Brolic Army DJ School by DJ Rob Swift

  Fifty years ago, Disco King Mario, Pete DJ Jones, Grandmaster Flowers, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Jazzy Jay, Grand Mixer D.ST and a handful of other DJs birthed and helped cultivate a DJ movement powerful enough to become the nucleus of a culture called HIP-HOP. When you chew on that for a second or two, nothing could be more tragic than to stop and consider the economic inequality which exists within the billion dollar industry that DJing has become. DJing, I’m referencing “quick mixing,” “needle dropping,” “scratching,” “beat juggling,” etc., are techniques that were stumbled upon and created out of struggle. That is to say, a certain set of socio-political conditions in 1970s New York City provoked what us DJs do and our fans see, on social media day in and day out in 2023. Today, according to an analysis by ZipRecruiter, a person who manages or books DJs can make an annual salary upwards of $70,000 minimum. When you compare that to the $48,000 average annual salary of the D...

  If you think mixing is “THE” optimal way to navigate through your music while you’re DJing for people, you’re thinking about this wrong. Transitions can be just as effective as mixing by relying on simple drops on the “one”, drum roll throw-ins and rhythmic scratches that help connect musical sections together like the chorus from song A to the introduction of song B. DROPPING ON THE ONE This is the most basic way to introduce a song to your audience during a set. Avoid using this rudimentary style of swapping as a crutch though. Otherwise, it will make the way you switch between tracks sound redundant, fast! DRUM ROLL THROW-INS If you don’t possess a sound sense of rhythm or timing, this can be difficult. That said, DJing revolves around music theory. Much in the same way playing the drum or guitar does. Any DJ that doesn’t have a grasp of Music Theory is essentially DJing all of their sets at a disadvantage! RHYTHMIC SCRATCHING Next to timing, what matters most as you progress ...

  Masterclasses at Brolic Army DJ School by Guest Teachers are here! This course is a hub for DJ tutorials by our guest teachers. From Battle routines, to scratch composition this course will offer you a cornucopia of perspectives to draw inspiration from. Hand-picked guest teachers representing the most creative and talented DJs around teach our Masterclasses. ‘Masterclasses’ at Brolic Army DJ School are an exciting added feature to help diversify your learning experience. We strive to give a holistic approach to DJing at Brolic Army DJ School and how better to do that than bringing the pioneers straight to you. From other members of the X-ecutioners to DJs who have worked with the likes of Public Enemy and other Hip Hop icons, these masterclasses lift the veil on the mystery of the DJ world. Masterclasses Course Breakdown: 001: Total Eclipse’s DMX Routine 002: Johnny Juice on How to Arrange your Scratches 003: John Swan’s “Hit Me Wit’ Da Horns” Scratch Routine 004: DJ 8-Ball teac...

  It’s obvious that DJs present music to the fans who love listening to it differently today than they did in the past eras of DJing. Regardless of the environment, you most likely listen to your favorite jams by logging on to your social media accounts, and I can understand how that’s the preferable method. It’s fast and easy! But in doing so, you’re choosing to filter what’s intended as auditory information through your eyes first. This doesn’t mean you’re consuming the art of DJing the “wrong way”. It’s 2023 afterall and we experience life through our phones in these modern times. But people’s social media habits have influenced the main components that make a truly talented DJ. Zoom out of the social media matrix for a bit, and take a look at how much has really changed in how DJs have shared music over the years. Go back in time a few decades, to the 70s, 80s and 90s. The DJs from these eras who are now iconic figures like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy ...

Music, specifically DJing, has been a part of my life since I was born. Thanks to my father and older brother, my childhood was filled with sounds of all kinds of music, including Celia Cruz and James Brown. Throughout the course of time I went from being a listener to a doer. I followed in my dad and brother’s footsteps and became a DJ. But since establishing the BROLIC ARMY DJ community a decade ago, I turned my love for music and DJing into a more scholarly pursuit because once I started actively teaching DJ art, I knew it was important to disseminate DJing’s history and not just its techniques to my students. I prefaced this article with the above because I just want YOU to know that I KNOW what I’m talking about. With that said, during BLACK HISTORY MONTH I will pause to salute and reflect on the contributions the originators of DJing as we know it, made to the rich fabric that makes up our culture. What’s more, I’m going to do my best over the course of the next 4 weeks to honor ...

  DJing with others has so many benefits. Whether you’re in a crew of battle, resident or streaming DJs, the brotherhood that comes with getting creative with other like minded people can have lasting impacts on your life! DJing with others has so many benefits. Whether you’re in a crew of battle, resident or streaming DJs, the brotherhood that comes with getting creative with other like minded people can have lasting impacts on your life! Share & Build Together We live in a time in the DJ scene where DJs tend to feel isolated because the principal way we communicate amongst each other is through our smartphones. But when you’re physically surrounded by other DJs, practicing is more fun because you get to SHARE & BUILD TOGETHER. Inspiration to be creative is heightened when you get to develop your ideas with the help from your peers. Community Collaborations with DJs who are at a similar age and skill level, leads to the evolution of COMMUNITY. Becoming a part of any music ...

  Advanced DJing Course at Brolic Army DJ School by DJ Rob Swift 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 ti...

  Why are DJ platforms using DJs to promote the idea that artificial intelligence can emulate what DJs like Grandmaster Flash, GrandWizzard Theodore and Grandmixer Daniel Stricker have taught us all how to do since the 1970s? Why are DJs willingly peddling an approach to DJing that takes away the human element of this art form? We live in an inverted DJ world that promotes using the sync button to mix, claims triggering pre-recorded scratches from a sound bank is “getting creative” and now wants us to rely on A.I. to drop 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” on beat instead of counting on our own God given senses. Respectfully, instead of explaining 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” needs to be launched on a 4 E AND UH (16th note drop), the DJ in this video erroneously describes the start of the song as a “drop on the one”. Hearing that left me questioning, how can I politely say the information being disseminated in this tutorial is awry without coming off like I’m gatekeeping? And please don’t mistake th...

  If you think mixing is “THE” optimal way to navigate through your music while you’re DJing for people, you’re thinking about this wrong. Transitions can be just as effective as mixing by relying on simple drops on the “one”, drum roll throw-ins and rhythmic scratches that help connect musical sections together like the chorus from song A to the introduction of song B. DROPPING ON THE ONE This is the most basic way to introduce a song to your audience during a set. Avoid using this rudimentary style of swapping as a crutch though. Otherwise, it will make the way you switch between tracks sound redundant, fast! DRUM ROLL THROW-INS If you don’t possess a sound sense of rhythm or timing, this can be difficult. That said, DJing revolves around music theory. Much in the same way playing the drum or guitar does. Any DJ that doesn’t have a grasp of Music Theory is essentially DJing all of their sets at a disadvantage! RHYTHMIC SCRATCHING Next to timing, what matters most as you progress ...

  As DJs we all have access to the same popular songs. So how can we avoid emulating each other and better manage the process of building creative sets that inspire our listeners. The best way to not fall into the imitation trap is to diversify your intake of music. The more blended your music knowledge is, the more varied your creative output can be. Combining many different styles of music rather than sittin’ in front of your laptop and curating your playlist so that it’s on par with what everyone else is playing is crucial to keeping your DJing style unique. “Do you have in your Brolic Army curriculum, tutorials on scratching out of songs?” Second, practice! Solely relying on tutorials that aim to show you how to scratch, beat juggle or accomplish a task as basic as scratching out of a song means the “creative choices” you’re making when you DJ aren’t really yours, or all that creative for that matter. By all means, seek DJ tips from as many DJ schools as you like, but there com...

  Basic DJing with DJ Rob Swift Basic DJing with DJ Rob Swift is for beginner or self-taught DJs looking to set strong foundations in their DJ skills. Taking it right down to the core principles, Rob teaches how to mix by ear, how to match bpm, and basic mixing styles. This course will help you manually control the tools of the trade, creating a strong foundation for scratching, beat juggling and all the fun things to come! Basic DJing with DJ Rob Swift Breakdown: Hand mechanics: examining how to manually control the tools of the trade (turntables, mixer, needles, headphones etc.) Listening: analysing the importance of understanding bars, bar structure and quarter, eigth and sixteenth notes. Mixing: explaining how to merge two songs of varying speeds in a seamless way.Dropping on BeatStyles of Mixing Set arrangement: exploring how to apply fundamental DJ techniques in arranging a fluid DJ set.Genre and BPM: understanding how to organise various styles of music. Best suited to begin...

  Although your audience isn’t inside the DJ booth with you selecting the music you play and the order in which you play it, they’re still a part of your set. So the deeper the synchronization between you and them, the better the experience of DJing. Here are my five tips for commanding the attention of your audience as a DJ. 1. QUESTION TACTIC The first words you speak into the microphone set the tone for the exchange of energy between you and the people in front of you. Asking a question is a great way to warm up any crowd but asking THE RIGHT question is an art so depending on the situation and the environment, ask something everyone is collectively passionate about. 2. ACTIVE VS PASSIVE VOICE As a listener, I know I’m more inclined to focus my attention on a speaker who sounds excited to talk. So be active as a speaker, you want the intonation in your speech to project power. If you’re passive or soft spoken, it will hamper your ability to get and keep people’s attention. 3. BE...

  DJ Training Camp with DJ Rob Swift Training Camp hosted and curated by DJ Rob Swift is the place for practice sessions. When it comes to DJing, learning a new skill can be challenging. It’s that beginning stage of the learning process when you’re likely to struggle the most and make mistakes. As a result, you may doubt yourself and your abilities. The good news is there is a solution to closing the gap between you and your goals. It is practice! If you commit to practice and believe in the power of training, practice will reward you! DJ Training Camp Breakdown: Baby, Scribble and Tear Scratch Training Camp Forward Release, Stab and Drag Scratch Training Camp Reverse Drag, Transformer and Chirp Scratch Training Camp 9 Cornerstone scratches Training Camp Improving Fader Grip The Mixmaster Ice Scratch A Guide to Composing a Battle Routine Applying the Mixmaster Ice Scratch Articulating the Orbit Flare Scratch Articulating the Crab Scratch Articulating the Boomerang Scratch Combining...

  Whats included in Basic Scratching? Basic Scratching with DJ Rob Swift teaches the 9 cornerstone scratch techniques. Faderless scratches: baby, scribble, tear. Forward scratches: forward release, forward stab and forward drag. Intermediate scratches: reverse drag, transformer and chirp scratches. The fourth tutorial teaches how to combine all of the scratch techniques covered and how to phrase them. This will help you take your knowledge to the next level, creating scratch routines, improving social media content and more. Each lecture has a accompanying Training Camp designed and hosted by DJ Rob Swift to help you practice your scratches and improve your confidence and fluidity. Basic Scratching with DJ Rob Swift Breakdown Faderless Scratches (Baby, Scribble and Tear) Forward Scratches (Stab, Forward release, Forward Drag) Intermediate Scratches (the Chirp, Transformer and Reverse Drag) Combining the nine cornerstone scratches Basic Scratching also includes Scratch Training Camp...

  DJ Training Camp with DJ Rob Swift Training Camp hosted and curated by DJ Rob Swift is the place for practice sessions. When it comes to DJing, learning a new skill can be challenging. It’s that beginning stage of the learning process when you’re likely to struggle the most and make mistakes. As a result, you may doubt yourself and your abilities. The good news is there is a solution to closing the gap between you and your goals. It is practice! If you commit to practice and believe in the power of training, practice will reward you! DJ Training Camp Breakdown: Baby, Scribble and Tear Scratch Training Camp Forward Release, Stab and Drag Scratch Training Camp Reverse Drag, Transformer and Chirp Scratch Training Camp 9 Cornerstone scratches Training Camp Improving Fader Grip The Mixmaster Ice Scratch A Guide to Composing a Battle Routine Applying the Mixmaster Ice Scratch Articulating the Orbit Flare Scratch Articulating the Crab Scratch Articulating the Boomerang Scratch Combining...

  The Covid-Lockdown is officially over and nightclubs are open again. This means DJs are back in the DJ booth playing music for people worldwide, and as happy as that makes us all, with that also comes experiences that can be aggravating for DJs. By now, we’re all familiar with Request Culture, club goers who frequent night clubs with the intention to micromanage what DJs play. But the most recent incident at Poppy Night Club in LA speaks to a more serious problem that DJs have had to deal with for decades, entitled Rap artists publicly humiliating the house DJs for lack of preparedness. Let me explain. This past weekend, Whiz Khalifa made an appearance at Poppy to promote an upcoming release. On the afternoon of his performance, the house DJs (Mike Danger and MC Tron) were sent the MP3s of the songs Khalifa would be performing and they were asked to have them ready to be played that night. According to a video of Khalifa physically and verbally attacking the DJs, things did not g...

  Basic DJing with DJ Rob Swift Basic DJing with DJ Rob Swift is for beginner or self-taught DJs looking to set strong foundations in their DJ skills. Taking it right down to the core principles, Rob teaches how to mix by ear, how to match bpm, and basic mixing styles. This course will help you manually control the tools of the trade, creating a strong foundation for scratching, beat juggling and all the fun things to come! Basic DJing with DJ Rob Swift Breakdown: Hand mechanics: examining how to manually control the tools of the trade (turntables, mixer, needles, headphones etc.) Listening: analysing the importance of understanding bars, bar structure and quarter, eigth and sixteenth notes. Mixing: explaining how to merge two songs of varying speeds in a seamless way.Dropping on BeatStyles of Mixing Set arrangement: exploring how to apply fundamental DJ techniques in arranging a fluid DJ set.Genre and BPM: understanding how to organise various styles of music. Best suited to begin...

  Advanced DJing Course at Brolic Army DJ School by DJ Rob Swift 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 ti...

  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...

  If you’re a DJ with a residency in 2022 and you’ve asked yourself, “Am I being underpaid?” then you are. What’s more, you’re not alone. Most of your colleagues have to DJ a minimum of 4 residencies per week just to cover today’s rising cost of living. Simply do the math! Table minimums at the average club start around $250 at the low end, and go up into the thousands for more exclusive high end clubs. With the demand for DJs as high as it is, anyone with a residency (regardless of skill level) should be getting paid at least half the minimum table price per hour. This has nothing to do with greed, at least on the part of DJs, and more to do with fairness. Venues are generating thousands of dollars HOURLY and there are two reasons for that. The alcohol served by the bartenders and the music played by the DJ. Both are equally vital aspects of club culture. So the idea that a bartender can make more in 2 hours worth of tips than a DJ can in 4 to 6 hours of rocking a dance floor, mea...