Brolic Army DJ School by DJ Rob Swift

  Over the course of 2 weeks, 15 Brolic Army DJ School students will get the chance to honor the memory of Roc Raida by showcasing their beat juggling prowess with his classic “Unassisted” routine. The challenge officially begins Sunday, May 1st at 12 p.m. (EST) and will run through May 16th. The top 3 students will be picked by Brolic Army DJ School Masterclass instructors DJ Mike C, Mista B and the General of the Brolic Army, DJ Rob Swift. First, second and third place will be announced on Roc Raida’s birthday, May 17th! The winner of the ROC RAIDA CHALLENGE will be awarded a pair of JICO Cartridges, second place takes home a Jico Hoodie, and third place walks away with a Jico tee. Make sure to follow the @brolicarmy IG page our subscribe to our YouTube account for daily updates on the competition standings!

  I’ve never been one to gloat BUT… If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked “Rob, what is the secret to Beat Juggling…” or “Yo, I’d love to get together with you and practice my beat juggles…” I’d be writing this article from inside my vast Westchester, NY estate. Specifically, inside the library quarters. On a dumb long table. Hand carved out of Macassar Ebony wood. Straight up yo! But I rarely have a nickel on the occasions I’m approached about the mystery of “Beat Juggling”. Therefore, I’m forced to write you this article from my Jackson Heights apartment. In my living, on my black leather bachelor couch. I’ll make it to Westchester one day though, ha! Aight man, back to Juggling. Battle season is right around the corner. Thus, I know many of y’all are locked in your bedrooms, training for what comes down to 6 minutes of your best stuff. Six minutes man, that’s all you got and you gotta make the most of it. So with that, the following article will impart my 10 basic pri...

This post will detail our recommendations for how beginners should work through the courses. Beginners are considered individuals who are completely new to turntables, even if they are experienced on DJ Controllers of CDJs. This pathway shows the complete journey from Basic DJing to Advanced beat juggling. Where to Start? A good place to start is by making sure you have your DJ setup connected with all the necessary equipment. If you are unsure what you need or want to double-check, please refer to our Equipment Guide. Which course should I begin with? We recommend working through the courses in this order: Basic DJing This course touches on everything you need to know to begin your DJ journey. From hand mechanics to listening and basic mixing techniques, this course will help you manually control the tools of the trade, hone in on your listening, and learn basic mixing styles. Rob Swift also gives a detailed comprehensive example tutorial on how to compose a DJ set. Basic Scratching I...

  As much as dropping on “the one” and learning how to merge two songs of varying speeds is the groundwork of DJing, these are also generic techniques that most capable DJs possess. You’re here, reading this because you’ve reached the point in your DJ journey where you’ve acquired the skill to do both and you’re ready for the inspiration to take your DJ knowledge from universal to unique.  I’m here   to help with that! In my  Advanced DJing — EQ Mixing and Looping   tutorial, I’ll teach you how to camouflage transitions from one song to the next using a mixer’s equalizer. I also give tips on how setting loops in your Serato DJ app, facilitate various pathways for you to approach your transitions in other creative ways. Put simply, this is all critical stuff you need to learn because once you master the bedrock techniques of DJing, it’s important for you to do so without compromising your own individuality. The act of learning should never result in compromising ...

  DJ Rob Swift teaches this Advanced DJing course at the Brolic Army. Rob Swift covers techniques such as EQ mixing and incorporating loops into mixes. This course focuses on elevating DJ sets and routines and features tutorials on more complex and elevated mixing techniques, as well as ways of incorporating the three main facets of DJing (mixing, scratching and beat juggling) into your work. Other Upper Level classes include Advanced Scratching and Advanced Beat Juggling. Refer to the  courses page   for these! Advanced DJing Course Breakdown: EQ Mixing and Looping: How to camouflage transitions from one song to the next using a mixer’s equalizer. More lectures coming soon! Best suited to intermediate or advanced DJs that want to elevate their sets and routines. Advanced DJing is for students who have strong foundations in the techniques of DJing. DJing is best-learned step by step, building your skills one block at a time, taking the time to learn about each technique w...

  This learning pathway will help Advanced DJs navigate our courses and find the best learning pathway to suit their needs. We consider advanced DJs to be those with solid foundational skills in mixing, set building, fundamental scratching. Where to start? We recommend browsing over the  Basic Scratching course   to ensure that you do cover the scratching bases in terms of skills, technique and undoing any bad habits that self-taught DJs may have encountered. We assume that an advanced DJ is set on mixing by ear, dropping on beat, set arrangement and hand alignment and mechanics. What course should I begin with? 10 Root Moves of Beat Juggling This is our most popular course for intermediate and advanced DJs. This course takes you through all 10 of the root moves in details. This is the most comprehensive beat juggling guide out there. Rob explains how to manipulate drum beats, words, etc. on both left and right turntables simultaneously through the application of the 10 R...

   Founded in March of 2016, I created the  #brolicarmy   as a means of providing aspiring DJs with the proper information to grow as DJs. Over the course of the last 5 years, I’ve successfully turned YouTube, facebook and Instagram into my virtual classrooms. Giving students of DJing from all over the world valuable information on not just DJing’s techniques but the rich history involved with an art form that still remains an enigma to most people. After interacting with many of you on social media regarding my teachings, the most common question asked of me has been, “Rob, since I don’t live close enough to train with you in person, is there one place where I can go to access all of your concepts on DJing?”, and so it is with immense pride I present the  #brolicarmydjschool . Your experience with learning all that DJing has to offer will no longer bring with it any mysticism. From basic to technical, every aspect of the art form will be explained to you in a v...

I prefer  DJing   indoors to outdoors 100% of the time. Especially as the weather gets colder. College GameDay Week 9 at the campus of Michigan State was a perfect reminder of why I feel this way. DJing in bad weather is tough on your gear and your hands. But when ESPN is depending on you to keep an audience of hundreds of people energized for 90 minutes you must adapt to Mother Nature. Here are my  TOP 3 TIPS FOR DJing IN COLD WEATHER: 1) Get to the gig early and let your instruments acclimate to the temperature. Radical shifts in temperature (both up and down) can damage your equipment. So I recommend bringing the turntables, mixer, etc., in their cases, leaving them on stage IN their cases for a while, and then taking them out just before your set begins. 2) Wear a hoodie. A long sleeve shirt or sweater alone won’t cut it. Hoodies are perfect cause they have that center pocket you can easily slide your hands in to warm them up! 3) Hide your laptop if possible. I lucked...

  DJ Rob Swift explains in Fundamentals of Beat Juggling how to manipulate drum beats, words, etc. on both left and right turntables simultaneously through the application of the 10 Root Movements of “Beat Juggling”. This course is one of our most popular courses at the Brolic Army DJ School. As a pioneer of beat juggling and creator of the ‘Swing Pattern’ there is no one better to teach these techniques. 10 Root Moves Breakdown: Backspinning + Backspinning with 1/8th and 1/4 note fills Breakdown Pattern Snare Pattern Offset Backspin Rock the Bells Pattern Swing Pattern Chase/Strobe Pattern Single 8th Note Linear Fills Double 8th Note Linear Fills Triple 8th Note Linear Fills This course features over 10 hours of information-packed training on basic to advanced beat juggling patterns and techniques. All patterns are applicable to all genres of music. Tutorials are complete with cultural and historical information making this the most comprehensive course in beat juggling available....