Last updated: April 2026
If you’ve been working gigs as an event DJ in your area for a while and have always wanted to make it big in the industry, there’s a strong chance that you’ll have to learn how to produce tracks. The vast majority of well-known club DJs on the planet also know how to produce. As a matter of fact, most of the top DJs got where they are through their production.
The good news is that learning how to produce is not that complicated. All you need is the right foundation with the right tools, and to be ready to work on your music until you get to the level you need. Let’s take a look at how you can transition from DJ to music producer in four steps.
Get the Right Tools
The first thing you’ll have to do is get the right set of tools and learn how to use them. Before you start looking at some of the most advanced Digital Audio Workstations out there, we would suggest that you at least learn the basics of playing a keyboard and pick up FL Studio. You could get keyboard lessons from someone in your area or online and there are plenty of videos on YouTube that will give you a foundation on how to use FL studio.
If you realize that you have actual skills, then you can start looking at advanced professional DAWs like Cubase, Pro Tools, and Ableton Live. We also suggest that you pick up a few plugins to enhance the quality of your productions and recordings. One we suggest you look into is Antares Auto-Tune.
Others include Stereo Delay and REVerence for Cubase, Valhalla Supermassive for Ableton Live, and Aphex Aural Exciter and Big Bottom Pro Bundle for Pro Tools. A reliable pair of studio headphones is just as important as the software itself: you want something neutral that lets you hear small problems in your mixes rather than flattering them.
Pick a Genre and Find Your Sound
Before you commit to weeks of production work, decide which lane you want to be in. House, tech-house, drum and bass, future bass, melodic techno and afro house all have very different production techniques, and trying to be good at everything at once is the fastest way to make nothing well. Pick three or four reference tracks in your chosen genre, study how they are arranged, and use them as a benchmark while you produce. This is the same workflow most working club DJ residencies use when building sets, and it translates directly into the studio.
Go to a Sound Academy
This step is optional, but we strongly suggest that you get a formal education in music production. You don’t need to get a music degree from a university; there are well-regarded schools like Point Blank Music School (London and online) and Berklee Online that offer affordable music production courses. Continuation programmes from former Icon Collective tutors, such as Futureproof Music School, have also picked up where Icon left off after it closed in 2025. Alternatives include shorter, skills-focused courses that let you pick up just the techniques you need without committing to a full degree programme.
Start Experimenting
Now that you have a foundation, you can start experimenting on tracks. The best way to do this is to replicate popular records from artists you pattern yourself after. Look for a popular song that sounds like what you would like to make, and check if you can find a video of a producer replicating it on YouTube. This will give you lots of insight into how these tracks are actually made. Then you can try some of the tricks you’ve learned to make professional remakes of popular tracks.
Make Your First Track
Once you know how a track is made, you can start working on your first original track. You don’t need to go crazy here. Anything over two minutes should be more than okay. Try to go with something simple and consider hiring a vocalist to make the track stand out.
You can then release it through SoundCloud and start gathering constructive criticism so you can improve. Once you have a track you are proud of, distribution platforms like DistroKid and Ditto will get it onto Spotify, Apple Music and the rest of the major services so you can get your finished tracks heard internationally. Learn the basics, get advanced knowledge, and experiment on a few tracks until you master your craft.
If you’re still building your DJ career alongside your production journey, make sure your profile is listed in the right categories on Gig Heaven. We have dedicated sections for wedding DJs, mobile DJs, and sax and DJ combos so you can keep the gig bookings coming in while you work on your first release.
