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Help with my technique


kounter_sync

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trying to mix different techniques and your emotions and how you wanna express yourself can be difficult, im not even close to gettin near that, but like they said you practice it will come with time. qbert didnt buy a turntable and a couple weeks could cut like a madman. atrak maybe ;)

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QBert got hit by his own car as it was being stolen I believe. He either broke his hip or his leg and had to spend a long time resting and that's when he did a lot of practicing. If you watch the 91 DMC he limps on with a walking stick to get his prize.

 

It definitely helps if you listen to a lot of scratching from all eras. Some of my friends who are DJs, but never listen to hip hop or any scratch music try and scratch, but they don't really know what they're doing. Rather than try and use some finesse, they end up moving the fader as fast as they can kind of at random over a baby scratch. It's partly because they don't know where to start. Take all the advice given already and you won't go far wrong. There's always people here who will help and critique your files honestly.

 

**EDIT**

 

Oh yeah, understanding scratches is a big part of it. If you can hear scratching and know how it's done, even if you can't do it yet, then that helps no end.

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learned some new things about scratching in this thread. I got a question. how do yall combine scratchs and make patterns that flow to a beat? I can do basic scratches down clean but when i try to combine them it sounds wack. I practice by freestylin to a beat but it doesnt sound right. anyone got advice?

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It depends how good you are at each scratch I guess. If you've got the basics down, then try some simple combos of chirps, stabs, tears and drags for example. Even with a few basic scratches you can do so much.

 

You could try copying a pattern from a track. I used to copy people like CJ Macintosh and Cash Money and soon after I was doing my own patterns and combos. Find a track where the DJ is about your level and see if you can emulate it.

 

As cliched as it is to say it, practice is the key. Keep at it and it'll all fall into place.

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thanks for the advice steve. I guess i got to just focus on simple combos and take my time. I've been trying to copy qbert or atrak but there on a whole different level. Steve do you know any well known djs who do simple scratch combos? I see clips of craze or atrak but their combos are too hard for me to do. I want some see or hear some clips of some simple scratch patterns.

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Perhaps check out some of the older guys like Jazzy Jeff & Cash Money. Cash did a lot of transforming, but Jeff seemed to vary between simple techniques like chirps and some more complicated transforms (although not complicated by today's standards).

 

Have you posted a file up yet? Perhaps post one up so people can hear where you're at.

 

Did you ever check out the combo generator?

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1385

 

Basically, it lets you load a set of samples, one done by me and a choice of two done by Dub-Se7en. You can then set a skill level and the combo generator makes up combos for you. You can set it to Q&A mode and it'll come up with a pattern over a beat, then there'll be an empty section of beat for you to try and copy it. Sometimes it does sound a little too computer generated, but in general it's a great practice tool especially if you've got nobody to cut with. Give it a go and see what you think.

 

I saw an interview with QBert once and he said that when he's cutting, he'll think of a sentence in his head and try and make his scratching sound like the words in that sentence. There's a track on the C-Mon & Kypski album where it's this Japanese guy talking really quickly and Kypski is cutting at the same time and in the same manner as the guy's talking.

 

I'm no great scratcher myself, but I think sometimes people try too hard to come out with multi-click combos with no pauses in the sound. It would be the equivalent of a guitarist playing a super fast crazy guitar solo throughout the track. Knowing when to pause, do simple stuff, double time etc. as well as all the more complicated stuff is what makes a really good scratcher IMO.

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A good, solid but simple style is better than a flashy or even messy style with no thought for structure and rock solid basics.

 

very true!

 

Oh yeah, understanding scratches is a big part of it. If you can hear scratching and know how it's done, even if you can't do it yet, then that helps no end.

 

that really helps.. even if you dont know how to do the scratches, it gets you to think of how they possibly moved the record and/or fader/s.. and then you find that if you like a certain sound, you work on how to get it to incorporate and modify it to fit into your own 'vocabulary'. thats what ive been doing.

 

its like building a brick wall. get a good foundation of the basics, and then build on them. you cant get to the top without having bricks underneath.. and with bricks missing at the bottom you wont have a solid wall. :8

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scratching over lyrics isnt such a bad thing, i wouldnt do it at a show, but for practice purposes, its a good way to vary up flow. follow the way the mc flows to the beat and you can turn that into your own flow and take it from there.....its not something to do at a show, butt for practice, its effective, at least for me

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Guest Mike Reezy

watch alot of videos, and listen to alot of audio files, try to copy them,practice your basic techniques, and dont force yourself to skratch, little breaks are good for your technique.

 

I find I actually skratch better after a day or so of no kutting, because I am so hyped to kutt.

 

Drugs/Alcohol help too

 

checkout Qberts DIY videos, also read "the ever", also learning turntable transcription helps alot also as it allows you to visuallize trhe skratches very easily. www.ttmethod.com

 

then go to www.dextrousmonkey.com and checlout all the skratch transcriptions chile has

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Guest Mike Reezy

after watching the video I have new advice for you.

 

 

Learn how to breath between your skratches. Faster is not always better.

 

Think of the sounds you make while kutting as if you were speaking, there should be; statements,exclamtions,questions,answers. (This advice has helped me alot)

 

Just pretend you are talking with the sounds you make, and try to have an interesting conversation.

 

Right now, its like you dont know your punctuation, and you keep yelling the same thing over and over again.

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i find that record control is a lot more valuble than fader control..get the record part right and you are 1/3 there. to learn how to transistion through different techniques you have to now the techniques off by heart (and be able to do them in a split second thought)..once you can do them just practice with what sounds good..i would try and tell you what i do but i cant remember what they r all called (sorry)

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first try to find a different beat to skratch to. Just use a slow simple break beat. start of with faderless cuts first and make sure that your on beat all the time. In your video your skratching did not make any sense it was uncooridnated and off beat. try to get your handcontrol down first.

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Guest Mike Reezy

I dont do do coke either, but I have done it.

 

yeah cos that made perfect sense :s

 

 

Is english not your first language dood?

 

Seriously man, that is perfect right there.

 

 

'I dont do (work at) 7-eleven, but I used to.'

 

-if you were a 'reborn again abstinent loser'

 

I dont do sex homie, I have done it before tho.

 

 

I dont skateboard either, but I have done it.

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Guest Mike Reezy

I dont do lines of coke, I think ive done 4 (in my entire lifetime).

 

 

thats proper grammar and sentace structure right there, WTF u talkin bout Willis?

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blame ricci for the quote...hes the one who wrote it.

it should be i dont do routines anymore, although ive done 4 in the past.

 

anyway ive been meaning to change that quote for ages cos it sucks..but im too lazy

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I dont do do coke either, but I have done it.

 

yeah cos that made perfect sense :s

 

 

Is english not your first language dood?

 

Seriously man, that is perfect right there.

 

 

'I dont do (work at) 7-eleven, but I used to.'

 

-if you were a 'reborn again abstinent loser'

 

I dont do sex homie, I have done it before tho.

 

 

I dont skateboard either, but I have done it.

 

read what you put again, son. then type.... :d

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