Want to learn how to use Serato Scratch? With "DJ Skills with Serato Scratch Live" -- the new instructional course by Point Blank Online -- you can bring your DJing skills up to date and get a hands-on feel for the popular DJ platform.

Serato Scratch provides DJs with the feel and style of mixing with vinyl without the inconveniences of the actual records. Ideal for those who would rather not carry crates of records or a giant CD book to every gig, the DJ platform allows one to get full mix control of digital audio files via a conventional turntable or CDJ.

DJ Blakey leads the "DJ Skills with Serato Scratch Live" course, giving students tried and true tips and support for using Scratch Live in real situations. A DMC world champion, DJ Blakey has hosted his own show on the Radio 1 sister station 1Xtra, as well as served as resident DJ at Fabric in London and toured with Jurassic 5. Point Blank Online notes that it’s fair to say that Blakey knows his stuff and that if you want to learn how to mix, particularly with software like Serato Scratch Live, you could not ask for a better tutor.

During the four-week course you will learn how to use Scratch Live to its highest potential at every stage of the mix, from loading tracks, beat matching, and scratching to multi-deck mixing, looping, and adding effects. The course also details how to use various controllers in conjunction with Scratch Live including the Rane TTM 57 SL mixer.

All in all, the course includes 240 minutes of video, 4 DVR (1-2-1 video feedback) sessions, 4 hours of live master classes, 1 year access to pointblankonline.net, over 80 pages of course notes, access to the online forum, exclusive audio resources to download, and more.

Course Contents:

Week 1: Using Scratch Live

• Setting up crates / playlists / i-Tunes library
• Analyzing your music-detecting BPM
• Relocating lost files
• Using Crates: track info, smart crates
• Modes: Internal, relative, and absolute

Week 2: Mixing with Scratch Live

• Vinyl control options: cue points, graphic display
• Cue Points: creating, deleting, triggering
• Beat matching tips
• Use Scratch Live with 1 deck and a mixer
• 4 Deck Mixing with SL 3

Week 3: Effects, Loops & Samples

• Creating, fine tuning, saving, and triggering loops
• Activating / using built-in effects
• Triggering samples from sample player
• Trigger Scratch Live with Rane mixer
• Scratch techniques: transforming, chirps

Week 4: Recording & Using Controllers

• Novation Dicer: loops, roll effects, hot cues
• Converting vinyl to digital
• Recording / sampling mic; entire mix (SL3 & SL4)
• Video SL: assigning video clips, transitional FX
• Scratching techniques: Flare, Crab

Point Blank’s "DJ skills with Serato Scratch Live" course runs for four weeks and is priced at approximately $530. Learn more at pointblankonline.net.