Scratching is one of the main weapons of turntable artists. While DJs just drop the needle, real experts create art. Learning how to get yourself the right DJ gear can give you a chance to explore this vast world. Learning the techniques and aesthetics of the genre will help you to give your best!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Getting the Right Materials
Step 1. Get a basic DJ set-up
For most DJs, this means getting a couple of direct-drive turntables, a mixer, and a collection of vinyl records to practice sampling and scratching. However, digital control systems and CDJs (turntables with CDs) are increasingly popular, offering many features, including the ability to scratch, create beats in loops in seconds, play tracks backwards or with very rhythmic rhythms. speeded up or slowed down and others that make them very useful for DJs.
If you don't own a turntable, buying one can be intimidating, not to mention that to really be a DJ, you'll need two. You can technically scratch with a single turntable, but you won't be producing music. Any direct-drive model should give you the ability to scratch. Don't break the piggy bank
Step 2. Find a mixer with curve adjustment on the cross-fader
Curve adjustment allows you to more easily control the passage of sound between turntables. A good scratch mixer includes a crossfader that doesn't have to be exactly in the center before the sound has passed into the new channel. It is not absolutely necessary to have such a mixer, but they will make your job a lot easier when you use the more advanced techniques.
Step 3. Use a mat between the platter and the vinyl
Antistatic mats are essential for DJs. You will need to be able to put a finger or hand on the record and stop it without stopping the platter completely.
- If you have a pair of inexpensive turntables, you may need to cut out pieces of plastic, parchment paper, or wax. Supermarket plastic bags are ideal.
- You can purchase a product called a "magic carpet" which helps reduce friction. If you want to use your own mat or are having trouble stopping the records, you can purchase the "Butter rugs", the smoothest mats available. You may still need to reduce friction further, but it will depend on your taste and gear.
Step 4. Enlarge your collection of discs to sample
A DJ needs a great variety of vinyls to create music with. A true DJ is a master of the mix, and knows how to use the beat of one record and a sampling of another to create new music. It is a complex, collage-style way of making music that can only be perfected with a lot of practice, and a lot of records.
- Almost all scratch records have a variety of samples, alternating break-beats and sound effects. Don't buy the first record you find on the internet, but be sure to listen to them before choosing one.
- For DJs, the anti-skip discs are meant to repeat the sample so that when your needle jumps, you'll stay on the sound you're trying to use. If you don't have regular records, try slightly wearing the record by finding the sample you like and then swinging the record back and forth to make a groove with the needle.
- You can scratch using the records you already have to find a suitable sample, but most DJs end up buying a few scratch records.
Part 2 of 3: Learning the Technique
Step 1. Find a sample or sound on your record to try scratching
Listen to the record with one ear looking for small sections around which you could create an entire song. The break-beats, the moments where all the instruments stop playing and the drums remain, are often isolated to be used as beats in hip-hop tracks, while the instrumental tracks offer thick beautiful melodic lines that you can match with the beats.
Listen carefully to the record and stop it when you hear something you like. Go back and try to find the exact starting moment of that sound
Step 2. Mark the disk
Once upon a time, DJs used small round stickers to mark the beginning of the sample on the record. This offers both a visual aid to find the start of the sample and a jump that allows you to create a loop.
Some DJs prefer not to use the stickers directly on the vinyl, even if it is the classic method. You can try to mark the points of interest as you like
Step 3. Stop the disc with your fingers
When the sound is finished, it rewinds the disc, about the same speed as it was played. You should play the same sound as when you press Reverse on your turntable. The classic "scratch" sound comes from choosing an appropriate empty beat, such as a trumpet blast or other long sound effect, and moving the record back and forth along that sound.
Step 4. Play another song, staying in time
A scratch-only set would be like an explosion-only movie. It would be spectacular at first, but boring after a few minutes. To scratch the right way, you'll need to match your samples and your disc manipulations with a beat. Find an appropriate beat to create your music on. Look for break-beats in songs you like, especially old soul and R&B songs.
Step 5. Push the disc forward along the sample instead of letting it play at normal speed or slow it down
You will produce a high pitched sound. Do the same in reverse, pulling the disc back at a similar speed. Then, repeat in time to the music. This technique is sometimes referred to as "baby scratch".
Start with a slower beat, then accelerate as you go. When you are able to scratch at high speed, try varying the rhythms by changing the beat you use
Part 3 of 3: Scratch Well
Step 1. Listen carefully to the best beat-makers
Research the world of beat-making and study the ways your favorite DJs and producers use to create beats, adding sounds and motifs from many sources. If your ultimate goal is to clash with other DJs or create a hit song, you'll need to learn from the best.
- RZA pioneered the lo-fi use of classic soul samples and samurai films, integrating some elements into unforgettable beats for Wu-Tang Clan's first albums and members' solo projects. Listen to Raekwon's "Ice Cream," which features accelerated easy-listening guitar sampling, a beat and nothing else.
- Madlib's use of jazz records and '80s catchphrases has made him one of the most sought after modern producers, thanks to his ability to blend old and new in original ways. Listen to Madvillainy, his project with MF Doom, and his records with Freddie Gibbs for great examples of DJing technique.
Step 2. Learn to match beats on the fly
It is very important to match the beat of one sample to another or your music will sound chaotic and, frankly, out of tune. Use a metronome when you are a beginner to get an idea of the beats per minute of the different samples you like to use and match. Create music by matching beats.
Many DJs mark the BPM on the record cases themselves, to make their work easier
Step 3. Layer multiple sounds to create music
Experiment and play with many sounds and motifs to create beautiful music. For some DJs, the ultimate goal is to take small samples from the strangest sources: Latin jazz, spoken recordings or lounge music. Turn everything into a dance wonder.
Rule of thumb for DJs: When paired with a Meters drum track, almost anything becomes beautiful music
Step 4. Play discs at different speeds
Don't just play the tracks at the same speed to match the beats. RZA sampled a mundane Earl Klugh guitar track, accelerated it and cranked it up, to create the signature "Ice Cream" sampling. The only limit to your music is your imagination.
Step 5. Don't scratch too much
Nobody wants to hear a DJ go through an entire set scratching. Think of scratching as a seasoning for the song, not the primary method of making music. Usually, there are only one or two solos in a rock song, and likewise, there should only be one or two scratches in a beat.
Step 6. Learn music theory
The person who creates beats is a percussionist and for this he must have a good understanding of rhythm. You will practice scratching in time to the music, creating new tracks using your records. When you scratch along with a beat, you are creating a rhythm! If you know the concept of rhythm, you can develop your skills and create your own rhythms.
- Almost all dance and hip-hop songs are 4/4. This means that each beat has four beats. Each time can only be subdivided in a finite way. Count these times aloud when you listen to music. Each time will be in [brackets]:
- [1] [2] [3] [4]
- [1 e] [2 e] [3 e] [4 e]
- [1 and 1 e] [2 and 2 e] [3 and 3 e] [4 and 4 e]
- [1 triplet] [2 triplet] [3 triplet] [4 triplet]
- [1 triplet and triplet] [2 triplet and triplet] [3 triplet and triplet] [4 triplet and triplet]
Step 7. Learn how to count the tempos of the songs you like
A good way to learn the tempos is to play the snare drum. You can go to the Vic Firth website below to understand how the beats are divided and how the subdivisions include the rests. Once you can sing these rhythms or count them aloud, you can start working on these basics to learn how to scratch
Advice
- Rent / Buy DJ101 and DJ102 by DJ Shortee.
- Protect your ears or you may develop serious hearing problems over time.
- Head over to the DMC site and check out the winners of the annual competition for the best DJ.
- Rent / Buy Dj Qbert's book "Do it Yourself Skratching" volumes 1 and 2.
- Search for DJ videos on the Internet.
