Skratch hlep

[doppelkorn]

Hello gaylords,

 

Bit of skratchn00b help required if you may.

 

Since Jimmy taught me how to hold a fader I've been practicing my cuts, insofar as I can only do babies and cuts. I'd kind of like some advice on where to go next.

 

So the only real practice I've done is looking at that Qbert DIY vid on the tube and cutting words up like "yeah" or "fresh" or whatever from acapellas. I can do what he does which basically extends to cutting "ah yeah" in different rhythms. I'd kind of like to have the skils to use scratches as a tool in mixes like instead of blending two tracks, scratch one in. So picking a random example of a song that I could use scratch in the first word of track 2 while track 1 fades or drops out or scratch out the last word or sound of track 1 while track 2 fades or drops in.

 

I find it quite easy to cut words but just cutting a kick or a snare sounds a bit wank like boom-boom-boom-backscrape-boom or whatever so basically what should be the next scratch I learn to progress?

 

If you want I can post a file bitch of my cutting but tbh it'll be Sunday before I can be bothered.

[Jimmy]

crabs are always useful to kno.

 

do u want to come over again dopp? we'll run thru a few more things and i'll give you some good homework.

[Wax On]

If you learn to crab it'll stop you learning the basics as much i reckon cos you'll already be able to scratch fast. That said though it depends if you want to get into scratching properly or if you just want to do a bit of scratching in mixes.

[Jimmy]

yeh, wax has a point. i actually learnt flares and stuff afterwards. but i find flares and chirps or whatever have a different sound/stlye to them, so it more about what you want the cuts to sound like.

 

having said that, from talking to you last, ur not that into learning every technique so the crab might be a good one to hav in ur small arsenal

[doppelkorn]

Yeah I'm not that into it technically, just as a "that sounds nice" sort of thing.

 

like being able to drop a track going chik-chikkita-chik-chick-DROP or sommat. When I come for my novelty mic Jimmy we'll do a bit more learning and I'll teach you how to beatmatch without touching the records or platters. Apparently it's old school?!?

[Wax On]

so the main ones you'll want to learn are chirps and tears i reckon

[doppelkorn]

Yeah chirps deffo. I reckon I might be a contender for worst scratch knowledge person on here. I do knowever, know what a chip is. Is a tear the one where you keep the fader open and "rip" the sound back for two and forward for two?

 

A crab is the first ever scratch I heard of and I always wanted to learn that but it looks easy

[x2k]

babies, cuts, tears, chirps and transforms <- get those scratches nailed!

[djdiggla]

If you learn to crab it'll stop you learning the basics as much i reckon cos you'll already be able to scratch fast. That said though it depends if you want to get into scratching properly or if you just want to do a bit of scratching in mixes.

 

That was an issue for me. I thought learning to crab was the most important thing and now I can crab like crazy but wish I had spent the time learning to flare better.

 

One scratch that I always feel is underestimated but is so fucking killer IMO is chirping. If you can do it fast and vary the tempo its a killer sounding scratch. I have a friend that can chirp faster than anyone I ever saw... He just practiced and practiced as a kid trying to emulate Jazzy Jeff and Cash Money. Anyways... I think it's a great sounding but not too difficult to get the basics of it but to get really fast and precise can be a challenge--I still am trying to get as fast and sharp as him.

 

I can't find any vids that show people chirping at the speed and variation of my friend, but here is Q explaining it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_svr9eVsryY

 

This guy is going really fast but it's not very funky sounding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwj5-9AD10U&feature=PlayList&p=53F8BFD7659E2C0A&playnext=1&index=17

[Jon]

babies, cuts, tears, chirps and transforms <- get those scratches nailed!

 

 

this. babies and cuts are essential. practice one scratch until you get loads of patterns and can switch between them easily, then learn a new technique and try and incorporate it into all your old ones. that way they slowly become natural and your style won't become a succession of techniques, you'll have funk sir!

 

Don't learn any of the fast ones for a while, they may sound the best or the most fun but you'll just become a one trick pony and have zero funk.

 

all about the funk!

[doppelkorn]

Cheers guys

 

My Mrs. is gonna love it. My setup's in the lounge of our small flat. Do any of you scratch through headphones? Also I don't have any battle records so atm I'm just using acapellas because I find them the "cleanest" thing to use.

[Jon]

Cheers guys

 

My Mrs. is gonna love it. My setup's in the lounge of our small flat. Do any of you scratch through headphones? Also I don't have any battle records so atm I'm just using acapellas because I find them the "cleanest" thing to use.

 

I always practice scratching on my headphones Practicing with acapellas is good because they're not skipless, so you'll develop a lighter hand and less reliant on skipless sections when cutting. A good classic battle break is super duck breaks by babu if you can find it? Maybe check discogs?

[iexist]

keep workin your chirps. faster and faster. no matter how annoying and redundant it sounds.

same with your baby scratchin. faster and faster. no matter how annoying and redundant sounds.

 

where to go from there is up to you.

you could even stick to those techniques and be a better cutter than most of the djs on youtube.

 

crabbing i would say is the next easiest fader technique. practice on and off the decks.

then i would work more into tears. 2 forward - 1 backward. over and over. then vice versa. 1 forward-2 backward (or am i thinkin of clovers??)

 

then i would work into flares. start with a 1 click.

 

this to me, is a solid progression, but its all going to amount to what youre comfortable with.

but refer to the first 4 sentences i posted. work on advancing those techniques (babys and chirps) and youll be a lot further a long then you think.

[Steve]

5 years ago I wrote a beginner's guide breaking down the scratches that (I think) most people should start with. Here's a section of it with audio samples: -

 

Forwards - A forward is essentially the same as a baby, except you only hear the forward part of the sample. Open the fader, let the sound play, close the fader, then pull the sound back to the beginning.

 

Marches - Marches are a combination of babies and forwards. This is the first combo you'll learn. As with all scratches, you're aiming to have solid record control and get a clean and even sound. Here's an example using combinations of forwards and some of the different baby scratches mentioned above: -

 

.:. MARCHES .:.

 

Drags - A drag can be performed either forwards or backwards. What you're doing is slowing the record down rather than letting the sample play at it's regular speed. Here's an example: -

 

.:. DRAGS .:.

 

I've exaggerated the drag movement in this example, but you can slow the record down as little or as much as you like as long as it fits in with your combo and doesn't knock you off beat.

 

Tips - A tip is like a really short baby. All you're doing is moving the record back and forth over a short distance to catch just the start of the sound, as in this short example: -

 

.:. TIPS .:.

 

Stabs - Stabs are a little like forwards except you're only catching the very start of the sound. You can also change the pitch of the sound by pushing the record forwards at different speeds. They sound like this in their most basic form: -

 

.:. STABS .:.

 

Chirps - The record movement of a chirp is the same as a baby. If you've practiced your baby scratches so they're nice and clean then give chirps a try. Start with the fader open, then move the record forwards. As soon as you hear the sound start to play, close the fader, but continue moving the record as if you were doing a baby. As you move the record backwards, just before you get to the start of the sample again, open the fader. What you're doing is using the fader to cut away a large portion of the sample. This gives a crisp, defined sound. Here's an example: -

 

.:. CHIRPS .:.

 

Tears - There are many different tear combinations. An easy one to learn first is the 1 forward, 2 back tear. The record motion is a bit like this: -

 

Play sound forwards - Pull back half way - Pause briefly - Pull back to beginning

 

The pause is splitting or "tearing" the sound into two. Here's an example: -

 

.:. TEARS .:.

 

Other tears include the 2 forward, 1 back and the 2 forward, 2 back which is known as the clover tear. Practice various combinations.

 

Transforms - A transform is a technique, not a specific scratch. The fader starts closed and ends closed. What you're basically doing is snapping the fader on and off to chop up a sound. Transforms can be done over the top of other scratches including babies and tears to add more definition to the sound. Here's an example of some simple transform patterns: -

 

.:. TRANSFORMS .:.

[Wax On]

once you learn the action and sound of chirps, listen to jazzy jeff - will smith actually named them on The Magnificent, which is in that list i emailed you. Jeff's the chirp master.

[doppelkorn]

Cheerz again dudes. The magnificent I know well. Gonna check the technique again. Just tried chirps on Just Buggin' but the whistle sound isn't that clean.

[doppelkorn]

Sorry to be a retard here steve but what's the sound ur using on those samples? I think this is something I can work towards...

[Wax On]

i'm sure i can sort you a slightly battered skratch tool

[Steve]

Originally a chirp was done how Jeff does it on The Magnificent Jeff. You would vary the speed of the forward/back parts as he does in the section of the song where Fresh Prince says "now make it chirp". It was a separate scratch to the "Cash Money Click" which is what most people would call chirps nowadays.

 

Chirps done with some variation in pitch (again, recorded years ago so it's not exactly Qbert or anything, lol): -

 

Sigma - Chirp Variation.mp3

 

Sorry to be a retard here steve but what's the sound ur using on those samples? I think this is something I can work towards...

The beat or the actual sound? The beat is an old Toadstyle loop (I think). The sample is the classic "ahhhhhhhh" from Change The Beat by Fab 5 Freddy. It's on just about every scratch record ever made. Super Seal is a good practice record to get, cos it has that classic sound (and many others) and it's skipless. If you've got a DVS like Serato, here's a WAV of it: -

 

http://www.djsigma.co.uk/audio/Scratch%20Samples.wav

[doppelkorn]

Cheers guys. OK I know the aaaaahhhhh but don't know it to skratch with

 

Wax what battle tools you got. I just checked out some of the breaks on eBay briefly but was gonna check my usual haunts this weekend for a cheap copy.

 

Have I become your little project?

 

[Wax On]

lol nah i'm just hoping you'll take some wax off my hands, i need to downscale! I barely ever scratch now, got a fair few scratch tools in varying condition, they're generally a bit cue burnt but they'll do for learning. that said though you might be better getting a copy of superseal or whatever. it'll cost you about a tenner but its skipless and for learning to scratch you won't need anything else.

 

other things you could use for practicing chirps are say, the 1234 on the intro of sex machine, or the the 1234 just before the break on funky drummer...they'd be really tough for learning flares though cos they're short sounds. flares are really hard to learn, but worth learning.

[doppelkorn]

Cheers let me scope out some shops then i'll get back to you Sunday nite. So Super Seal or Super duck's my best bet?

[Wax On]

i'd say superseal personally

[d00ban]

babies, cuts, tears, chirps and transforms <- get those scratches nailed!

 

 

yeah, just do this

 

forget crabs and flares for now i reckon

[d00ban]

oh yeah and i think loopers are really handy to practice with, you got any of those?