Everything about Scratching totally explained
» "Scratching" is also a present participle of "scratch", and may also refer to a form of street artScratching is a
DJ or
turntablist technique used to produce distinctive
sounds by moving a
vinyl record back and forth on a
turntable while manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with
hip hop music, since the 1990s, it has been used in some styles of
pop and
nu-metal. Within hip hop culture, scratching is one of the measures of a DJ's skills, and there are many scratching competitions.
In recorded hip-hop songs, scratched
hooks often use portions of different rap songs.
History
Scratching was developed by early
hip hop DJs from
New York such as
Grand Wizard Theodore and
DJ Grandmaster Flash, who describes scratching as, "
nothing but the back-
cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it [therecorded sound] out to the crowd." (Toop,
1991). Jamaican-born DJ
Kool Herc also influenced the early development of scratching. Kool Herc developed
break-beat DJing, where the breaks of
funk songs—being the most danceable part, often featuring
percussion—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties (AMG
(External Link
)).
Two of the earliest recorded scratching examples were released in
1983, both via prolific bassist and producer
Bill Laswell: scratches by
Grand Mixer DXT on
Herbie Hancock's hit song "
Rockit" (co-written and produced by Laswell), and, more obscurely, on a few songs the first
Golden Palominos record, where Laswell or
M.E. Miller scratched. Scratching (and sampling) also gained mainstream popularity in the
UK and
Europe from the
1987 hit
"Pump Up The Volume" by
M/A/R/R/S.
Christian Marclay was one of the earliest musicians to scratch outside of hip hop. In the mid-1970s, Marclay used
gramophone records and
turntables as
musical instruments to create
sound collages. He developed his turntable sounds independently of
hip hop DJs. Although he's little-known to mainstream audiences, Marclay has been described as "the most influential [turntable] figure outside hip hop." and the "unwitting inventor of
turntablism."
Basic techniques
Vinyl recordings
Most scratches are produced by moving a
vinyl record back and forth with the hand while it's playing on a
turntable. This creates a distinctive sound that has come to be one of the most recognizable features of hip hop music. Ideally, scratching doesn't damage a record because the needle stays within the groove and doesn't move horizontally across the record's surface.
The basic equipment setup for scratching includes two turntables, and a DJ mixer, which is a mixer that has a crossfader and "cue" buttons to allow the DJ to "cue up" new music without the audience hearing. When scratching, this crossfader is utilized in conjunction with the "scratching hand" to
cut in and out of the scratched record.
Non-vinyl scratching
- CDJs, devices that allow a DJ to maniplulate a CD as if it were a vinyl record, have become widely available.
- Vinyl emulation software allows a DJ to manipulate the playback of digital music files on a computer using the turntables as an interface. This allows DJs to scratch, beatmatch, and perform other turntablist maneuvers that would be impossible with a conventional keyboard-and-mouse. Scratch software includes Final Scratch, Mixxx, Serato Scratch Live, Virtual DJ, M-Audio Torq, and Digital Scratch.
- More rarely, DJs do scratching with magnetic tape by recording music onto magnetic stripes and disassembling a cassette tape recorder to play the magnetic stripes.
Sounds
Sounds that are frequently scratched include but are not limited to drum beats, horn stabs, spoken word
samples, and lines from other songs. Any sound recorded to vinyl can be used, and
CD players providing a turntable-like interface allow DJs to scratch not only material that was never released on vinyl, but also field recordings and samples from television and movies that have been burned to
CD-R. Some DJs and anonymous collectors release
12-inch singles called
battle records that include trademark, novel or hard-to-find scratch fodder.
There are lots of scratching techniques, which differ in how the movements of the record is combined with opening and closing the crossfader (or another fader or switch, where "open" means that the signal is audible, and "closed" means that the signal is inaudible). The terminology isn't unique, we'll employ terminology consistent with the terminology used by
DJ Q-Bert on his
Do It Yourself Scratching DVD.
Sophisticated techniques
Atari Scratch - uses an Atari joystick modified to connect to a turntable. It was developed in 1986 by DJ Cutting Edge.
Baby scratch - The simplest scratch form, it's performed with the scratching hand only, moving the record back and forth in continuous movements while the crossfader is in the open position.
Forward and backward scratch - The forward scratch, also referred to as "cutting", is a baby scratch where the crossfader is closed during the backwards movement of the record. If the record is let go instead of being pushed forward it's also called "release scratch". Cutting out the forward part of the record movement instead of the backward part gives a "backward scratch".
Tear Scratch - Tear scratches are scratches where the record is moved in a staggered fashion, dividing the forward and backward movement into two or more movements. This allows creating sounds similar to "flare scratches" without use of the crossfader and it allows for more complex rhythmic patterns. The term can also refer to a simpler, slower version of the chirp.
Scribble scratch - The scribble scratch is performed without the crossfader, and is performed by tensing the forearm muscles of the scratching hand and rapidly jiggling the record back and forth.
Chirp scratch - The chirp scratch involves cutting of the reversing sound with the crossfader while performing a baby scratch. When performed quickly, this creates a "chirping" noise. When performed using a recording of drums this allows creating the illusion of doubled scratching speed, due to the attack created by cutting in the crossfader on the backward movement.
Hydrophonic Scratch - is a baby scratch with a "tear scratch" sound produced by your thumb running the opposite direction as your scratch fingers. This rubbing of the thumb adds a vibrating effect or reverberation to forward movements on the turntable.
Transformer scratch - with the crossfader closed, the record is moved with the scratching hand while periodically "tapping" the crossfader open and immediately closing it again.
Flare scratch - it begins with the crossfader open, and then the record is moved while briefly closing the fader one or more times to cut the sound out. This produces a staggering sound which can make a single "flare" sound like a very fast series of "chirps" or "tears." The number of times the fader is closed ("clicks") during the record's movement is usually used as a prefix to distinguish the variations. The flare allows a DJ to scratch continuously with less hand fatigue than transforming. The flare can be combined with the crab for an extremely rapid continuous series of scratches.
Crab scratch - it consists of moving the record while quickly tapping the crossfader open with each finger of the crossfader hand. In this way, DJs are able to perform transforms or flares much faster than they could by manipulating the crossfader with the whole hand. It produces a fading/increasing transforming sound.
Orbit scratch - this term describes any scratch (most commonly flares) that are repeated during the forward and backward movement of the record. Orbit is also used as a shorthand for 2-click flares.
Tweak scratch - it's performed with the turntable's motor off. The record platter is set in motion manually, then "tweaked" faster and slower to create a songlike scratch. This scratch form is best performed with long, sustained sounds.
Euro scratch - a variation of the "flare scratch" in which two faders are used simultaneously with one hand to cut the sound much faster.
Scratching culture
While scratching is becoming more and more popular within pop music, sophisticated scratching is still predominantly an underground style. The Invisibl Skratch Piklz from San Francisco focuses on scratching. In 1994, the group was formed by DJs Q-Bert, Disk & Shortkut and later Mix Master Mike. In July of 2000, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts held Skratchcon2000, the first DJ Skratch forum that provided “the education and development of skratch music literacy”. In 2001, Thud Rumble became an independent company that works with DJ artists to produce and distribute scratch records.
In 2004, Scratch Magazine, one of the first publications about hip-hop DJs and producers, released its debut issue, following in the footsteps of the lesser-known Tablist magazine. Pedestrian is a UK arts organisation that provides an Interactive Turntablism Tutorial Vinyl Tool at www.tutoritool.com. As well, Pedestrian runs Urban Music Mentors workshops for youth in which DJs show youth how to create beats, use turntables, MC, and perform.
Use outside of hip hop
Scratching has been incorporated into a number of other musical genres, including Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Classical music performances.
For recording use, samplers are often used instead of physically scratching a vinyl record. Rage Against the Machine (and former Audioslave) guitarist Tom Morello performs scratching-inspired guitar solos. In the song Bulls on Parade, he creates scratch-like rhythmic sounds by rubbing the strings over the pick-ups while using the pick-up selector switch as a cross-fader. This effect is pulled off by turning one of the volume knobs to zero.
Since the 1990s, scratching has begun being used in a variety of popular music genres, such as nu-metal acts (like Limp Bizkit), in some pop music (eg. Nelly Furtado), and drum and bass (eg. DJ Hype). Some underground and club DJs have derided the use of scratching in these popular genres as mere 'stage-props', to create an appearance or atmosphere on stage. Scratching is also popular in various electronic music styles, most particularly in hard-groove techno.
Pop culture references
During its "How It Started" adverising campaign, a commercial for Heineken fictionally credited the birth of scratching with an awkward DJ attempting to wipe off beer he'd accidentally spilled over his turntable.
The beatmania music video game series simulates scratching with a "turntable" on the side. In the video game Katamari Damacy, the King of All Cosmos speaks in record scratches. Scratch is a documentary film about the origin of scratching and its modern practitioners.
In the anime Samurai Champloo, a record scratch is used instead of the common bleep to cover expletives, keeping with the Hip-hop soundtrack. In Meteos, the planet Luna=Luna has a hip-hop soundtrack, with dull piano music and record scratching for Meteos launches.
Other meanings
In comedy, a scratch is an abrupt stopping gesture.
In programming, a language from MIT, Scratch, is named after the technique.Further Information
Get more info on 'Scratching'.
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