixing techniques and was a significant help to me when I first started DJing at live events and in clubs. Most clubs (if they have their own equipment) will have a Pioneer setup making this course VERY helpful for aspiring Club DJs.
My Recommendation: Skip the beginner course, but take the advanced course if you want to start DJing in clubs and want to get the most out of your Pioneer DJ equipment.
Denon DJ
Designed for those among us using DJ controllers like the Denon MC400 (one of my first controllers), this Crossfader DJ course covers Denon DJ equipment. It offers training of fundamental mixing techniques, EQ control and transitions to sophisticated blends, creative use of the effects, and mash-up mixing.
Some of the Denon units it covers include the Prime 2, Prime 4, Prime GO, and even SC5000/6000s.
Denon DJ courses are available in three different parts i.e. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Other DJ Courses Reviews
If the Crossfader DJ Course isn’t to your liking, consider my comparison of all DJ courses in my comprehensive review post. In it I go through every option available for beginner DJs and choose my top picks depending on your experience.
Conclusion
Crossfader is an incredible source if you wish to learn DJing the right way and head on to become a pro DJ. The well-explained courses and tutorials increase the learning speed while providing comprehensive knowledge.
