DJ Academy, City Nightclub, Edinburgh, Saturday afternoons, Apr 2007

Ok bedroom DJs, if you've had the decks for three years now, and still haven't progressed past beat-matching, then perhaps you need to hand over tutelage to the professionals – The DJ Academy. That's right, if the Police can have one, DJs can, and the Scottish branch still has some places left at Edinburgh and Glasgow's eight-week courses. From the beginning to the end, the course is an intense introduction to DJing as a profession and skill, starting with taking students through the mechanics of DJ equipment; stripping down the decks to scrutinise the parts and learning how to get the best quality and production out of your decks and mixer. The course also extends into PR and management territory, advising on how to secure sets at clubs and gigs, how to develop a helpful relationship with your sound engineers, even down to making and creating your flyers and club nights. In between all this you will learn to beat-match, scratch, avoid the red-line monster, and generally improve your mixing skills! The sessions will be taken by five-time Scottish DMC Champion, Ritchie Ruftone (Edinburgh only), and you can't get better tutor credentials than that! He will be joined by DJ Bunty, the DMC UK World Supremacy winner, and lecturer at James Watt School of Music in Turntablism. The people behind the Scottish branch of the Academy have already been in talks with the Education Minister about possibly developing the idea into a NVQ module and useable framework for schools and colleges. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate, the course can help you towards realising your dreams! [Alex Burden]