If you have ever wanted to learn how to DJ but never mustered up the will to get going, then we have some pretty great news for you. Toolroom has launched an in-depth online DJ course that will take you from the A to Z of DJing, all from the comfort of your own home. The silver lining of the global lockdown is that it is an ideal opportunity to pick up some new skills, and this online DJ course sets out to give you heaps of them if only you are willing to learn.
From Zero to Hero
Understandably, the decks can seem daunting at first. Many feel intimidated by the complexities involved and never even give it a try, possibly because they don’t even know where to start. The online DJ course led by DJ Devstar doesn’t leave any passengers behind, no matter if you’ve never even touched a DJ rig.
It covers the complete basics about what controller buttons do, where you connect cables, and how basic beat matching works from the ground up. Going on, it gets you up to speed in advanced mixing techniques, organizing your library, and reading crowds, essentially giving you the knowledge to be ready to play in front of audiences. At least theoretically.
The online DJ course is full of assignments, meaning you need to put in the hours as you go along with it. However, if you do that diligently, then the sky’s the limit.
The online DJ masterclass course is targeted at beginners, but it does get into pretty advanced levels of technique. Even if you think that you know enough about DJing, you might want to reconsider.
For any advanced DJ, know that this course sifts through many details that you might have missed out while learning to play on your own.
The truth is that as one Dj’s, it is quite easy to get into certain habits of playing. These eventually limit the rate of one’s progress, your mixing methods, and whether you are willing to take your sets to the next level by going beyond yourself.
The Toolroom online DJ masterclass course has a lot of stuff to unravel in that regard, and it is excellent for breaking out of old shells. The online DJ course may be geared at beginners, but it is much more than just rudimentary.
DJ Devstar – A Trustworthy Teacher
Toolroom is known to be a best selling label on Beatport. More recently they launched into the venture of education by creating various mentorship courses with its Toolroom academy. It is a cloud-based online education website, meaning that you can conveniently access it from any device you like.
Your guide throughout the online DJ course is the maestro of mixing himself – Devstar. He is known to be one of the Uk’s most respected house DJs. Many have come to appreciate his eclectic and imaginative mixing style, as well as his technical expertise.
Devstar’s sets excel in being dynamic, and the man has quite some tricks up his sleeve to keep audiences entranced, surprised, and everything in between. While he specializes in techno, tech-house, and house, bending genres and flying through uncharted sonic territories are his specialty.
Doing this convincingly requires considerable technical prowess. When it comes to the specifics of mixing, Devstar is surely a great teacher to have.
The online DJ masterclass course is made up of 88 individual lessons which are categorized by 12 main modules. Overall, the online DJ course is a whopping 16 hours in length. It is meant to take you 12 weeks in total to complete the exercises and get good at each. There is quite a lot to take in, and it makes sense to take your time with it if you want to get the most out of the masterclass.
There are loads of intricate tips and lessons that you should ideally let sink in until you move on to the next batch of lessons. However, there is no limit as to how fast you can go through the course. If you are impatient and want to get an online DJ crash course in DJing overnight, it is possible.
While the online DJ course features top-notch gear such as the DJM-900 Nexus mixer and the Pioneer CDJ-2000s, one should not be intimidated. Any decent DJ controller hooked up to your computer will do for learning. Devstar makes a point to have the lessons be as translatable as possible so that no student misses out. If anything, you will be all set with practicing the lessons on simple controllers, but also ready to navigate the big boy gear once you finish the modules.
The Modules of the Toolroom Online Masterclass DJ Course
Module 1: Introduction and Basic Requirements of the DJ
The first module of this online DJ course features a basic introduction to what Devstar aims to cover in his masterclass. He goes into what you will need to be able to practice along, as well as why advanced DJs should pay attention too, as often people do not have their fundamentals completely on point.
What follows are lessons on the basic setting up of gear, how to navigate mixers and CDJs, as well as the essentials of how to properly mix records. This entails the technical aspects but also covers what you should look out for in songs to have your transitions be impeccable.
Module 2: EQ and Beat-matching Fundamentals
In the second module of the online DJ course, Devstar explains how the three-band EQ works, and what one should be aware of when using it in order to properly mix songs. Avoiding clashing frequencies is one of the main issues to keep an ear out for.
The lessons will give you a good understanding of what goes on in a DJ’s head when he beat-matches records, as well as how to gauge which tracks should maintain dominant positions during the blending process. Every idea is followed by an example of applying it in action. In the end, the fundamentals of turntable mixing are covered.
Module 3: Alternative Transition Techniques and Looping
The third module in the online DJ course tackles some more advanced mixing techniques, and these are covered diligently. One of the main points relates to navigating a busy mix, and what to do when you find that two tracks are clashing.
That is especially important when you are halfway in the process of mixing and can’t go back. It is an immensely valuable lesson to understand when you are out playing live. Additionally, various EQ intricacies are explained, as well as how to use the looping function to your advantage.
Module 4: Loops for Creativity and Basic Mixer Effects
Module four in the online DJ course covers the specifics of loops, how to manipulate them, and how they can be applied for transitions, intros, and outros. The latter part of the lesson introduces the student to the effects section of a mixer, and when each effect can be applied to have the best impact.
Devstar also shares some insights on how audiences may vary, what to look out for in the crowd’s energy, as well as how to adapt and overcome any challenges in maintaining a flow that keeps crowds on their feet.
Module 5: Organising Your Music in Rekordbox and Mixing in Key
This part of the online DJ course deals with the behind-the-scenes prep of a DJ that is most crucial – organizing your music. Here you will learn all about setting up playlists, planning your sets out technically, and how to navigate your selection promptly when on stage. The second part of the module delves into mixing songs in key, when to disregard the tonality of songs, and how to swiftly adapt to playing back to back.
Module 6: Hot Cues and Hot Loops
Module six covers the use of hot cues and hot loops – what they are, and how they can be used to take your mixing to new depths. Being able to jump through tracks adds a whole lot of additional creative control. It can also work to save you, in case you wind up in a challenging track blending situation. Devstar also goes over the uses of hot cues for crafting interesting intros, live-jamming, and rearranging tracks on the fly.
Module 7: Rekordbox Advanced & Beatport LINK
Here Devstar goes over the advanced functions that are accessible in the Rekordbox software. He covers seeking out special parts in songs that you can use for special effects, how to organize them efficiently, getting the most out of Rekordboxe’s analyzing functions and smart playlisting. Other than that, the Beatport LINK function gets explained in depth – what it is, how it integrates into one’s workflow, and why it can make your life easier.
Module 8: 3 Deck Mixing, Advanced Mixer Effects, and Transitions
This part of the online DJ course is where things get rather in-depth, and even advanced players can learn a bunch of new tricks. Devstar shares his views on 3 deck mixing, useful ways of employing reverb to transition, as well as chopping up tracks to create outstanding sets. The intricate differences in applying various effects are explained, as well as their practical uses in a live scenario. For every lesson, an example is given to demonstrate how things work out in action.
Module 9: Advanced Mixer Effects and Transitions Continued
In module 9 Devstar continues to dig deeper into the use of advanced mixer effects, covering the Trans function, how it can be used most effectively, as well as how to combine it with other effects most efficiently. Further on he drops some real gems about how he uses advanced effect functions to create his dynamic sets, and how you can go about breaking out of rudimentary mixing techniques to pep things up.
Module 10: Creating FX Using the CDJ and Preparing Acapellas
Here Devstar teaches you to apply manual effects using the CDJs. You will learn how to utilize the pitch slider to get into additional ways of spicing up transitions and commanding the crowd’s mood. The second half of the module goes deeper into crafting and preparing your acapellas for easy integration in your sets. Along the way, you will also pick up some knowledge on how to use Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) in the process.
Module 11: Mixing with Acapellas and Getting Ready to Play at Clubs
In module 11, the lessons continue with the topic of acapellas, and what you need to keep in mind to be able to mix them properly, the techniques that go into it, as well as the variations you can achieve when using two, or three decks in total. The second part of the module gives you an overview of a checklist of things before you set out to your first club gig, and the various scenarios you should be prepared for.
Module 12: Recording Mixes and Important Soft Skills to Progress in the Music Industry
The last part of the online DJ course deals with the music industry, and what fundamental know-how one needs to keep progressing in the business. This includes creating mixes, editing sound and video, the importance of having a great social media presence, setting goals, and how to seek out new opportunities that continue pushing your career further.
Plus an Awesome Q&A Bonus
If you think that the massive amount of educational material makes for a good price/quality ratio, then you might just be surprised at the lengths Toolroom goes to. Anyone who joins the masterclass gets a lifetime pass to monthly Q&A webinars with Devstar.
These are held on Zoom and last around an hour each. Such a boon is quite unheard of, and it really makes this masterclass bundle stand out. It is hard to put a value on monthly Q&A’s with an expert, but rest assured that you are getting some outstanding value here.
Excellent, but has some very small limitations…but hey!
While we appreciated the course immensely, it does have its limitations. The main one that comes to mind is that Devstar focuses heavily on the styles that he is most comfortable with – house and techno. For anyone who is looking to DJ any other type of music, there isn’t much information.
Ideally, it would have been nice to see some lessons cover the basic mixing philosophy of other popular musical styles. However, the emphasis on electronic music was to be expected given the history of Devstar. However, the skills that he teaches in the online DJ course are translatable to any genre, essentially.
Some expanded modules would have been nice, but, understandably, one can only pack so much into a course. At 16 hours of material, it is not short as is. The fact that other genres are not covered is in no way a deal-breaker. It would have been nice, but the course is fantastic at covering what it sets out to do, and that is a lot.
Our critique should be taken with a grain of salt. At the value that Devstar’s masterclass succeeds to provide, it is just nagging at what could be. Would a more varied DJ software selection have been nice? Perhaps, but Rekordbox is great as it is.
This online DJ course sets out to take you from a complete beginner, and have you end up being able to play parties. This is already an immense task that takes people years to achieve. We can say that the lessons are brilliant in helping you on your DJing path, regardless of the fact that it does not cover everything related to DJing in full detail.
Overall Value of the Online DJ Course
At a price point of $325/£249, the online DJ course is not exactly a cheap grab. However, considering the value that it provides, it is definitely a great deal that is worth your money. One should consider that the course gets you from 0 to the nitty-gritty of mixing, as well as how to avoid many mistakes that even advanced players are prone to make.
Without the online DJ course, you would have to learn on the fly. This means that some mistakes are bound to be made in live sets, sooner or later. No one mixes perfectly straight out of the gate. Making mistakes at a party, or a club can be heart-wrenching.
Anything to avoid these moments is well worth your attention and surely worth a couple of hundred bucks. If you are even somewhat serious about DJing, then the Toolroom masterclass is an excellent investment for your future. It will save you years of trying, winging things, and mucking up in the process. Here you have an all-in-one package that can get you pretty far ahead in terms of skill if you are diligent and do the required exercises.
Final Thoughts on Devstar’s Toolroom Online DJ Course
Bravo, Toolroom Academy and Devstar!
All in all, Devstar’s Toolroom masterclass is probably the best all-in-one DJ online DJ course out there at the moment. Novices will get everything they need to be able to start playing well enough for others to enjoy. For advanced players, there are bits and pieces of information that will fill gaps regarding technical fundamentals.
That is unless you are a complete pro, but then you should be making masterclasses yourself. In our eyes, the course is well worth the money. If you are a complete beginner, it will give you years of experience in 16 concentrated hours. In a sense, that is priceless.
Devstar’s DJ online DJ course gets two thumbs up from us, and we wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants to get into DJing or take their mixing skills to a new level.
