For the Big-4 Producer click HERE
The Big-4 is developed from practical experience of the founders and teachers of our school and separates the main and sides issues in being a professional DJ.
The method is an inspiration for teachers from many musical institutes around the world who visit us to witness how we teach, and is the most important secret behind the level of our students.
1. TRACK
Develop your style
A professional DJ has a unique sound and identity. You will explore and define yours with our coaching. Are you going to play commercial or original? Are you a crowd pleaser or do you want to inspire your audience? Discovering your musical self is the most important step towards becoming a pro DJ.
You will discover which genres you like best. We show you new areas of music to explore and dive into the history of your favorite tracks and genres. You will discover new places to find your own musical treasures.
Your own productions
To reach the top as a DJ, producing tracks makes a big difference. During your DJ course you can start making edits, remixes and mash-ups, a great introduction to the craft of producing.
2. TIMING
Create flow
Timing is about communicating with the dancefloor and how to tell a gripping story. It is about tension and release that keeps people interested. A great DJ set is determined by the coherence of the songs and their energy levels.
The dancefloor matrix
To create flow a well structured music collection is essential. Our Dancefloor Matrix will help you create a system to sort your tracks by genre, energy, atmospheric level and groove. It makes you pick the right track at the right moment.
Timing and mixing
Timing means mixing tracks at the right moment. This depends on the development of the track. You will discover which mixing styles and moments work best for each individual track to have the impact you are looking for.
3. MIXING
Apply musicality
You learn to adapt mixing techniques to the track you are playing and the energy level of your audience. A morph-mix has a totally different impact than a high energy drop-mix.
Unique mixing style
Of course you learn basics like drop- and beat mixing, the use of the EQ, effects and loops. But you will also learn a unique style of mixing that suits your sound and temperament. For Techno DJ’s integrating Ableton Live is great. If you’re an Urban DJ, using accapella’s and making high-impact dropmixes in more what we work on.
DJ gear
To learn the basics of mixing you will work with the Pioneer CDJ 2000 NXS2 and CDJ 3000 setup. At advanced levels you can use DJ gear that fits your style best, ranging from turntables, Ableton Live, effect- or looping gear etc. You also learn how to connect and set up PA gear so you’re always in control in live settings.
4. IMAGE
Artist development
Transferring energy to your audience is an important part of DJ’ing. We will coach you in feeling confident to express yourself, based on your personality. A DJ like James hype has a different attitude than Richie Hawtin. Being yourself is the key to have the impact you are looking for.
Entrepreneurship
We help you make a plan for how to reach the goals you set for yourself. What are the most efficient steps towards your dreams? We guide you in expressing yourself on and offline, looking at creating high quality content, a biography, mix sets, your own productions and relevant output. You build a network of people that can help you on your way towards your dreams and goals.
HOW WE COACH YOU
At DJ School Amsterdam we pay a lot of attention to the way of coaching you. We always work 1-on-1 because we believe this is the only way to master an art form like DJ’ing and to find your own style.
No matter how proud we are of our Big-4 method, it can only exist by the power of the individual while transferring knowledge. Individual coaching is only fun when there is a good connection with the tutor.
That’s why we have a team of teachers that consists of very accessible, likable, openminded and dedicated DJ’s and producers with whom a ‘click’ is usually very quickly made.
