start slow. find a loop around 90 bpm or so and get your timing down first. count your beats and bars as you scratch- its very important. just be patient. practice practice practice.

video: q berts "do it yourself vol.1" video from thud rumble. he shows you slow and then fast. its the industry standard scatch instructionl.

my advice would be start learning babies and chirps on both sides now before you become dominant on one side which will happen as you improve.

im not a technical scratch man but im relativey ambudextrious which is very convenient and worth a little extra frustration in the begining.

we got a tight thread here......i like to think (at least to me) that scratch DJ's are there own category....everyone starts like you....for me, i finally got my fingers quick enough to crab and kut....now im just tryin to perfect and scratch bar for bar....the arsenal will build over time but at first you only need a few combos of your own but make sure u are clean with them....

p.s. - remind yourself your fingers can always be quicker

Q-berts DIY is probably your best bet.

It's all just repetition, you need to just keep doing the same thing and slowly build up your vocabulary.

also vary the type & speed of beat you scratch on as much as possible. Cutting over 95 bpm Premo beats will get you no where fast.

Try and cut over 120(ish) BPM, and then try cutting over slower 60-70 bpm, you'll be able to double time your cuts.

Also what makes a lot of DJ's sound exceptional is what they DONT do, i.e where they don't scratch, just starting at the beginning of a bar and scratching solidly for 8 bars will sound like oever kill.

It's all about phrasing, you could do nothign but baby scratches and stabs for 8 bars but if you pause and let the silence breath a little it'll sound fresher then somone doing 2click Delayed Flares.

So as i said try to feel the music and phrase your cuts as a guitarist or a vocalist would phrase over a certain bit of music.

I watched videos off Youtube.com and then try to imitate it. There's a lot of tutorial videos. But I also watch practice scratching, battles, and such too.

would personal instruction be beneficial? from a good teacher that is.

cool thanks, also i have a djm-909 i cant seem to set the tension of the crossfader. Should i loosen it all the way are keep it a little stiff? I been practicing hampster style. I am havving a hard time trying to do the fader clicks my hands are too big i think.

I learned listning to funk flex. and watching dmc videos and trying to replicate what i heard. this was about 13 years ago.


Recently i found the asisphonics tutorial. and learned all these new scratches like the flare and such.

a good thing to do is get all the basics down.
babies, transforms, stabs, chirps. and learn to do them fast.
start out slow but then progress/

after you got those then move on to flares, crabs ect.

I forget where I heard/read this but somebody said that you should try to do things with your "off" hand (for me its my left) like unlocking the door, brushing your teeth, jacking off, whatever it is that you do. This way you can at least start to build some coordination with that hand that you otherwise don't really use for anything.

I dont know how I learned, just by sound really, I just tried to copy shit I heard on mixtapes and on the radio and shit. Never had a video or anything. Its really all about how much you practice im pretty decent now but there are still TONS of scratches I would like to perfect before I die. Just keep it in the bedroom until your happy with how it sounds, thats my main advice. I know some dj's who cant scratch for shit and they try to do it in front of a big crowd and people are like WTF. If you cant scratch DONT! And even if you can scratch try not to over-do that shit.

Also I bet it doesnt hurt to have a big brother or someone who is already good at it. I NEVER had anyone show me shit, had to learn on my own but im sure if I did, I would have progressed alot faster.

I dunno ryme, i find with most things in life, the things i taught myself to do, i do much better than things that were shown to me.

Listening to records, slowing them down, duplicating what I hear. Specific songs that made a significant impact in my scratching development or set a benchmark:

1981) Grandmaster Flash - The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel

1983) Dimples D - Sucker DJ's

1984) UTFO - Roxanne Roxanne

1987) DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff

1989) EPMD - So Wat Cha Sayin'

word to everything....

hmmmm think i might try doing shit with my left.....that seems like its my problem cause i have cordination with my right but my left is all confused.

Skiggz-I don't mean to be redundant...but its all about practice, practice practice! I had to learn a ton of the scratches myself, but I improved by practicing with other people. Look for people to session with.

i do practice...but i just been practicing going fast. I havn't really practiced a certain scratch except a fast chirp. I feel like im just wasting time doing the same thing over....i think ill try getting that qbert vid

I wasn't saying that you don't practice. I'm sure you put in the time. Just keep on doing it. The video should help.

whoa nelly, i remember having no clue just randomly clicking for hours. what a waste of time, im so pissed, well not pissed, but just like whatever, that a DVD like qberts was not in existence yet. you lucky motherfuckers have that shit now.

honestly, watching better scratchers is the key. I've learned a lot by hanging out with some top tier DJs these past 3 weeks and my scratches have improved a lot (not that theyre any good, but they sound better to me)

Man.. I learned by just listening and doing on my parents old ass all in one system using the volume knob as a fader after listening to JMJ Jazzy Jeff and Mix Master Ice. You just have to keep practicing. I stopped for about 15 years and got back into it last year and im amazed at what guys can do now days. Its all about watching others listening to what sounds they can make and then practice practice practice.

Damn.. im feeling old now lol But it brings back memories of waiting for Friday and Sat night to listen to Chuck Chill Out, Red Alert, and Lady B

DJ Shortee's series 101 & 202 are pretty good but I have to agree Q-Bert's is by far one of my most prized instructional videos. Here are a few of my personal tips.

* Use your mind, it's a very powerful tool for muscle memory. Find a basic scratch that isn't overly complicated like a flare. It's not that it's hard as it is awkward. When you are not in the lab practicing do it in your head. Perfect each movement mentally and you will be surprised how quickly your hands will follow. (insert Caddyshack jokes here)

* Record yourself. Find an instrumental you really like and so stupid on it. Nothing structured or thought out just go nuts and then listen to it. I swore I couldn't figure out Orbits for forever. Recorded myself and low and behold I was so close I could taste it. Hearing that helped me overcome the mental block I put up.

* Lastly, you gotta relax. When you watch world class turntablists they zone out like an Olympic athlete. The intensity comes from concentration and focus. It's never forced or strenuous.

I learned by listening. There wasn't anybody around my area that would TEACH the stuff, cuz I came up in the era where it was being born anyway.

Started out on a BSR record player, and would "scratch" to 8 track tapes...

A lot of shit I heard, I imitated, "Wheels Of Steel", "Rockit", "The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff", "Crazy Cuts"...

Kept nosing around behind this DJ crew in my town.

i think you learn to scratch the same way you learn to do this...

Watchwww.youtube.com

lots of practice and mt. dew.

Yea i tried, QBert DIY also, it helped to maximize skills.
But I did a mistake actually on proccess. I always wanted to do crabs and flares from the beginning, but my babyscratch was so damn offbeat, back then.
So my friend suggested me, to do a babyscratch without using crossfaders, dont do any other trick, and always practise with beats, never without so i could have "onbeat feel" thats what he said...hahaha
thanks to him, Im touring with couple of major local rap acts down here =)

hmm that's interesting. never thought of always practicing with beats. good tip

well a fellow dj is gonna hook me up with this guy who was a DMC champion 3 times or something from uk...all i can do is baby scratch...i dnt jack s*** about scratching...well i would love to be a 1/4th qbert min...lol...man the scratch djs...i jus love em...and turntablism...omg...off da hook peeps...i jus wanna learn scratchin soo well tht i can look into the eyes of this dj who cnt beat match for shit but can scratch heavy...dnt knw how tht happnd though

funny i typed the word s***( with axtrix) and second time i used the word wid all the letters...lol

does anyone twiddle?? that shit is dope i forgot allll about it untill i saw ryme do it the other day......ive been tryin to get it down and its helllaaa harder than a crab....

Scratching is like a language and scratches are the words so the more words you know, the better you can express yourself.

I gotta start practicing with slower beats, my shit just sounds like a jumble messed.

I am just learning to scratch... Got into it a while back but then fell off the waggon. Its amazing out much practice helps. Even after a week. Its all about controling your motions with both hands. You know that thing where you rub your stomach and pat your head and you always end up doing the same thing. If you can master that, then you can scratch well. My friend Pat who is rediculous at scratching (actually won DMC NY last year) can do that thing without even thinking about it. Its just working up your coordination. Scratchin to a beat def helps though. Scratching is an artform, just like beatmatching. You can trainwreck a baby scratch just as easily trainwrecking beatmatching.

q-bert's do it yourself as stated above ^^^ is a great way, and it repeats so you can try for hours and hours without rewinding, etc. personally i was bustin 4 click orbits before i could walk.. that's me though you're you.

haha I remember listening to Funk Flex, that was around 95, 96, 97. Thats how I got ideas also. His scratches are really basic.

Skiggs, it was the same for me as well when I first started. Through time youre going to find yourself creating or doing other scratches as you progress. I say dont worry about the fader yet, learn how to control the vinyl, find your rhythm doing baby scratches (do it for about 5-to whenever min), and then when you get good at just scratching and your baby scratches, you can move on to the fader, youll find yourself doing fast, in rhythm fast chirps.......etc. I always tell this to people who wants learn how to scratch and it seem to work. Im no teacher, but it works. Ive been djing/scratching since 97 and still cant perfect the flare scratch.......dammit

I am in San Jose California.

I am looking to get some live training in the basics of Mixing,
and get myself ready for Serato Scratch.

Does anyone know anybody in the Bay Area that can give me some basic training for compensation?

I appreciate it ...
Jordan

jordan.sofris@gmail.com

can any one suggest me wat kinda beats should i get started on...at the moment i looped ll cool j - favourite flavor track..first few beats n then tried jus simply practicing how to contol the sample.......

i think i m beeter scratchin wid left hand thn right becoz...wid my right hand i can move fader faster thn left....

pushed the record forward and noticed it made a "wik" sound

pulled it back and noticed it made a "ka" sound

took me another 6 months to realize i could do them together.

voila.

I'm classically trained in viola and string bass, so I take a similar apprach to a skratch practice as I would take when playing any instrument. That being said, scales or rudiments are the best way to hone your skills on an instrument and I think skratching accapella is analogous to this. It tedious as hell but it works. Don't worry about rocking an instrumental right away when trying to improve your technique-just practice scratching accapella making sure a chirp sounds like what a chirp is supposed to sound like, be sure to concentrate on hand and fader technique/control and make sure your hand movements are even and then slowly work on your speed. Then once you've gained control of the skratch, add an instrumental. Then try to scratch over instrumentals with different time signatures to break up the monotony. Also you can give you scratching more character with different rhythm patterns (ie. sixteenth notes, triplets,etc.). Approach scratching with the mind of a soloist-remeber that you're trying to convey an idea. This is what Q and all of those cats do. Also,listen to some jazz,blues, and classic rock to get a grasp on different styles of phrasing and chops (e.g. Wes Montgomery, Rich, Clapton, Bird, etc.)
Just keep working diligently at it and all of sudden the it will "click".