Scratch Geek https://scratchgeek.com Supporting the turntablism community Sun, 05 Jan 2020 19:37:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://i0.wp.com/scratchgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/cropped-IMG-6370-1.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Scratch Geek https://scratchgeek.com 32 32 152438501 Cheapest Way to Start Scratching: Numark PT-01 Scratch and Reloop Spin Portable Turntable Review https://scratchgeek.com/cheapest-way-to-start-scratching/ Sun, 05 Jan 2020 19:02:05 +0000 https://scratchgeek.com/?p=1760 A few years back if people told me they wanted to get into Scratching, I would say that required a MINIMUM investment of $500 to get ONE turntable durable enough to withstand a heavy hand and to get a USED or Low-budget scratch mixer. Today, the burgeoning portable turntable industry has blessed us with some […]

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A few years back if people told me they wanted to get into Scratching, I would say that required a MINIMUM investment of $500 to get ONE turntable durable enough to withstand a heavy hand and to get a USED or Low-budget scratch mixer.

Today, the burgeoning portable turntable industry has blessed us with some products that have eliminated this recommendation from me. If you are looking to solely pick up Scratching (NOT DJing in its entirety), there are now a few very viable options that can get you started immediately and cheaply.

Portable Scratch Turntables

So if you’re new to the DJ scene or haven’t been keeping up with your DJ related content, you might be wondering what is a Portable Scratch Turntable? Until the last several years, DJ’s were relegated to a cord long enough to reach an outlet. Thanks to Vestax, Numark and several resourceful DJ’s; portable turntables meant for sample listening to records were modified into battery-powered scratching devices. These turntables would be modified with a crossfader attached to them (or inside them) and allowed DJ’s to finally express the art of turntablis without the constraint of cords.

Vestax Handytrax
Numark PT-01 (NOT THE PT-01 SCRATCH)

Numark and Reloop have seen the explosion in the amount of DJ’s modifying these portable turntables and decided to hop into the market; creating devices that require minimum-to-zero modification and can be used for scratching right out of the box in the Numark PT-01 Scratch and the Reloop Spin.

If you’re looking to learn to scratch and don’t want to pay that high entry fee that used to plague want-to-be turntablists these portable turntables can be a great entry point at an extremely reasonable price. If you’re already an experienced turntablist, these decks open up the freedom of choice to scratch on the go.

Numark PT-01 Scratch
Reloop Spin

The Best Portable Turntable for Scratching

So the cheapest out of the box is the PT-01 Scratch and this used to be my recommendation. However, after trying the Reloop Spin numerous times, this turntable blows it out the water right out of the box. For disclosure I actually own a PT-01 Scratch with a modified Jesse Dean Crossfader.

Having gotten my hands on both the Numark PT-01 and Reloop Spin, The Reloop Spin aboslutely takes the cake as the best portable turntable available.

The Reloop Spin uses the same tonearm, cartridge and stylus as the PT-01 scratch; which in both cases leaves a lot to desire. But this stock tonearm gets the job done out the box and is pretty skip resistance for how flimsy it looks. With that said, the main advantages the Reloop Spin carries is the platter is significantly more solid and the Reloop Spin allows you to change which side you want the Crossfader on. The Reloop Spin is also the only mass produced portable turntable with Bluetooth streaming technology; this allows you to wirelessy stream instrumentals and beats to scratch over.

Reloop Spin
PT-01 Scratch Stock Toggle Switch

The biggest problem with the PT-01 Scratch versus the Reloop Spin is the Stock Fader. In the case of the PT-01 it is not a crossfader at all, it is actually a switch (like an on and off toggle switch). So in order to get the feeling of scratching on a crossfader you will be required to make a modification upon purchase. The Reloop Spin actually comes with a decent crossfader AND it comes with the option to switch which side you want to place crossfader. This is my other biggest problem with the PT-01 Scratch. Since I scratch with my Dominant Right Hand on the Record, I am forced to scratch at an awkward angle on the PT-01 Scratch where my hand has to hover over the tonearm. This is non-issue for people that scratch with their Left Hand on the record, but I feel it is an important point that I haven’t seen in many reviews.

Best Portable Turntable Choice: Specifications and Prices

The Reloop Spin’s significant durability advantage over the Numark PT-01 makes it the significant better choice for a beginner who will inevitably have a heavier hand than someone with years of scratching experience. My only gripe with the Reloop Spin is though the stock crossfader is definitely useable, it does have a farther cut-in distance (or lag time before the sound can be heard) than I prefer. With that being said, there are already plenty of replacement crossfaders available that eliminate this problem.

The other only gripe is that the Reloop Spin averages in at about $100 more than the Numark PT-01 Scratch, but again the Reloop Spin does NOT require modifications that can become costly.

If you want to read a more comprehensive review of the available Portable Scratching options I recommend checking out this article from djturntablereview.com 

Additional Specs for the Reloop Spin from DJTurntableReview.com:

This turntable can be operated with regular USB PSU (5 V, 2 A), USB power bank or batteries. It can play 4 speeds at 33, 45 and 78 rpm and has a pitch knob for +/- 20%. The Reloop Spin has a good set of headphone output and RCA line outputs as well as a line input. You can also record your cuts directly from the USB output. This comes with a battle scratch record in the box.

The post Cheapest Way to Start Scratching: Numark PT-01 Scratch and Reloop Spin Portable Turntable Review first appeared on Scratch Geek.

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Talkin’ Bout Practice: How to Practice Scratching and Djing plus DJ Career Advice from Experts https://scratchgeek.com/dj-advice/ Sun, 17 Feb 2019 21:38:49 +0000 https://scratchgeek.com/?p=1578 What’s up Scratch Geeks? This article ended up being more insightful than we ever thought. We essentially asked a few questions to some of our favorite djs and turntablists that we often feature on the Scratch Geek instagram page. We had the idea of talking about practice and Djing as a career. Part of the […]

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What’s up Scratch Geeks?

This article ended up being more insightful than we ever thought. We essentially asked a few questions to some of our favorite djs and turntablists that we often feature on the Scratch Geek instagram page. We had the idea of talking about practice and Djing as a career.

Part of the goal was to emphasize good practice versus just practicing for practice sake. It is a common trait for new Dj’s to have a time goal on practice. For example: “I’m going to to practice 1
Hour a day” but this is not a helpful way to think about it.

So we wanted to know in regards to scratching, mixing, beat juggling or any aspect of djing:

  • How do some of the top DJ’s and turntablists practice?
  • How did they practice when they were starting out?
  • We also asked for any specific techniques, tips, tricks, drills in regard to practicing.

The other question we looked to explore was around djing as a career/job. We asked these top DJ’s:

  • How did you get your first dj Gig? When in terms of years did you get your first gig?
  • If different then the questions above, when/how did you get your first real gig (bar/club gig)?
  • When in terms of years after beginning did you enter your first battle?
  • Whether or not you consider yourself a full time dj, without giving too much detail if you do not want any chance you’d want to discuss the financial implications of being a full time dj? Or just djing as a job?

Hope you enjoy their answers!

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DJ Myke aka Micionero (@djmyke_micionero_)– 2 x DMC Italy Team Champion, 2x DMC Italy Champion (Solo), 4x DMC World Finalist, 2nd Place ITF Team Eastern Hemisphere 2003

On Practicing:

“Let’s start from one point, music for me is not a sport. I have always based my “daily practice” on ideas, when I have inspiration for a piece, then the practice starts. I do not like to play for warm-up, music is communication and / or expression. Even when I try the individual techniques I always try to do it on the basis of music, even if it takes more time my intent is to play the technique in order to acquire the mastery of it first. An advice that can help in the techniques is to not focus on a single hand but to try, in everyday things, to use both.”

Djing as a Career:

“I started about 14/15 years with the first school or birthday parties, I always had a great passion for djing. I met the scratch through videotapes after a couple of years I practiced I won some regional competitions, then I landed at DMC Italy and I won it for 4 years, in the same years I also won an ITF championship today IDA, from there they arrived the first requests for live, showcase. I started to make myself known also as a producer urban / hip hop and from there (I have done many live with rapper of the Italian scene) we say that my passion has become a job. First I did everything to maintain and maintain my passion, at the time there were no systems like TRAKTOR or SERATO, so if you wanted to keep up you had to buy the vinyls, and the vinyls cost, the equipment was expensive and was not readily available as today. I totally consider myself a professional DJ because I’ve been living on this for the last 20 years and I’m very proud of it. In my sets of course the scratch, the beatjuggling and any creative form of djing are not only present but are the soul of everything.”

Junk ThirtyThree (@junkthirtythree)– Wild Cuts 2018 World Vice-Champion, Cut2Cut Greece 2018 Champion

Practicing:

“When I was starting out scratching, I was practicing for 5-6 hours a day but it wasn’t a time goal. I was practicing certain techniques in a tempo around 70-75bpm and when I was comfortable with it I was going faster. An advice I give if you want to reach a more advanced level and advanced combos is to master the 2-click flare, its the key to different techniques like the autobahn etc.

Spend time to your record hand, the tars, scribbles and other tricks are useful to develo your style and be unique!

Nowadays I mostly freestyle with the techiniques I know but im trying to add a different flavour to them with variations in the pitch or with some swing. Always got in the back of my head to try out different things!

DJ battles and DJing as a Career:

“I was scratching for around a year when I entered my first battle. I did it mostly for the experience than to place or something

My first gig was a guest in a club where some friends wre playing so they invited me in and it was like 3 years after I started.”

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DJ Javin (@djjavin)- 2018 US Redbull 3style Finalist, 2018 Goldie Awards Finalist, Mixer for KKFR Power 98.3 FM (Phoenix, AZ) and Pitbull’s Globalization (Sirius XM) 

Practice:

”When it comes to practicing, for me personally, I practice to have fun but also learn something new. When I first started I would practice about 3-6 hours a day (with small breaks in between) trying to get the sound I’d like.”

DJ battles and DJing as a Career:

“I work as a full time DJ and I live off of this craft as my main source of income. I DJ different areas (radio, hometown residencies, agencies, traveling gigs, etc) to have a balance and constant source of income. With this “job” it’s always going to be – you get what you give. If you put in the work, you’ll get the rewards of it. There’s also a lot of different factors other than being good at your job which comes with experience and connecting with people. It’s always about learning and growing (for me personally). As i grow, my career grows and my talents/skills grow as well.

At this time and day, anyone can get a DJ gig even just starting out. It’s a great learning experience and depending how you grow and how much you’re invested in DJing will determine your path; whichever paths in DJing you’d like to take. Whether it’s clubs, battles, radio, corporate, mobiles, etc.

I was a bedroom DJ for a year, taking small gigs to learn. Entered my first battle a little after that and received my first radio residency from one of the battles I entered.”

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DJ Koncept (@koncept11.11)- UK DMC Supremacy Champion 2018

Practice:

“I try and practice everyday. How I practice changes on my mood mostly. Some days I’ll just feel like having a freestyle cut. Just going over all the patterns I already know and trying to get them tighter or faster. When I’m learning something new, I tend to just focus on mastering that one scratch. I’ll practice it along with everything else I can do. I find if you try and learn too much at once it makes it a bit too confusing for me. It’s also important to still practice

Other cuts you can do while learning something new so you don’t forget how to do those. I also try and balance beat juggling into my practice. Again I’ll go over patterns I already know and try and come up with new ones. If I’m preparing for a battle my practice is quite different too. I will be experimenting a lot and working on new ideas. When the set is finally made, my practice will be a lot of just drilling the routine or routines over and over. Trying to make them better, adding more details and making it as tight as possible. Tightness is so important to me. I’d rather see something more simple but super tight over someone trying something mad technical but it being sloppy.

I also practice my mixing along with this. Trying out different tunes to mix together, practicing to keep my mixing tight. I find I need to practice mixing very often or I start to get more sloppy.

When I was starting out I was learning new stuff all the time which made it really exciting. I think when I got to a certain level I stopped learning so much. Only over the past 5 years from me moving to a different city I’ve learned a lot more

I think your environment and practicing with different people helps a lot. I went to a dj school with DJ K-SWIZZ (Reigning IDA World Champion and Reigning DMC World Champion) and his dad too which was a great help too. So use any resources like that you can. Practice with people preferably who are better than you and never stop learning. It’s also important to incorporate your own style into new techniques you learn.

DJ Battles and DJ Career:

I got my first gig pretty quickly. Within months of starting to DJ. This was unpaid though! The first I started making money from gigs was when I started running my own events a few years later

Battles are an amazing way to network and boost your skill level. I wouldn’t consider myself as a full time DJ. I once was and it can be fairly up and down with your cash flow. Residencys are best for steady money. Also be careful, when it turns into a job it can sometimes take the fun out of it. I always want to have fun when I DJ, and always play the music I love. That’s why I do this!”

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The post Talkin’ Bout Practice: How to Practice Scratching and Djing plus DJ Career Advice from Experts first appeared on Scratch Geek.

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Scratch Geek Exclusive Mixes https://scratchgeek.com/mixes/ Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:40:02 +0000 https://scratchgeek.com/?p=1562 What’s up Scratch Geeks? This page is dedicated to hosting some our favorite DJ’s mixes made exclusively for Scratch Geek. We will host a range of mixes from established as well as up and coming dj’s many of whom are making a name for themselves on social media. The only things we asked of these […]

The post Scratch Geek Exclusive Mixes first appeared on Scratch Geek.

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What’s up Scratch Geeks?

This page is dedicated to hosting some our favorite DJ’s mixes made exclusively for Scratch Geek.

We will host a range of mixes from established as well as up and coming dj’s many of whom are making a name for themselves on social media.

The only things we asked of these DJs is to showcase their style, and make sure their mix is dope and clean. Enjoy!

All the mixes can also be found on: https://www.mixcloud.com/ScratchGeek/

DJ E@ZY

With over a decade of DJing experience, DJ E@ZY out of Connecticut blessed Scratch Geek with a club ready banging mix. DJ E@ZY has a stacked resume including Winning New London’s Whalie Award for Best DJ, and performing for Nike, he is also the resident DJ at Hot Rod’s Cafe in New London, CT and is the official DJ for Epicenter Experience LLC of Boston, MA. He has had the opportunity to perform for a variety of clubs/bars and events in the New England and Tri-State areas. Enjoy this killer mix.

Follow DJ E@ZY:
https://www.facebook.com/therealdjeazy
https://www.instagram.com/djeazy55/
https://twitter.com/djeazy55

DJ Yamez

Beginning his dynamic career in Pittsburgh and bursting onto the New York scene in 2004, DJ Yamez has done it all from working with Trey Songz to Azealia Banks, to guest DJing Sway in the Morning to working extensively with Red Bull Music Academy. Yamez has opened for the likes of Avril Lavigne, Craig David, Nas, Usher, Mr. Cheeks, Ja Rule and Ashanti among others. He’s a DJ’s DJ who’s name garners respect among the tri-state area. This exclusive Scratch Geek mix showcases his eclectic style. Enjoy.

Follow Him:

https://www.instagram.com/djyamez/
https://soundcloud.com/djyamez1

Twitter: @djyamez

DJ Vega

Hailing for Seattle, DJ Vega has established himself as a well rounded DJ from opening for acts such as Dave Chappelle, 2Chainz and J. Cole, serving as the OFFICIAL DJ for Ryan Caraveo and and Gifted Gab, to Djing weddings, radio shows (Kube 93.3FM (Seattle, WA), KISS 106.1FM (Seattle, WA) and competing and Redbull Threestyle Qualifiers. DJ Vega, the captain of the Fantasy League DJ’s, showcases his style and abilities in this dope exclusive mix.

Follow Him:
https://instagram.com/thatdjvega
https://twitter.com/VegaTheVirgo
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSOpa_AgMLrFONXuNXFv5fw

Website:
https://thatdjvega.com/

JaysonJamesB

Next up we have JaysonJamesB who hit us with the real hip hop in this mix. He’s an up and coming DJ/Turntablist out of Long Island who’s been scratching for only 2 years but is already making a splash. He’s quickly proved worthy to be featured on Scratch Geek. Be on the look out for a few of his expected releases this year.

Follow Him:

https://www.instagram.com/jaysonjamesb/

 

DJ AndOne

Hailing from D.C, DJ AndOne has quickly made a name for himself opening for artists such as Post Malone, Ying Yang Twins, MIMS, Baby Bash, Bowling for Soup and more. He brings a high energy unique style that has been showcased across numerous social media platforms.

Follow Him:
https://www.instagram.com/djandonemusic 
https://soundcloud.com/djandonemusic 
https://www.mixcloud.com/djandonemusic/stream/

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Shane Canfield

Kicking off our mix series we have Shane Canfield who is quickly gaining a name for himself through multiple social media platforms. You may have seen his 1 minute toneplays on instagram, most notably featured on DJcity and of course @ScratchGeek . Shane has been djing for 5 years and hails from a small town in Illinois with hopes to enter Red Bull 3style in the future. This mix shows off his style with quick mixes, and mood shifts and really embodies the goal of this series. 

Follow Him:

https://www.instagram.com/shanedjs/ 
https://soundcloud.com/shanecanfield

The post Scratch Geek Exclusive Mixes first appeared on Scratch Geek.

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Your Favorite DJ’s Favorite Scratch Combos and Advice For Beginner and Intermediate DJs https://scratchgeek.com/your-favorite-djs-favorite-scratch-combos-and-advice-for-beginner-and-intermediate-djs/ Wed, 14 Nov 2018 18:45:54 +0000 https://scratchgeek.com/?p=900 What’s up Scratch Geeks, Ever wonder what scratch combinations your favorite dj’s are throwing down in their freestyle scratch videos? Can’t quite figure out which scratches these top DJs are doing in their videos? Are you stuck in your development as a DJ and need some inspiration and advice from the best DJ’s out? Well […]

The post Your Favorite DJ’s Favorite Scratch Combos and Advice For Beginner and Intermediate DJs first appeared on Scratch Geek.

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What’s up Scratch Geeks,

Ever wonder what scratch combinations your favorite dj’s are throwing down in their freestyle scratch videos? Can’t quite figure out which scratches these top DJs are doing in their videos? Are you stuck in your development as a DJ and need some inspiration and advice from the best DJ’s out? Well then this post may have these answers for you.

We’ve reached out and teamed up with some of the Best DJs and Turntablists in the world. We’re talking World DMC Champions, IDA Scratch Champions, Red Bull Threestyle Champions and Finalists. If anyone knows DJing and Scratching it would be these guys. They’ve agreed to open the hood and give us some of their favorite scratch combos along with great advice for beginners and intermediate DJs learning to scratch.

This post will also include some exclusive tutorial videos that these Top DJ’s and Turntablists have graciously provided to Scratch Geek. We hope you enjoy these as some of these combos were secrets until now. .

Hope you enjoy these.

Favorite Scratch Combos and Advice for DJs and Turntablists

Junk ThirtyThree (@junkthirtythree)– Wild Cuts 2018 World Vice-Champion, Cut2Cut Greece 2018 Champion

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “One of my favorite combos is, swing flares to boomerang” (its the last combo in the instagram video from 11/7/2018)

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Celly (@cellypdx)- 2018 IDA USA Scratch Battle Champ, 2016 Wild Cuts Solo Scratch Champ:

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “I don’t necessarily have a ‘favorite combo’. I am one of those people who learned mostly by ear and never really got technical with the scratches past the fundamentals. So I don’t really have one I can name in that way.

I would say that something I think is super important and not often considered these days is the importance of drum scratching for building rhythm consistently and phrasing accuracy.”

On Advice for Beginners and Intermediate DJs: “I guess my main advanced advice would be that hand control is where you will find your won flavor and style. Different tears and modulating pitch can make even the basic scratches really funky and interesting”

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DJ Throdown (@djthrodowndc)- 2018 DMC US Champ, 3x DMC Regional Champ, 2x DMC Online Wolrd Finalist:

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “I got a combo scratch that I’m pretty fond of lately, I suppose I wouldn’t mind sharing it.”

Its a “snake scratch/tear/whatever you wanna call it – Boomerang combo thats pretty cool I feel like that one is worthy of sharing with the heads.”

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DJ Deception (@djdeception)– 2x ITF World Team Champion, 2011 Red Bull 3style USA Finalist, Scratch Geek Tazer Challenge Winner:  

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “I always sucked at the name of cuts especially new ones, I just freestyle most of the time” on a

On advice for Beginner and Intermediate DJs: “Put some stank on it…learn the scratches then try to make variations of it by using drags or record control to make different pitches at any given point”

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Jon Rist (@JonRist)– Monreal based turntablist/ producer; 2018 IDA Canada Scratch Champion.

Jon Rist provided us with an exclusive video and asked us to break down the names of his cuts. Here he is doing a forward drag with two whip/wave Tear back combo. It sounds super crispy in the flow and heavily appreciate the exclusive video. This can be seen on our YouTube channel and IGTV on our Instagram page.

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Jon Rist Exclusive Advanced Scratch Combo For Scratch Geek

Here Jon Rist is doing a forward drag with two whip tear backwards. The fader hand is basically doing an OG Flare scratch motion with the fader opening for the forward drag and then the two whips/wave-tears are getting fadered.

You can find more dope scratch videos and production from him at:

Instagram: @Jonrist

Twitter: @Jon_rist

Bandcamp: www.morbin.bandcamp.com

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DJ Flip Flop (@djflipflop)- 2018 DMC USA Runner-Up

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “Honestly I suck at knowing what combos I do. If you can break one down that I do you’re more than welcome to do so.”

From studying some of his videos it looks like he likes to throw a crab-multiple stabs-baby bahn combo. Though we would love for you DJs to add some of his combos in the comment section, he seems pretty modest in the initial response as he is definitely a very technical scratcher and one of the best out doing it.

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DJ Dopez (@dopez1200)- 2015 DMC USA Finalist:

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “As for favorite scratch combo its gotta be the Whip Tear with two clicks over it. Two Clicks forward whip tear backwards”

We’ve included multiple Dopez tutorials on this site because he has some of the best tutorials for intermediate to advanced scratchers and turntablists on youtube.

Dopez's Super Secret Scratch Tutorial

We’ve linked this tutorial before on the site in our advanced scratch combo series. 

Here Dopez can be seen doing the Whip Scratch he described in many different combos.

You can find more video tutorials from him at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaaxvVQk3HYQ1NxGNNH1Leg 

Instagram: @Dopez1200

Twitter: @Dopez1200

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Nabarret (@nabarret)-  Clash of the Titans Spain 2018 Finalist,  Scratch Geek Tazer Challenge Finalist:

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “One of my favorite combos is Chirp-orbit-chirp-boomerang”

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Miles Medina (@milesmedina) – 2017 Goldie Awards DJ Battle Champion:

On Favorite Scratch Combo/Advice: “I’ve never been too big of a technical scratcher. I respect and love hearing it but I’ve always been more musical with the few techniques I know. Mostly stabs, transforms, crabs every now and then in a rhythmic way to compliment the song I’m scratching over. My main thing is feeling the soul of the dj who’s playing.”

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DJ Myke aka Micionero (@djmyke_micionero_)– 2 x DMC Italy Team Champion, 2x DMC Italy Champion (Solo), 4x DMC World Finalist, 2nd Place ITF Team Eastern Hemisphere 2003

On Favorite Combos: He sent us multiple videos, had us break it down and confirmed. Scribbles into a delayed two click flare as well as  “Chirp Boomerang, 2 Click Tazer, 2 Click Bubble Tears”

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Funk-Ra(@_Funk_Ra)- Bay Area/Zurich Based Turntablist

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “In regards to favorite combo, boomerang to autobahn.”
 
On Advice for Beginner/Intermediate level DJs:
“My advice would be to practice flow. For me the most important part in scratching is self-expression. It is this self expression/style that defines us as individuals.”

DJ Eprom (@djeprom)- 2x IDA World Champion

On Scratch Combos and Advice for Beginners and Intermediate DJs: “Spend as much time on basics as possible: baby, tears, transforms and flares. These 4 elements are key to outstanding combos.”

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DJ Fong Fong (@djfongfong): DMC Online World Champion 2012

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “Chirp-two click-chirp”

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DJ Kutreal (@djkutreal)- Redbull 3 Style Albania Champ 2015, DMC Italy Vice Champ 2015

On Favorite Scratch Combo: “I’m down with swing flare, delayed flare, autobahn combo”

“I’m really down with delayed flare, autobahn, boomerang combo”

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DJ Kut Real Exclusive Boomerang-Delayed Flare (Baby Bahn) Combo

In this exclusive video that Kut Real provided us for our Youtube and IGTV Channels he is doing a Boomerang into a what some call a Delayed Two Click Flare (what he calls a Deleted Flare and what we call a Baby Bahn in our advanced scratch techniques tutorial)

If you followed our advanced scratch technique tutorial in order to perform this scratch you need to know how to do a Boomerang and a Baby Bahn. It is one full boomerang flowing directly into one full Baby Bahn. Its a dope combo to throw into the flow, and from here you can even add Autobahns into the combo. 

DJ Knockers (@djknockers)- 2018 DMC Tampa Champ, 2017 WMC Spin-off Champ, 2017 IDA USA Finalist

On Advice for Beginner and Intermediate Dj’s: “Practicing tears can open a lot of doors. They can be stiff rigid pauses or a quick more bubbly sound. And of course the natural progression to the whip tears already covered in the blog.

Adding fader stuff on top of tears lead to the “wet” sound we associate with some of the dopest cutters.

Learning Prizms and Whips played a big part in molding my style.”

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DJ Soak (@djsoak)- 3x Champion DMC Spain Champion, ITF Spain Champion 2006, IDA Spain Champion 2006

Provided us with an exclusive video for our IGTV and Youtube channels where he demonstrates some of his favorite combos. 

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DJ Soak Exclusive Scratch Geek Combo Demonstration

In this video DJ Soak is using the Boomerang-Baby Bahn combo that Kut Real demonstrated in the previous video as the starting point for his flow. He frequent adds Skribbles or quick baby scratches before the combo, and throws autobahns in the mix. Since he is freestyling and flowing in this video it is difficult to just point to one combo that defines the sound here, but it stems from this delayed triplet sound you get from knowing how to do delayed flares, Baby Bahns, Boomerangs and Autobahns. He also accentuates the sounds extremely well with strong tears. 

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Jose Rodriguez (@JoseRodriguezDJ)- Wild Cuts 2018 Champ, Clash of Titans Spain 2018 Champ, IDA Scratch Spain 2017-2018 Champ

Provided us with an exlcusive video for our IGTV and Youtube Channels where he demonstes one of his favorite scratches that he seamlessly throws into his scratch  combos.

Jose Rodriguez Exclusive Scratch Combos Demonstration

Here he is demonstrating his fast clover tear (2 foward and 2 back) that he uses in between chirps, one click flares, crescent flares as well as og flares. The tear is not fadered, but is extremely versatile in adding extra sounds between scratches.

More Exclusive and Tutorials Coming Soon!

We will continue to edit this post and add new exclusive videos as they come along. We just couldn’t keep this post on hold anymore because there is already so much value here. 

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The post Your Favorite DJ’s Favorite Scratch Combos and Advice For Beginner and Intermediate DJs first appeared on Scratch Geek.

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Advanced Scratch Combos: Part 1 https://scratchgeek.com/advanced-scratch-combos-part-1/ Sun, 11 Nov 2018 00:17:41 +0000 https://scratchgeek.com/?p=784 Hey Scratch Geeks, Scratch Combos are what give people their signature style and flow. Stringing along multiple scratches can sometimes be difficult and we as turntablists often get into a rut, doing the same scratch combos over and over which makes our freestyles sound monotonous. It is for this reason we wanted to bring to […]

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Hey Scratch Geeks,

Scratch Combos are what give people their signature style and flow. Stringing along multiple scratches can sometimes be difficult and we as turntablists often get into a rut, doing the same scratch combos over and over which makes our freestyles sound monotonous. It is for this reason we wanted to bring to you guys new combos to think about. Of course many of these combos are not easy and you must be very fluent in the individual scratches before advancing into combos. It is for this reason that we recommend learning all the scratches in our previous tutorials if you’re having trouble with some of these combos.

With that being said I hope some of these inspire you to create your own combos. Happy learning and happy scratching!

Advanced Chirp Flare Combos:

Adding these types of chirp combos into your arsenal gives variation and a clean sound to your flow and they’re pretty easy to transition between once you get them down. This was will your cuts a signature crisp sound when done at higher speeds, double time and triple time. 

Chirp-2 OG Flare Combos

This scratch is fairly easy to grasp when you know the individual scratches well. However, it sounds very complex and crisp in the flow, especially once you can double time and triple time this scratch. Again, remember you can always go back to previous tutorials in the blog if you cannot do a chirp or OG flare.

2-1-2 Combo (Chirps, OG Flares)

In this next video YoshiTTR breakdowns a 2-1-2 combo which uses chirp scratches, OG (original) flares and Reverse OG flares and then breaks it down with using wave tears to accent the scratch. These are the type of advanced scratches we hope can really elevate your scratch game and help to come up with new combos:

Chirp-Crescent Flare Combos

YoshiTTR also breaks down a chirp flare and chirp crescent combo here:

If you want to get really advanced and nerdy with combos. DJ chilean has a take on the last couple tutorials and some theory on stringing combos. Here he breaks down two chirp-OG flares into a Chirp-Crescent Flare combo with standard scratch notation at the bottom of the screen.

Scratch Combos in the Flow

Here Dopez breaks down how to incorporate similarly advanced combos into the flow using chirp flares, chirp tears, different takes on boomerang scratches:

Hand Control Combos (Tears, Whips and Waves)

Many of our favorite turntablists would agree that proper record control is what brings out style and variations into scratch combos. These next combos display this and show how good record control and accentuation using tears can make even the most basic combos sound advanced. 

Montreal based turntablist/producer and current 2018 IDA Canada Scratch Champion Jon Rist provided us with an exclusive combo for our Scratch Geek Youtube Channel and Scratch Geek IGTV as part of our next series. But we can give a sneak preview of this here as it incorporates whip tears. It is a essentially a forward drag and two whip tears backwards. The record hand is doing an og flare motion. It is open on the forward drag and the whips/waves are getting fadered. 

Dopez's Super Secret Scratch Tutorial (Whip Scratch Combos):

We again are featuring Dopez here who shows us how to incorporate Whip tears with clicks over them in his Super Secret Scratch Tutorial. You can find him cutting it up on instagram as well at @dopez1200 and hes given us the cosign to link these awesome tutorials he provides. 

Again here you can see how advanced record control techniques can really transform any combo.

Three Click-Tear Scratch Combo

Here TTM Academy breaks down a 3-click Tear combo; of course this can also be down with a 2 click and tear combo and can be done at different speeds, but the overall principle is great to get down and can translate into many different combos:

Scratch Combos Using Two-Click Motions

As we mentioned in the previous tutorial series once you get the 2-click motion down, you can transition nicely into different combos using that motion. Here are some examples and of that.

Two Click-OG Flare Combo by ScratchRecipe:

Boomerang Tazer Scratch Combo By FedoBeatz:

Intermediate Scratch Combos

If some of these are too advanced Emma Short-E breaks down a few scratch combos for DJcity using more basic scratches. This doesn’t use incredibly advanced techniques but shows you the power of combining scratches. This uses the forward scratch, slices and transforms.

Though they’ve discontinued this series, DJcity used to do a new combo every month for two years and those can be seen here in this playlist here and use more beginner to intermediate scratches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7cjJlvob3M&index=25&list=PL_Xo_P4FL2K40qSGPMfpB9_6VjpvO2AxT&t=0s 

 

Future Scratch Combo Posts:

As we continue with this series we will dive into the favorite combos of our favorite turntablists and also provide exclusive tutorials explaining these combos.

We will also continue to link more Advanced Scratch Combos as we find ones that are challenging and inspiring.

Hope you guys enjoyed the combos above, and good luck learning them!

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Scratching 303: Advanced Scratch Techniques https://scratchgeek.com/scratching-303-advanced-scratch-techniques/ Sun, 14 Oct 2018 17:52:22 +0000 https://scratchgeek.com/?p=719 Hello Scratch Geeks, We’re continuing our Scratching Tutorial series here with Advanced Techniques. We recommend starting at Scratching 101: Introduction to Scratching and Basic Scratch Tutorials and Scratching 202: Intermediate Scratch Tutorials if this is the first page you’ve stumbled on. If you’re proficient in the techniques in the previous posts you will see us continue to dive in […]

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Hello Scratch Geeks,

We’re continuing our Scratching Tutorial series here with Advanced Techniques. We recommend starting at Scratching 101: Introduction to Scratching and Basic Scratch Tutorials and Scratching 202: Intermediate Scratch Tutorials if this is the first page you’ve stumbled on. If you’re proficient in the techniques in the previous posts you will see us continue to dive in here. Remember learning these techniques take time, we’re here to try and make that process easier by curating the best tutorials already on the internet and adding our additional commentary.

Delayed Two-Click Flare, Boomerang & Autobahn (Differences, Overview and Tutorial) :

Delayed 2 Click Flare

The video above explains it best out of any video on youtube, but the technique is essentially a two click flare starting with the 5th sound or starting with the record coming backwards (we will record our own delayed two click flare video to upload soon)

In the meantime, though we haven’t gotten to 3 click flares, this delayed 3 click flare video may help you think about it:

The delayed two click flare is the same movement but with one less click both ways.

Boomerang Scratch

Again here is another video to see the differences between delayed 2 click flares, regular 2 click flares and boomerangs:

As you can see they create similar sounds, but the hand motions are different. The first video by Yoshi is the best to see the differences

Baby Bahn (Formely called the delayed two click flare):

Like I stated earlier, the names definitely get confusing because they evolved over time but it is best to think of the video above as a baby bahn or the first part of an autobahn rather than a delayed flare. A delayed two-click flare is best to be thought as a phase shifted flare (starting on a different note).

This is the beginning sounds of an autobahn and getting this record movement down will help you with your autobahn scratch.

Autobahn Scratch:

Slow Autobahn Scratch:

Prism Scratch:

The prism scratch uses a ton of record control, and you should be pretty proficient in tears before getting to these.

Tazers:

Though we never discussed lazers, the video above breaks down lazers and tazers. Tazers are essentially a combo of lazers and an OG flare (mentioned in the intermediate scratching guide).

Review of many scratches using two click flares:

Three Click Flares

Up until this point all the scratches above are still using the two-click flare motion. This is where we add more sounds and speed. I do wholeheartly believe you should master all the two click sounds before beginning 3-Click flares.

Three-Click Flare (3 Click Flares):

Delayed 3 Click Flare:

As we continue to future scratching posts, they will feature even more advanced scratches and combos. Good luck with the practice sessions, and enjoy Scratch Geeks!

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Scratching 202: Intermediate Scratch Tutorials https://scratchgeek.com/scratching-202-intermediate-scratch-tutorials/ Tue, 02 Oct 2018 14:29:50 +0000 http://scratchgeek.com/?p=199 Hello Scratch Geeks, This post is going to be long, with hours of videos linked to it. Again scratching takes time and as we get to harder scratches, these techniques take a while to wrap your head around and to develop the muscle memory. This post should take you time to complete and you should […]

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Hello Scratch Geeks,

This post is going to be long, with hours of videos linked to it. Again scratching takes time and as we get to harder scratches, these techniques take a while to wrap your head around and to develop the muscle memory. This post should take you time to complete and you should revisit regularly to help you progress through the more advanced techniques.

Intermediate Scratches cannot be showcased before discussing the importance of getting the next scratch down. Two-click flares are the most important scratch to learn after your basics scratches. This two-click motion will open the doors to all the advanced scratches and can provide endless variations to your scratch vocabulary. It is for this reason that I am going to link multiple videos of two click flares to show you all the different ways to add this to your aresenal.

I am also going to add that while there are variations that make this scratch easier (twiddle method) I found, personally, that learning that method first hindered my development into advanced scratches and it took me a long time to overcome that. For this reason, while I think you should learn all the ways to do a two click flare, it is most important to learn the first method shown here

The Two-Click Flare (also known as the Orbit Scratch)

If you’re struggling with the first method this may help:

Another in-depth look with a different way of thinking of the scratch (looks more like the tapping method, I believe the previous videos are less complicated but some people like this type of breakdown):

Here is a look for Both Regular and Hamster Style (Reverse) Scratchers:

Twiddle Method :

Here is the Twiddle method for two click flares (thought by many to be cheating) but this can also open up different possibilities for you. As stated earlier, I wish I learned the methods shown above first, as I had trouble with more advanced techniques because I learned the twiddle method first. With that being said this is what it looks and sounds like:

Once you get good at both of these two click motions, the possibilities really become endless.

This is a preview of what learning the first two click flare motion can help you learn:

As you can see the door is wide open once you learn this two click pattern, but we will go in depth more in all the scratches in the video above in a more advanced post.

The Crab Scratch

Some people throw the crab scratch before all of these, but I find that djs who learn this scratch too early rely on it heavily and it hinders their development. The crab scratch sounds best when used in combinations with other scratches to add flavor and funk. There are a few variations of the crab scratch depending on the number of fingers you use and whether you start with the fader on or off.

Crab Scratch Technique:

Three Finger Closed Crab Scratch

Hamster Stye (Reverse) Open Crab Scratch

Regular Open Fader Crab Scratch :

My advice to begin to learn this technique is to practice without the crossfader by tapping your pointer finger, then middle finger, then ring finger to your thumb separately to build strength.

The Swing Flare

Though we did not specifically talk about dicing or slicing the record, you’ve been doing this already if you have practiced different stab variations, reverse stabs, and chirp variations. The Swing Flare scratch should NOT be learned before the 2-click flare. It uses the same fader movements but combines previously shown hand movements.

This is an intermediate scratch that shows how the foundations of previous scratches can create new sounds.

Original Flare (OG Flare)

Reverse Original Flare (Reverse OG Flare)

That will conclude this intermediate scratch post, If you’ve progressed through all these scratches more advanced scratches can be found in the next post.

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Scratching 101: Introduction to Scratching and Basic Scratch Tutorials https://scratchgeek.com/scratching-101-introduction-to-scratching-and-basic-scratch-tutorials/ Tue, 02 Oct 2018 13:31:17 +0000 http://scratchgeek.com/?p=193 Hello Scratch Geeks, Scratching is hard. It takes time and deliberate practice on specific techniques. Many people don’t know where to start and how to progress through the scratches accordingly. Millions of tutorials have been done and these scratches are not new. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here at Scratch Geek but we […]

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Hello Scratch Geeks,

Scratching is hard. It takes time and deliberate practice on specific techniques. Many people don’t know where to start and how to progress through the scratches accordingly.

Millions of tutorials have been done and these scratches are not new. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here at Scratch Geek but we want to give you guys a starting place with some additional commentary on how to begin to learn how to scratch and how to progress to an intermediate and advanced level quickly.

We’re curating our favorite videos on learning the basics of scratching.

This post is lengthy and its meant to give you everything you’ll need to get started in scratching from setup, to samples and records to technique. This is NOT a post that you should try to finish and learn in one day, but one you should revisit as you progress through the techniques and become a better turntablist.

If you already know some basic mixing and know how to set up your turntable and mixer as well as tone arm, cartridge and stylus so they are optimized for scratching you can continue down the article to get into the scratches.

Before set up if you want to learn about some basic history of turntablism you can check out our previous post.

Equipment and Set Up

First you’ll need some equipment, if you do not know where to start in purchasing dj equipment, www.djturntablereview.com has a great list of turntables from different price ranges and discusses an indepth guide to portable turntables here which are a great cheap introduction to the scratch world. You’ll also need a mixer and some speakers

For those that need help setting up their equipment for optimal performance check out these videos below:

Setting up Needle and Catridge :

You may notice some people set up their cartridge a little differently but I would say the video above is the most correct way to set up your needle and cartridge (though the sadly M44-7 have recently been discontinued).

These next two videos will also help with learning the Basics of Turntablism and setting up you’re equipment.

Getting Started in Turntablism :

Setting up Mixer for Scratching :

Now that your equipment is set up correctly you’ll need some samples. If you have Serato you can find the basic scratch samples here.

Scratch Samples :

With the download link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/scxgde70xtasd5z/Serato+Scratch+Sentence.wav

If you do not have Serato we recommend buying some battle records many of which are skip-less for scratch samples and break beats.

We recommend:

12″ Scratch Records for Regular Turntables: Thud Rumble Super Seal- Skratchy Seal Vinyl ;

7″ Scratch Records For Portable Turntables: Practice Yo Cuts Vol. 5 ; Baby Seal 3

Scratching Hand Placement and Philosophy

Before getting into these tutorials, I want to start by saying you’ll see people with all sorts of different hand placements on the record and cross fader. Many people have different philosophies on which hand should be on the record and which should be on the crossfader. Some believe that your writing hand (dominant hand) should be on the crossfader so you can move it faster and then there’s the opposite school of thought that believes your dominant hand should be on the record to better express your sounds. This decision is ultimately up to you as there is no right or wrong answer. You can always develop either hand to be proficient in either position.

The other thing you may notice in these videos that there are two styles of cut on the crossfader: regular or hamster style (reverse). Again no right or wrong answer, do what feels right initially.

Basic Scratch Tutorials :

We are going to start with the most basic of scratches. The movements from these basic scratches are the foundation of every scratch afterwards and will not only help your scratching but will also help your mixing and cueing.

We will start with Faderless scratches and getting more control with your record hand. We believe that it is important to get your record hand comfortable before even touching the crossfader in your scratches.

3 Basic Scratches: Baby Scratch, Scribble, Drags

The Baby Scratch is the foundation of all other scratches, so definitely become proficient with the scratches above before moving on.

Tear Scratch :

Basic Scratches Starting with a Closed Crossfader :

Now that we have some decent control with our record hand we can start learning how to involve the crossfader. The first scratch anyone should learn with the crossfader is the stab. Even if you only mastered this one scratch you could make very articulate sounds. (If you scrolled through the ScratchGeek instagram page you’d see Stab Challenges where top scratchers create full freestyles just with the Stab Scratch)

Stab Scratch :

Transform Scratch

We believe that next in your progression you should learn the transform scratch, this next video goes in depth on the different patterns you can perform with the transform scratch and brief history of the scratch.

Open Fader Scratches :

I’m going to link two videos for the Chirp Scratch and the reason is because I feel that this scratch will open the door to begin to add texture and funk to your scratch sessions.

Once you’re good at the chirp scratch you can really jam with anyone. Here, though subtle, you can actually see two different ways of closing the record open and closed. So either with your wrist (SkratchBastid video) or Fingers (Archie Reyes demonstration at ~10min mark). I feel that this distinction is key to point out early in your scratch career. We at ScratchGeek feel that while there is no absolutely correct way between the two, being able to chirp with just your fingers as opposed to involving the large wrist movement will help your future progression through scratch combinations.

The Chirp Scratch :

One-Click Flare :

The next scratch we will discuss is the One-Click Flare scratch, this is the simplest of the Flare Scratches and is a true open-fader scratch. Getting this scratch down is the key to progressing to intermediate scratches. We again want to make the distinction of scratching with your wrist and scratching with your fingers so we will provide two examples here.

Scratch Combo

This is your first scratch combo, and shows you the possibilities that come with expanding your scratch vocabulary and linking scratches. There will be many more scratch combos in future posts, but getting this combo down will help you express your scratch skills.

The Chirp-Flare Scratch

The Next Post continues the discussion with Intermediate Scratches

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A Brief History of Turntablism https://scratchgeek.com/turntablism-for-beginners-and-the-history-of-turntablism/ Thu, 20 Sep 2018 19:56:52 +0000 http://scratchgeek.com/?p=184 Turntablism: Is the Turntable a musical instrument? I feel like this is a topic that becomes more an more relevant as the years go by and DJ culture becomes more mainstream. This discussion is meant be informative on the Art of DJing and how it evolved. I highly encourage any aspiring bedroom djs, club djs, […]

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Turntablism: Is the Turntable a musical instrument?

I feel like this is a topic that becomes more an more relevant as the years go by and DJ culture becomes more mainstream. This discussion is meant be informative on the Art of DJing and how it evolved. I highly encourage any aspiring bedroom djs, club djs, turntablists etc. to truly learn their craft and continue to promote this beautiful culture.

Turntablists vs DJs

Often there is a negative connotation with one calling themselves a D.J. Many people think that Disk Jockeys simply play back music (and many do), but are either ignorant to or dismiss the fact that there are a subculture of DJs who use the turntable to manipulate and create new sounds and music. These DJs are given the title “turntablist”. They learn and master  techniques to manipulate the records, using the turntable as an instrument.

Should Turntablists be considered musicians?

Because  turntablists have the ability to create a work that is entirely new and unique, they should be considered musicians and the turntable should be considered an instrument.

Turntablism History and the evolution of turntablism

DJs pre-scratching

The DJs main goal was to have people dancing. The most advanced techniques involved beatmatching, mixing and looping. Beatmatching is when a DJ will match the tempo of two songs and seamlessly mix them. Looping is self-explanatory. Before scratching there was limited creativity and the DJ would simply play other people’s music. The DJ was never featured, he would either back up an mc or play others music. After the invention of scratching the DJ became a musician.

The Invention of Scratching

Grand Wizzard Theodore is widely credited as the inventor of scratching. It is claimed that his mother was yelling at him to turn off his music and he stopped the record with his hand to create the first scratching sound. It is here that he experimented and perfected the first baby scratch. Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the 1990s, it has been used in some styles of pop and nu metal.

Evolution Of Scratching (New Techniques)

New techniques are constantly evolving in the turntablist community which allows different sounds and patterns to be created. This allows for an ever evolving culture.

Scratch Drumming

Is exactly what it sounds like. The turntablist makes a new beat entirely out of scratching. This is usually done with a kick, snare and hi hat. This, of course, enables the turntablist to essence “drum” any pattern they would like. This would make them a musician as they can create a new beat instantly and can create complex patterns similar and sometimes more advanced than regular drumming. This technique enables turntablist to form bands, or perform with other turntablists at the same time.

Beat Juggling

Beat juggling is the act of manipulating two or more samples in order to create a unique composition, using multiple turntables and one or more mixers. This can involve pauses, scratching, backspins and delays. Beat Juggling has its roots in cutting, in which a small section of a beat is looped using two copies of the same record. This was first done by Kool DJ Herc, and later refined by DJs such as Grandmaster Flash in the early 80s. Two other fundamentals of modern beat juggling technique include “tapping” or “walking,” where the DJ taps the record in between percussion sounds, stopping it momentarily to slow down the beat, or pushing it faster to speed it up, and “shuffling” or “strobing,” where the DJ loops the two records at different points in the beat, literally remixing the record live by playing new combinations of the sounds on the records.

Competitions

The DMC World DJ Championships is an annual DJ competition hosted by Disco Mix Club (DMC) which began in 1986. It helped push the boundaries of Djing and turntablism. The battle places turntablists against one another in an effort to create the most creative and clean routine. This competition has helped to bring forth new techniques, new fans, new artists, new technologies. in 1986 DJ Cheese brought the best out of the turntables by scratching his way to DMC’s first ever World Title. By the following year, turntable tricks started to establish themselves with the emergence of props, body tricks and a variety of scratching techniques, DJs scratched with bicycles and even kitchen sinks, Chad Jackson used a billiard cue and an American football to help him become the 1987 Champion at a venue that had never before featured a DJ let alone heard hip-hop riffs.

New Technology

Vinyl emulation software allows the user to physically manipulate the playback of digital audio files on a computer using the turntables as an interface, thus preserving the hands-on ‘feel’ of djing with vinyl while allowing playback of audio recordings not available in phonograph This allows DJs to scratch, beatmatch, and perform other turntablism that would be impossible with a conventional keyboard-and-mouse computer interface. DJs can essentially have any song they wish now and have easier access to sound effects, and new types of sound manipulation.

DJ Schools

DJ Academy :The ”Turntable Technique: The Art of the D.J.,” by Stephen Webber is the first musical method book for aspiring hip-hop D.J.’s. For his book Mr. Webber used interviews, photographs and traditional music notation to translate the turntablists’ approach into a series of lessons and exercises that an aspiring D.J. could practice. These include basic back-spinning and beat-matching and more advanced techniques like the four-finger crab scratch. Webber is a professor at The Berklee College of Music and wants to introduce a class in Turntablism. There are already outside organizations such as the DJ Scratch Academy that teach students the art of djing and turntablism. In 2002, Rob Principe and the late Jam Master Jay founded Scratch DJ Academy with the goal of lowering the barrier of entry to the art form of the DJ.

Whether you’re an aspiring turntablist or club DJ we encourage all djs to learn the art of djing to the best of their abilities

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