Techniques
Scratching
In general:
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique
originated by Grand Wizard Theodore, an early hip hop DJ from
New York. A simple (or baby) scratch is performed
by moving a vinyl record back and forth with your hand while
it is playing on a turntable. This creates a distinctive sound
that has come to be one of the most recognizable feature of
hip hop music. Ideally, scratching does not damage a record
because the needle stays within the groove and does not move
horizontally across the record's surface. Theodore developed
scratching from DJ Grandmaster Flash, who describes scratching
as, "nothing but the back-cueing that you hear
in your ear before you push it [the recorded sound] out to
the crowd."
Types of scratch:
There are many different types of scratch, including tear,
flare, orbit, twiddle, crab, tweak, chirp,
and scribble scratches. The names can indicate the scratch's
sound, required hand motions and equipment set up, or the name
of the DJ who developed it. Recently, DJs and turntablists
have begun developing systems of notation for use in learning
different scratches and writing compositions. The practice
is not yet widespread.
Types of sounds:
Sounds that are frequently scratched include but are not
limited to drum beats, horn stabs, spoken word samples, and
lines from other songs. Any sound recorded to vinyl can be
used, though a new generation of CD players providing a turntable-like
interface has recently reached the market, allowing DJs to
scratch not only material that has been released on vinyl,
but also field recordings and samples from television and movies
that have been burned to CD-R. Some DJs and anonymous collectors
release 12-inch singles called battle records that include
trademark, novel or hard-to-find scratch fodder. Some DJs prefer
to rotate the turntable 90 degrees counter-clockwise in an
orientation known as "Battle-style" to put the tonearm
of the turntable at the top, furthest away from the DJ. This
frees up more of the platter to manipulation without interfering
with the needle.
3345, the Vinyl Records Home.
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