How to be a turntablist artist

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 27 January 2021
Update Date: 2 July 2024
Anonim
The Art of Turntablism | DMC Documentary
Video: The Art of Turntablism | DMC Documentary

Content

Scratching is one of the ultimate "weapons" in sound performance using turntables, turntables and turntablism. While DJs only play music, turntables are the art creators. By learning to find the tools needed to create DJ music, you will have the opportunity to explore the vast world of rhythmic creation. Learning the techniques and aesthetics of the genre will help you perform at your peak!

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Finding Suitable Devices

  1. Prepare the basic DJ gear. For most DJs, this means you need a direct-motor turntable, a mixer and a collection of vinyl records to practice sampling and scratching. However, digital controllers and CD recorders (CDJs) are becoming more and more popular, and these camcorders have diverse functions such as letting you scratch discs, looping rhythms. fast, reverse play at very high or low speed and other functions will be very useful for turntables.
    • Without a turntable, you might get nervous when you buy your first one, and not to mention that if you really want to be a turntable artist, you'll need two. Basically, you could still use a turntable to scratch, but that wouldn't make the music. However, as long as you own a model with a direct-spinning motor you can "scratch". Don't spend too much money.

  2. Find a mixer with buttons to adjust the different modes on the horizontal bar that switches between tracks. Mode adjustments make it easier to control the sound between your camcorders. A good scratch mixer has an unnecessary horizontal bar in the center before the sound changes to another channel. You don't have to have such a mixer, but it makes mixing music a lot easier when you start practicing more advanced techniques later.

  3. Use a disc pad to line the turntable and disc. These anti-magnetic pads are essential for a DJ who scratches discs. It allows you to place one finger or whole hand on the surface of the disc and stop the disc without stopping the turntable.
    • If you have cheaper phonographs, you will need to cut pieces of plastic, wax or parchment to be inserted. Plastic bags at the supermarket also work very well.
    • You can buy a product called "magic carpet" to help reduce friction. If you want to use your own pads or have trouble stopping the discs, you can buy a product called a "butter rug" and use them as permanent pads. They are the smoothest disc pads on the market. You may still need to reduce friction, but that depends on your musical taste and device.

  4. Build a collection of music discs to model. A turntable artist needs a variety of vinyl records to create music. The turntablist is a mixer, who uses the rhythms from some records and samples of other tracks to create sound. It is a "patchwork" style of musical creation that can only be performed successfully with a lot of practice with different records.
    • Most scrub discs have a series of sample pieces, interchangeable resting pads and sound effects. Don't buy any recordings that you find online, it's best to listen to them to make sure they have something useful for your practice and performance.
    • For DJs, must-see discs are discs that have been designed to repeat sample tracks, which operate on the principle that when the needle bounces (and it inevitably bounces), you'll still get the sound you want to use. If you don't have the familiar discs you are familiar with, try to get to know the disc a little bit by finding patterns you like and then turning the plate over and over to understand the needle and the groove on the plate.
    • You can use discs without accompaniment or ones that you already have and try to find a template to use, but most DJs will usually choose only a few discs to scrub during practice and competition. match.
    advertisement

Part 2 of 3: Technique Improvement

  1. Find a sample sound or sound on your disc to practice scratching. Listen carefully to the record for a period of time so you can build the whole song. Musical accompaniments - moments when other instruments stop playing and only drums are usually separated for background music in hip-hop songs, while songs with only the usual instrument sounds Very interesting melodies to combine.
    • Listen carefully to the discs and stop the disc when you hear a sound you want to use. Go back and find exactly when that sound started.
  2. Mark the disc slot. In the old days, DJs would use the little circular sticky notes that teachers used when marking papers and stick those pieces of paper on the plate, next to the track and just above the sample piece. This action provides visual cues so DJs know when the sample track starts, and it pushes the needle back to the track to play the sample again.
    • Some DJs do not like to stick pieces of paper on the plate even though it's the classic way. You can also mark tracks in whatever works best for you if you plan to re-record your accompaniment or mix them quickly.
  3. Use your fingertips to stop the disc. After the sound stopped, slowly rotate the disc back at the speed close to when it was played down the way. It should sound like you just pressed the reverse button on the turntable. The scratching sound comes from selecting a suitable accompaniment, like a trumpet or other long sound effects and then rotating the table over and over to create a real scratching sound. especially.
  4. Play another song and do the same with the accompaniment. A scratch by itself would be like a movie of only explosions. At first it was good? Sure. But will be boring after a few minutes? Definitely. To scratch the disc properly, you need to combine your sample music and operations on the disc with a beat. Find the right accompaniment to build your music. Look for great break tracks in songs you like, especially classic soul songs, and the R&B sample tracks will have great break tracks for you to build on your music. I'm up there.
  5. Speed ​​up the disc faster than sample tracks instead of playing the sound at the normal speed or slowing down. You will get a high pitched sound. Do the same when reversing, adjusting for the same speed. Then do this with music. This technique is sometimes called a “baby scratch”.
    • Start with a slower accompaniment and then continue to play faster throughout. Once you are able to play at high speed, try to diversify the rhythms by adding accompaniment that you have developed.
    advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Scrubbing Well

  1. Listen carefully to the accompanimentists. Do some research on accompaniment and discover how your favorite DJs and producers create accompaniments, adding sounds and textures from a variety of sources. Whether your ultimate goal is competition or just making great similar songs, you need to learn from the masters.
    • RZA pioneered the use of lo-fi (the method of producing sound that contains technical defects) with sample soundtracks from classical soul music and samurai movies, incorporating some elements. The accompaniment of the accompaniment was used in the early days of Wu-Tang albums as well as the members' personal projects. Check out Raekwon's "Ice Cream", which contains only a sample of the easy-to-hear fast-paced guitar along with the same accompaniment.
    • Madlib's use of jazz records and famous 80s songs made him one of the most sought-after producers. He combines classic and modern in astonishingly new styles. Check out Madvillainy, his project with MF Doom and his recordings with Freddie Gibbs to learn more wonderful examples of the technique of a turntable artist.
  2. Learn how to combine accompaniment quickly. It is very important to combine the accompaniment of one sample with the accompaniment of another sample, if not done correctly your music will sound very chaotic and frankly bad. You can use a metronome as you sit down to see the beats per minute of the different patterns you want to use and match. Make music by incorporating accompaniment.
    • Many DJs will mark the number of beats per minute on their own. That will help them build backing tracks and songs quickly and easily while working.
  3. Arrange different sounds to create music. Experiment and play with lots of sounds and textures to make great music. For some DJs, the ultimate goal is to get small sample pieces from the least-thought-up sources: latin jazz, verbal recordings, or easy-to-listen relaxing style music. Turn it into a unique piece of music that makes people bounce!
    • Principle derived from the experience of turntables: When combined with a drum segment of the Meters group, almost all the pieces of music will turn out great.
  4. Play discs at different speeds. Don't limit yourself to just playing one track at the same speed to keep up with the accompaniment. RZA modeled a piece of Earl Klugh's flirtatious guitar, speeding up and pitching to create a special sample piece that ran during "Ice Cream." The only limitation in music production is your imagination.
  5. Don't scrub your plate too much. Nobody wants to hear a DJ who just makes scratching noises during a performance. Think of it as a "spice" for the song, not the main technique for creating music. Usually, there are only a few guitar recitals in a rock track, and there should be only 1-2 hours of scratching in a DJ accompaniment.
  6. Learn some basic musical knowledge. A turntable is a percussionist, and that means you need a deep understanding of rhythm. You will have to practice the technique of scrubbing to match the music and eventually making music using records. When you scratch a disc along to a accompaniment, you are creating a rhythm. If you have a deep understanding of rhythm, you can develop your skills to properly reproduce those rhythms.
    • Most hip-hop and dance songs have a 4/4 beat. That means that for each bar of measure, there are 4 beats in each bar. Each beat can be broken down in a certain number of ways. Count these out loud as you listen to music. Each beat will be positioned between:
    • (Triplê: group of three equal notes performing in time (usually) used to represent two notes of the same type).
  7. Learn how to count like that with the accompaniment of a song you like.
    • A great way to get used to the rhythm is to play the snare drum. You can check out the Vic Firth website listed below to find out how the rhythms are broken down, and how those sub-branches include the resting sounds. When you can sing these rhythms aloud or at least are some of them, you can start using them as the basis for the scratches you're developing.
    advertisement

Advice

  • Rent or buy DJ Shortee's DJ 101 and DJ 102
  • Protect your ears from hearing loss in the future.
  • Rent or buy Qbert's Do It Yourself Scratching Volumes 1 and 2
  • Visit DMC's website and check out the past winners of the annual best DJ search competitions
  • Find DJ performances online

Warning

  • Protect your ears! Wear headsets or earphones if you need to play with loud sounds.