Scratch Nomenclature/Theory/Philosophy Part 1

[Vekked]

Alright, so I've been thinking about this idea for a bit, which spawned from people saying things like 'I overlooked [insert some variation of a scratch] when really it's just the reverse of [insert said scratch again]', or 'I cant think of any new scratches/combos, I feel like Ive run out of ideas', or the classic 'No, delayed flares are: [insert explanation]', 'No, they are actually: [insert explanation]', 'No, those are [insert other scratch combo, etc etc]', you know, the old scratch name/execution arguments.

 

I find that so many of these hurtles are a result of the way scratches have been named/taught/learned, and should be completely avoidable. The should be no problems or confusion with scratches based on names, because the names should reflect how they are actually executed, not what the person who popularized them named them. Sure, it works fine for breakdancing, but this is music, and when working with sound it's not quite as easy to decipher the means someone is using to get to a certain end, or explain how to get there.

 

So, basically I'm proposing that there needs to be an alternative system of naming and learning scratches, not necessarily to replace the traditional 'chirp, crab, stab, flare' way of talking about scratching, but to co-exist with it and make up for some of it's weaknesses.

 

I've been trying to develop some ideas, drawing from other instruments and traditional scratch references, but it's hard for one person to notice all the problems and fix everything. Hence why I'm posting it here. If people dig the idea I hope we can make some sort of system and try to use it to see how it works. In a perfect world it'd be nice to make a system that would make learning scratching and progressing easier for beginners in the long run, but in reality it's probably going to be sort of a tool for people who already know how to think about scratch techniques differently to better themselves and maybe help others.

 

 

 

 

 

So there are certain goals I think that this system should accomplish:

 

1) Should be easy to learn and use. I hear people like Ryan and Airnino who are unreal scratches, yet aren't really able to explain what they're doing. HOW RETARDED IS A SYSTEM OF NAMING SCRATCH TECHNIQUES IF ADVANCED SCRATCHERS CAN'T EVEN USE IT TO EXPRESS WHAT THEY'RE DOING?? It makes no sense.

 

2) It should be practical. People should want to use it, it shouldn't be tedious or too extensive. There should be no need to have a name for combinations such as prisms or autobahns, these scratches should be referred to as a combination of foundation cuts.

 

3) It should fill in certain holds in the current system of naming scratches. How many people here can't reverse stab or reverse chirp very well? How many people utilize clicks at the end of record movements (see chirps) in ways other than chirps? How many people do primarily scratches that have 'names' or learned specifically named foundation scratches when beginning? Like how is a forward stab or forward chirp any more important of a foundation scratch than the reverse, or babies starting going backwards as opposed to forwards, etc.

 

I mean, it wasn't until recently, after nearly 5 years of scratching, that I started to stop my chirps on the forward movement then begin the next segment going reverse. Why? Not because I couldn't do it all along, it's because I didn't think of it, because it's not named, and I over-looked it. Obviously not every combination of clicks and record movements needs to be named, but the simplest of movements should be.

 

So, this is just the introduction to my idea, give your thoughts, and I might expand on it with some ideas for naming movements and breaking things down that I think may work.

 

1.

 

Your favourite nerdlington,

 

Vekked

[Guest broke]

lol 'hurtles'

[Vekked]

lol 'hurtles'

 

I hate you broke.

[johnny 1 move]

The ttm coding system I developed for my scratch wiki may help you in your quest.

 

Maybe in terms of spotting similarities and patterns? In theory I could write some code to search for one scratch in another in the wiki. That might be an interesting exercise and give you plenty of food for thought...

[Vekked]

Like search for different movements within other scratches?

[johnny 1 move]

yes