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View Full Version : SCRATCHHEADS: Which technique are you currently working on?!



ccabungcal
02-11-2012, 01:46 AM
Currently working on two click flares the most
After that i'm going to start working on my transforming and crabs
Big ups to DJ angelo for teaching me the ways of scratch!
His youtube videos are nice

imallama
02-11-2012, 05:10 AM
Not really a scratch head, still a n00b at it honestly. But I'm trying to work on 1 click flare/orbits. I can do them at a slower tempo but when I try to get them up to speed, it goes to crap and I'm not sure exactly if my fader hand is moving too slowly or if my record hand is going too fast.

Hamza21
02-11-2012, 09:25 AM
Currently working on two click flares the most
After that i'm going to start working on my transforming and crabs
Big ups to DJ angelo for teaching me the ways of scratch!
His youtube videos are nice

that is backwards! Transforming came before flares and flares is nothing but variation of a transforming. Learn to transform first!! Transforming teaches you rhythm and fader control. A Flare is nothing but a delayed tranform.

Sigma
02-11-2012, 10:16 AM
I would agree that transforming is something you should learn before flares. Crabs and 2-click orbits are those "flashy" type scratches that some people rush into learning, but I would save those until later.

I'm not working on any techniques. My scratching style is basically stuck in the 90s, but I'm happy to work with what I've got. I was never good enough to be up there with the best, no matter how much practice I put in, so my goal was to have some solid cuts under my belt that I could use for mixes/tracks and still be able to have some fun freestyling with others (although I don't do that these days).

When I was younger (I'm 42 now) I used to hear a new scratch technique and think "shit, I've gotta learn that!" and I'd be off to my decks to practice it relentlessly until I had it down, but now I just don't have that drive any more.

Dj_4-$hure
02-11-2012, 10:41 AM
Sometimes I think I'm retarted for knowing all my scratch vocabulary. I basically just go on patterns and sound. I don't know maybe one day i'll learn all the vocab, but till then I'm just having fun and lots of it.

Sigma
02-11-2012, 10:45 AM
Learning the vocab is helpful for sure, cos it makes it easier to communicate your ideas and what you're doing with other DJs on forums like this, but it's certainly not vital.

ccabungcal
02-11-2012, 03:14 PM
that is backwards! Transforming came before flares and flares is nothing but variation of a transforming. Learn to transform first!! Transforming teaches you rhythm and fader control. A Flare is nothing but a delayed tranform.

Lol. That's what i'm thinking too. Don't know why I learned the flare first, I'm good at flares and chirps but I'm terrible at transforming. I should probably work on that first before anything else. I've already got the two flare down but can't get it consistently.

Now I remember why I didn't transform first lol. My mixer started bleeding and crackling and it stopped me from getting a clean sound when transforming and it pissed me off haha. But now I have a ttm56 and am able to practice my transforms

Soft Talk
02-11-2012, 04:24 PM
Just starting to get my flares down. About to start to work on my two clicks soon. That is if my crossfader doesn't crap out first. Smooth as butter but it's starting to bleed :uhoh:

DjDisArm
02-11-2012, 04:34 PM
chirp flare.... -__________-

Nick Bike
02-11-2012, 04:57 PM
the wikka wikka one...

djkvg
02-12-2012, 11:27 PM
tears are giving me a lot of trouble.... can't do drops and tears together... so I'm working on that around 90bpm

Nick Bike
02-12-2012, 11:35 PM
but srsly i'm always trying to get better at double-time chirps. i need to work on faster stabs as well.

PONTUS.2
02-13-2012, 12:35 AM
workin on trying to get some scratch choruses poppin on some tracks im making

funkyfresh
02-13-2012, 12:40 AM
Double timed chirps are always a pleasure to listen to. Especially if you can change the pitch of the sound when chirping

Nick Bike
02-13-2012, 12:42 AM
Double timed chirps are always a pleasure to listen to. Especially if you can change the pitch of the sound when chirping

can't get enough of that sound. so awesome.

dj symptoms
02-14-2012, 02:57 AM
I was most recently working on two click lazers and autobahns but like Sigma have lost the drive to practice. It takes a ton of effort to see even the tiniest bit of improvement now and I just don't find practicing all that interesting any more.

Nick Bike
02-14-2012, 07:58 AM
I was most recently working on two click lazers and autobahns but like Sigma have lost the drive to practice. It takes a ton of effort to see even the tiniest bit of improvement now and I just don't find practicing all that interesting any more.

go get more shows then :teef:

LeFresh
02-14-2012, 09:36 AM
I'm working on minimizing record hand movements.

Nies One
02-14-2012, 09:51 AM
Stabs, stabs and stabs. I want to be able to hit 16th note stabs clean at 130bpm. I can get to about 120 bpm and then my cuts turn to slop and my forearm hurts. Class action lawsuit against Qbert for everyone’s carpel tunnel syndrome , who's with me?:D

dj symptoms
02-14-2012, 02:00 PM
Stabs, stabs and stabs. I want to be able to hit 16th note stabs clean at 130bpm. I can get to about 120 bpm and then my cuts turn to slop and my forearm hurts. Class action lawsuit against Qbert for everyone’s carpel tunnel syndrome , who's with me?:D

Practice doing them in different intervals so you don't build muscle memory that prevents you from keeping them going... that's when your forearm starts to tense up which makes it hurt. I made that mistake with double bass blasts on the drums. Practice doing them slower and getting them precise at a slow pace, then focus on keeping your whole arm really relaxed because as soon as your muscles tense up you lose control of them and fall off beat. You might have to practice it for a while at a really slow and boring pace to keep your arms relaxed. Once you've got the hang of keeping your arms loose and cutting precisely at a slow pace, you work your way up and it all just kinda falls into place. I used to be able to stab around 140bpm before I fell off but I don't know if I got those chops anymore. :(


go get more shows then :teef:

I got a bunch of shows! ...as a drummer. There's no market for scratch DJs unless you're a legendary scratch DJ like Q-bert or Rob Swift. People are stoked on my scratching when I spin live, but I have to play hours of music I'm really not interested in and only get to fit a few scratches in here and there. Even turntablists should know that most audiences do not want to listen to you scratch for hours. There's no point in practicing hours and hours to sharpen the skills that I never get to use, when I can be practicing drumming that pays significantly better these days. :/

Nies One
02-14-2012, 02:28 PM
^ Thanks for the tips man, everything you wrote makes a lot of sense to me. I feel I have them pretty solid slow and have been working my way up like you suggested but once I hit that 120 bpm mark I can't hang with the beat and tighten up. Time to flip some different stab patterns and focus on relaxing ( although not quite sure how to do this, that's part of the journey I guess ).

scottie the goonie
02-14-2012, 03:28 PM
Forwards ... those are still annoyingly hard

Haddock
02-14-2012, 10:20 PM
Freestyle and juggle a lot more than practice specific patterns. Feel like my muscle memory has taken over though so I am taking a week or so off just to get back in the groove of things before I start back on the more academic side of things like notation and speed variation.

Any tips on overcoming that pesky muscle memory?

DJ CirKutCision
02-14-2012, 11:46 PM
Prizms. Also, this guy's got some sick videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgYlu44UIeM

Rick_N
02-15-2012, 04:36 PM
Working on transforms, flare and double timed chirps. Those give me the most trouble it seems when double timing chirps they begin to turn into flares. So I have to practice more individually on them speratly and get em down.

dj symptoms
02-16-2012, 03:55 AM
Prizms. Also, this guy's got some sick videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgYlu44UIeM

Prizms are tough... not so much tough to get down, but tough to work them in naturally once you've figured them out. I practiced them for a long time but never got them sounding clean in routines, now they sound sloppy because I never practice them anymore. :(

B-styles
02-20-2012, 07:37 AM
Tears and dicing right now, its really really frustrating since you have to train your knuckles to snap to a certain extent to get the real good, sharp sounds. its worth the labor cuz they sound awesome and it adds style to your record hand movements and i think thats almost as important as the quality of your cuts