dj essentials

A beginner-friendly guide to technical mastery

you already know the right music changes everything.

You’ve probably been DJing in your head for years. You feel when a song lands, when a transition pulls you deeper, and when you need something different.

You’ve been on dance floors where the DJ takes you somewhere you never coulda gone on your own — and some part of you wants to learn how to do that, too.

good news: you don’t need to know music theory, own a vinyl collection or some magical inborn talent to start.

The technical foundations of DJing are completely learnable — and simpler than you might think once someone shows you how the pieces fit together.

You don’t need experience.

You need a deep love of music and a willingness to be a beginner.

Whether you dream of playing clubs, festivals, backyard parties or barefoot somatic journeys:

This is where you learn how it’s done.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Know Your Context

    History + Mindset

  • WTF are these Buttons?

    Navigating Your Gear

  • The Basics of Mixing

    Seamless transitions with No Sync

  • All the Tricks you Need

    Looping + Effects

  • Music Theory Made Easy

    Song Structure + Phrasing

  • The Art of Blending

    Make Your Sets Buttery Smooth

  • Shaking it Up

    Jumping BPMs + Mixing Genres

  • Music Library Organization

    What you need, when you need it

  • Putting it All Together

    Crafting Sets like a Pro

CURRICULUM

    • Welcome

    • A brief history of DJing (know your role!)

    • What most people think DJing is VS what it ACTUALLY is

    • Choosing the right gear

    • Plugging everything in

      • Cables, connections, electricity oh my!

    • Navigating your Settings + Preferences

      • What to change and update right now

      • What you might want to change later

    • Anatomy of a setup

      • Orienting to your gear

      • Which buttons actually matter

    • Downloading music

      • Curated crate of tunes for this course

      • Get comfortable downloading music from the most useful platforms right away

    • Playing Your First Track

      • Loading

      • Hot Cues

    • Basic Transitions

      • Finding the 1

      • Understanding + fixing your beat grid

      • Manual beat matching (no sync buttons here!)

    • Using Your Headphones

      • Includes silly footage of Tasha trying to wear headphones like a scratch DJ

    • Mixing with Volume

      • Now you’re actually DJing!

    • Understand Phrasing

      • The 1 simple rule that applies to 95% of the music you’ll play

      • Transform how you think about and use music to create powerful mixes

      • Train your ears to know exactly when to mix in + out for maximum effect

    • Song Structure

      • Did you know it’s a formula and almost every single track you’ll play follows it?

      • How to use that knowledge to create incredible, impactful transitions

    • Application + Practice

      • How to leverage your knowledge of Dance Music Theory using your hardware + software to make DJing a thousand times easier than you thought

    • The Art of Blending

      • Understanding 3-band EQ to make your mixes SMOOTH AS BUTTAH

      • Turn your transitions into works of art that create exactly the impact you want — whether that’s building energy, catalyzing catharsis, cultivating trance or creating more space.

    • Effects

      • How to spice up your transitions and add texture to your tracks

      • What you need and what you don’t

    • The Magic of Loops

      • Your secret weapon for mixing in phrase, extending edits, effortless intros and playful surprises

    • Jumping BPMs

      • How to go from 70 to 130, 120 to 150 (etc) without missing a beat

      • Know when you don’t actually need to beat match … and when you really should

    • Mixing Genres

      • So you wanna go Dubstep > Drum+Bass > Melodic House > Afro House > Gqom > Grime > Footwork > Hip Hop > Moombahton > Big Room?

      • You can!

      • When it’s a good idea

      • When it’s not

    • How to approach building your library (whether you’re starting with zero music files or way too many!)

    • Creating the systems that allow you to find what you need, when you need it

    • An up-close look at Tasha’s music library and organizational system

    • The mindset you need to stay focused and avoid overwhelm

    • Integrate EVERYTHING as you learn to build pro-level sets

    • Make cohesive sonic journeys that feel seamless, intentional and intelligent while creating massive impact for your dancers

Bonuses

Now that you’re nailing your core skills and playing like a pro, what’s next?

  • A complete archive of Q+As to our most common questions including topics like Laptop & Software Setup, Music Library Management, Controllers & Hardware, Settings & Performance, Workflow & Navigation, Troubleshooting, Mixing and more.

  • All the jargon you need to know as you navigate the wild world of DJing, including terms related to music, mixing, gear and club culture

  • From pre-1900 to today, diver deeper into the full timeline of dance music’s biggest players and innovations, complete with next steps and resources to learn even more.

  • Keep the evolution going with creative exercises that stretch your repertoire and skills.

  • Once you’ve mastered the essentials, take your sets to a whole new level by MIXING IN KEY to create harmonic blends. Create intentional emotional shifts, gorgeous remixes, euphoric rises and fun mashups simply and easily without complicated music theory.

  • Booked your first gig? Not sure how to prepare or what you’ve gotten yourself into? This guide covers how to work with other DJs and prepare for multiple kinds of real-world scenarios and sets.

  • From our epic PhDJ community: an in-depth guide with everything you need to know when it comes to playing out, including questions to ask in advance, tech and hospitality riders, navigating different kinds of setups and even setting up your own!

  • How deep does the rabbit hole go? Explore free resources from Tasha’s favorite DJs, teachers and content creators to unlock more practical, creative and career-building tools.

FAQ

  • This course is available for both Traktor and Rekordbox.

    You can purchase the standalone Traktor or Rekordbox course separately, or grab the bundle with instruction for both.

    These two systems are industry standard. If you’re deciding between them check out the video on Choosing the Right Gear in our free intro series to see which is the best fit for you.

    For traktor users: A Traktor S2 is a great place to start and the controller I use for this course. If you want to step it up with the Traktor S3, that works too!

    For Rekordbox users, we recommend the Pioneer FLX4 controller. You can do everything we teach here on the free version of Rekordbox 7.

    For speakers, you can get away without these for the first few modules, but they’re extremely useful to have for your practice sessions and recording.

    The highest quality you’ll need are the KRK Powered Studio Monitors. Another great option are Pioneer’s DM 40-Ds. Be sure to get 2 speakers!

    If you don't already have a pair of headphones you like using, we love Sennheiser’s HD 25.

  • We’ve got you! After nearly four years running live DJ courses, I’ve learned so much about how different folks learn, and what different learning styles and aptitudes need to succeed.

    All of this is integrated into how I teach and how we’ve structured this course.

    I’ve had students who were allergic to tech, got unlucky with computer issues, or hit points where they felt like they’d never get it — and every single one who didn’t give up made it through with flying colors, surprising and delighting themselves in the process.

    If you’re worried about “getting it,” we highly recommend joining our DJ Essentials Community for live Q+A calls and 24/7 tech support.

  • This course is designed for anyone in the total beginner - intermediate range.

    If you’ve been playing for a while but still don’t feel completely confident on the decks, DJ Essentials is a great way to fill in any skills gaps, eliminate guesswork and make sure you’re not making things harder for yourself than they need to be!

    We start from square one and don’t skip a single step because:

    1) You may be using non-industry standard software like Algoriddim djay Pro or VirtualDJ and switching to Traktor or Rekordbox/Pioneer for the first time

    2) You may have accidentally skipped some basics as you were learning on your own or piecing together random YouTube tutorials

    3) You may have picked up some less than helpful habits from other DJ courses, and I want to make sure you’re not making your life harder by doing the wrong things.

    Now, all my students can attest that I’m rarely a right/wrong thinker. Once you move into the truly advanced and creative aspects of DJing, there’s no right or wrong.

    But when it comes to your essentials, there absolutely is.

    And getting them right will make your life SO much easier.

  • When you join DJ Essentials, you’ll get instant access to 27 videos + 5 Resource Guides that take you from total novice to technical mastery

    Some videos are quickies, some are deep dives. All include step-by-step instruction that breaks everything down into bite sized chunks and builds into full command of the skills essential for every truly great DJ

  • You don’t have to choose!

    Doing this course first will set you up with a solid foundation from which to begin PhDJ.

    We’re here to empower anyone you to go all the way by applying your DJ Essentials tuition to PhDJ if you decide to join.

    So there’s nothing to lose if you decide to do both.

  • I (Tasha) will be your primary teacher. The video tutorials that provide the foundation of your learning are 100% taught by me.

    For those who join our DJ Essentials Community, you’ll aslo get support from PhDJ rockstar graduate and tech maestro Ziad Saab.

    If you’ve got a tech issue, you’ve got a grounded and present tech whiz on your side.

    Ziad came to PhDJ as both a software engineer and engineering teacher who’d been running his own software engineering school for many years.

    It was no surprise when he caught onto DJing right away and quickly became a tech resource for his classmates.

    I brought Ziad onto our team because of his innate ability to figure out seemingly insurmountable tech problems AND because he maintains a very regulated nervous system in the process!

    If you’re one of those folks who get freaked out by tech issues, not only will Ziad help you fix them - he’ll model a new approach to problem solving.

  • This is a self-paced course.

    You’ll have access to all materials as long as there’s an internet to host them, so you can return again and again as you evolve and deepen your skills.

    For those joining the DJ Essentials Community:

    There will always be recordings of all our live Q+A sessions and tech office hours for anything you need to miss, and you’ll keep ongoing access to those as well.

    You’ll also have 24/7 access to the community through our course platform on Circle during our time together. This is a perfect place for those who can’t make live calls (and everyone else!) to share wins, ask questions, get support and connect with each other.

  • Once you register for the DJ Essentials Course, you’ll receive a link to join the community as an add-on of $10/month. You can cancel anytime.

  • Great! Email us at hello@phdj.dance.

JUMP IN

Includes lifetime access to all course materials, so you can return as often as needed as you evolve as a DJ.

You already know what music can do.

Now learn how to wield it.