Hi all, this is the Turntablist Techniques compilation Part 4. I hope you guys can gain lots of knowledge from this set of Articles, Enjoy:)
Maybe you have the right DJ equipment. Maybe you even have your turntables and mixer dialed in for optimal performance. That's great, but no matter how good your equipment setup is, you might as well play Mantovani records on it if you don't have the skills to use it.
In this column, I will turn my attention to some basic scratch techniques. Learning these methods may not be as impressive as mastering today's advanced techniques, but it will provide you with skills that lay the foundation for more complicated moves. After all, you have to learn how to crawl before you can run.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Before explaining any specific scratch techniques, I'd like to say a little about practice. Practice — and lots of it — is absolutely essential if you want to become a skilled turntablist. Without practice, chances are that even though you may be able to perform basic techniques, you won't perform them very well.
When you're learning to scratch, you should always record and listen to your practice sessions. Listening to yourself with a critical ear is one of the best things you can do to improve your skills. Try to picture what you were doing when you created a particular sound or scratch, and then imagine what you can do to improve it. By analyzing your performance you will better understand your weak areas, and that will in turn help you improve.
One thing that often frustrates budding turntablists is that the pros make it look extremely simple. The uninitiated see someone scratching a record and say, “It's just wiggling the record back and forth!” If you have already tried scratching a record yourself, you've probably discovered that it's not all that easy. Scratching requires a lot of skill and experience, and learning to scratch can be as complicated as learning to play the guitar or piano. Just as with those instruments, you need to develop a basic understanding of musical structure before you can scratch.
THE RHYTHM METHOD
The most valuable skill a DJ can develop is a sense of rhythm. All scratch techniques require the ability to flow with the rhythm of the beat. Whether you are performing basic baby scratches or advanced crab-style scratches, if you lack rhythm it will be glaringly and gratingly obvious in your sound's flow. Listen to the structure of songs and try to understand the elements that make up the rhythm.
For turntablists, the most important rhythmic elements to grasp are beats and bars. In their simplest form, hip-hop songs are typically constructed of repeating bars, each containing four beats. Most basic hip-hop beats consist of some variation of “kick-snare-kick-snare.” If you were to number each kick and snare as elements of a bar, you would typically get 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on — the odd numbers being kick or bass drum sounds, and the even numbers being snare drum sounds. Each group of four beats is a distinct rhythmic element, referred to as a bar or measure.
Although this is an oversimplified way of looking at music, the beginning DJ needs at least a rudimentary comprehension of rhythmic structure. Understanding fundamental song divisions is essential because the timing involved in almost any scratch technique works in unison with the flow of the beats and bars of the music you're using.
BASIC FADERLESS TECHNIQUES
We can make two simple divisions when categorizing scratches: those that involve a combination of vinyl and fader manipulation, and those that require only vinyl manipulation (aka faderless scratches). Although not all of them are simple, faderless scratches are somewhat less complex and are therefore a good place to start. They allow you to concentrate on perfecting only the vinyl-manipulation aspect of scratching. For that reason, in this month's column we will look at two basic faderless techniques: the baby scratch and the scribble.
BABY SCRATCH
The most basic technique (and the grandfather of all scratches) is known as the baby scratch. Invented by Grand Wizard Theodore in the late ’70s, the baby scratch involves simply moving the record back and forth rhythmically. Perfecting this scratch is vital because it forms the basis of all other scratch techniques.
A baby scratch is a slow, steady scratch, usually consisting of one back-and-forth cycle per beat. To perform it, locate the start of the sound you want to scratch and hold the record so the needle is positioned just before the point where the sound begins. Play a basic beat on the other turntable and start to push forward on the scratch sample at the start of each beat. Pull back at the same speed at which you pushed forward, and be ready to push forward again at the start of the next beat. Leave the fader open. Continue this rhythmic motion in time with the beat, and you're doing a baby scratch!
Concentrate on “reading” the record so you know where your selected sample starts and ends. (See “Turntablist Techniques” in the March 2001 issue of Remix for tips on how to read a record.) Try to make your hand motions consistent, moving the record the same amount forward and backward each time. Push the record at roughly the same speed that it would normally play. You can introduce variations by changing the sample length; however, the baby scratch is almost always performed at or near the speed at which the record would normally spin.
SCRIBBLE
A scribble is basically a very fast baby scratch, consisting of the same forward-and-backward motion; the main difference is that you do it at a faster tempo. The name comes from the rapid hand movement this technique requires, similar to scribbling with a pen on paper.
The range and types of sounds you can achieve are greater with a scribble than with a baby scratch, because there are typically more variations in the speed at which you can manipulate the record. With the scribble technique, the sound created by the back-and-forth motion tends to blend, creating a fluid scratch effect. You can also vary the tone and tempo of this scratch effect to create different rhythmic accompaniments to the beat.
VARIATIONS
I have described fairly specific ways of performing each scratch, but the real beauty of these techniques is that you can vary them and throw in new ideas to come up with your own style. You should concentrate on learning each technique first, but then try experimenting with combinations of techniques (called patterns). For example, flow from a baby scratch for one bar to a fast scribble for the next bar. Follow this with a 1-beat slower scribble, a 1-beat baby scratch, and a 2-beat fast scribble. The combinations are as endless and varied as your imagination.
Even though these techniques are basic, you can use them to develop your own personal style right away. As you become familiar with additional scratch techniques, remember to work on the transition from one technique to another. A good turntablist learns every individual scratch technique; a great turntablist knows how to combine all techniques into a masterful and varied showcase of skill and creativity. Now go practice!
Tips and Tricks - Turtablist Techniques Part 4
Tuesday, 28 July 2009Posted by WIN at 09:38
Labels: Tips and Tricks, Turntablist
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