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jimsa
06-05-2012, 11:38 PM
Sup ya'llz, sorry if this has been mentioned in another post, haven't had the time to look through everything, so forgive me.

Anyways I was wondering if anyone had any tips on tearing, I feel like this is the only "basic" scratch that I have not really been able to crack. I don't know why, I just can't seem to get it down so well which limits the variety of scratches I can do. Any help would be appreciated!

Sigma
06-06-2012, 12:37 AM
Like all scratches, it's all about muscle memory - doing the movement over and over until it's second nature and you're fast and accurate.

Start off really slow. I think the 1 forward/2 back tear is a good one to learn, simply because it's a classic and it's nice to use in combos. All you do is push forward (or you can just let the sample play forwards at its set speed), pull back half way, pause briefly, pull back to the beginning, rinse and repeat. It sounds silly, but you can practice the actual finger/hand movement anywhere - on a desk or whatever, when you're away from your decks. It's a 3 part movement - forward/back/back - forward/back/back - forward/back/back etc. and you'll soon pick it up with practice.

Once you start to get it down, you can shorten the movement and speed it up, so eventually you're doing the movement just at the very beginning of the sample and you're doing it really fast.

There are a couple of other techniques for doing tears that some people use. One is called "bumpy knuckles" and it can be useful if you're doing more multi-part tears. What you do is kind of go to close your hand, raising your knuckles up, then open/flatten it again, and the act of doing that inserts the required pause into the sound for the tear. I wouldn't try learning that until later on though.

So yeah, just start with the classic 1 forward/2 back tear at single time over a nice slow-medium paced beat and work from there.

DjEternalSouljah
06-06-2012, 02:09 PM
Like all scratches, it's all about muscle memory - doing the movement over and over until it's second nature and you're fast and accurate.

Start off really slow. I think the 1 forward/2 back tear is a good one to learn, simply because it's a classic and it's nice to use in combos. All you do is push forward (or you can just let the sample play forwards at its set speed), pull back half way, pause briefly, pull back to the beginning, rinse and repeat. It sounds silly, but you can practice the actual finger/hand movement anywhere - on a desk or whatever, when you're away from your decks. It's a 3 part movement - forward/back/back - forward/back/back - forward/back/back etc. and you'll soon pick it up with practice.

Once you start to get it down, you can shorten the movement and speed it up, so eventually you're doing the movement just at the very beginning of the sample and you're doing it really fast.

There are a couple of other techniques for doing tears that some people use. One is called "bumpy knuckles" and it can be useful if you're doing more multi-part tears. What you do is kind of go to close your hand, raising your knuckles up, then open/flatten it again, and the act of doing that inserts the required pause into the sound for the tear. I wouldn't try learning that until later on though.

So yeah, just start with the classic 1 forward/2 back tear at single time over a nice slow-medium paced beat and work from there.

Hey Sigma,

I just wanted to say thank you. I have been reading various threads and you have been so helpful in answering questions. Thanks its much appreciated

digi16v
06-06-2012, 02:49 PM
I use a cardboard coaster at my desk at work to help with the muscle memory. It has helped me a lot.
I also use my zipper on my sweatshirt. This may look a little weird to some folks but it also helped with muscle memory.

you can also watch DJ angelo tutorials he has some really good tutorials.

Sigma
06-06-2012, 03:31 PM
Hey Sigma,

I just wanted to say thank you. I have been reading various threads and you have been so helpful in answering questions. Thanks its much appreciated
Hey, thanks a lot man!

@digi16v - Exactly! You can practice the movements anywhere and it really does help. I "air scratch" all the time, lol.

Phi
06-10-2012, 10:08 PM
Also it's a good idea to practice with the motor off at first because it makes the movements easier.

Phi
06-11-2012, 11:10 AM
I feel like practicing "clover" tears helps my three-point tears, and doing forward and reverse 3-point back to back "prism" style helps them get faster.