The right amount of scratching

[de4thbyc4ke]

I play various genres, if it helps. I'm not sure whats the right amount, i was thinking some quick beat juggling or scratches every 4-5 songs. thanks guys

[Sigma]

There's no right or wrong answer, but there are things that affect how often you should do it.

One is your technical proficiency. You need to be able to pull off scratching and juggling cleanly, otherwise don't do it IMO. That's especially true with juggling/trick mixing techniques where you can completely throw the flow of the music off.

Another is the audience or intended audience. If you're fucking awesome at scratching and juggling and you put out a mix that's packed full of both, great, but obviously if you're DJing in a mainstream bar then people A) largely won't appreciate it and B) will probably find it annoying.

To me, I get enjoyment from that stuff in 2 cases: -

1. The old "adding seasoning to a meal thing". For example, a hip-hop mix that is just straight up blends is boring to me technically. But "over-season" it and you can ruin it. Knowing when to scratch, where to scratch and how often is something that largely just comes with experience. If you get that balance right, it increases my enjoyment of a mix for sure.

2. If you're making a mixtape that's specifically very technical. This is more of a niche thing, but if you're an awesome turntablist, you might make a mixtape/scratch tape that's very technical and is aimed at a specific crowd. In that instance, I expect to hear a lot more technical stuff than I would hear from a regular DJ and I enjoy it precisely for that reason.

[Dj Pudgey]

There is a correct amount, its just hard to judge that. If you have a room filled with head nodders, you might be able to get a way with cuts all night. If you are doing a club gig, might not want to cut it up so much. No one will tell you till after youre done to say you should have done less. Tough call. A good rule is wait till you are almost done to Cut it up cause by doing so, you are not killing your night .

[KLH]

There's no right or wrong answer, but there are things that affect how often you should do it. One is your technical proficiency... Another is the audience or intended audience..
Best answer possible.

For another opinion, I view it like adding percussion to existing tracks. It's great if done well... and really bad if not.

-KLH