Getting Your Gear
Get a basic DJ set-up. For most DJs, this means you need to get a pair of direct-drive turntables, a mixer, and collection of vinyl records to practice sampling and scratching. However, digital controller and CDJs (CD turntables) have become increasingly popular, and many offer features that enable them to be used to scratch, create beat loops on the fly, play tracks in reverse or at very fast or slow rates, and other functions that make them great fits for turntablism. If you don't own a turntable, buying your first can be an intimidating proposition, not to mention that to really be a turntablist, you'll need two. You can technically "scratch" with a single turntable, but it won't be making music. As long as you've got a direct-drive model, it should be fine for scratching. Don't break the bank.
Find a mixer that has a curve adjustment on the cross fader. Curve-adjustment allows you to control the sound switching back and forth between your turntables more easily. A good scratch mixer includes a crossfader that does not have to be exactly in the middle before the sound is crossed over into the new channel. You don't absolutely have to have one of these mixers, but they make mixing a lot easier later on when you start doing advanced techniques.
Use a slipmat between the platter and the record. Anti-static slipmats are essential to the scratching DJ. You want to be able to put a finger or your hand on the record and stop the record from moving without stopping the whole platter from moving. If you have a cheaper set of turntables you may need to cut additional pieces of plastic, wax or parchment paper. Plastic carrier bags from the supermarket work really well. You can buy a product called "magic carpet" that will help reduce friction. If you want to use your own slipmats or have a problem with stoppage or you can pick up a product called "butter rugs" and just use those as your permanent slipmat.They are the slickest slipmats available. You may still need to reduce the friction further but it depends on your taste and equipment.
Build up your collection of records to sample. A turntablist needs an eclectic variety of vinyl records from which to build music. A turntablist is a mixmaster, using the beats from some records and sampled portions of other records to build sounds. It's a complicated collage-style way of making music that can only be accomplished with lots of practice, and lots of records. Most scratch records have a series of samples, alternating break-beats and sound effects. Don't just buy any record you find online, it's best to listen to the records to make sure they have something on it that is usable in your practice/performance. For DJs, non-skippable records have been designed to repeat the samples in a way that if your needle skips (as it will) you will remain on the sounds you are trying to use. If you don't have regular records, then try to wear in the record a little by finding the samples that you like and then pushing the record back and forth to get the needle and the groove. You can use a capella records or records that you already have and try to find a sample to use, but most DJs normally end up picking up a few scratch records to use in practice and battles.
Nailing the Technique
Find a sample or sound on your record to practice scratching on. Listen to records with an ear for little moments around which you might build a whole song. Break-beats, the moments during which all the instruments drop out and the drums remain, are commonly isolated for use as the beats in hip-hop tracks, while instrumental tracks often make good melody lines to pair them with. Listen closely to records and stop the record when you hear something you might like to use. Go back and try to find the exact moment that sound begins.
Mark the groove. In the old days, DJs would take small, round stickers that teachers would use on essay papers and place the sticker directly on the record, next to the groove, just beyond the sample. This provides both a visual cue to where the sample starts, and will bump the stylus back into the groove to re-bump the sample. Some DJs prefer not to put stickers on the vinyl itself, though it's the classic way of doing it. You can also try to mark the groove however works best for you, if you're going to tape your beats or mix them on the fly.
Stop the record with your fingertips. After the sound finishes playing and then slowly bring the record backwards at close to the same speed as it played forward. It should sound like you just hit reverse on your turntable. The classic "scratch" sound comes from picking an appropriate blank beat, like a trumpet blast or some other long sound effect, and rocking the platter back and forth over that sound, producing the distinctive "scratch" sound.
Put on another song and do this to the beat. A scratch by itself would be like a movie made entirely of explosions. Cool at first? Sure. Boring after a couple minutes? You bet. To scratch properly, you've got to pair your samples and your manipulations of the record with a beat. Find an appropriate beat on which to build your music. Look for the break-beats in songs that you like, especially old soul and R&B samples make for good break-beats from which you might build music.
Push the record forward over the sample instead of allowing the sound to play at regular speed or slowing it down. You will get a high pitched sound. Do the same for the reverse, pull it back at a similar speed. Then, do this to music. This is sometimes known as the baby scratch. Start with a slower beat and then get faster and faster as you go along. When you are able to do them at a good speed, try to vary the rhythms by throwing in rests to the beats you develop.
Scratching Well
Listen closely to some beat-makers. Do some research into beat-making and explore the way your favorite DJs and producers make beats, adding sounds and textures from a variety of sources. If your ultimate goal is to battle or just to make cool analog songs, you need to learn from the greats. RZA pioneered the lo-fi use of classic soul and samurai film samples, incorporating a few elements into unforgettable beats for the early run of Wu-Tang albums and solo projects from the individual members. Check out Raekwon's "Ice Cream," which features a sped-up easy-listening guitar sample, a beat, and nothing else. Madlib’s use of jazz records and 80’s ephemera makes him one of the most sought-out modern producers, fusing old and new in surprisingly fresh ways. Check out Madvillainy, his project with MF Doom, and his record with Freddie Gibbs for great examples of turntablist technique.
Learn to beat-match on the fly. It's very important to match the beat of one sample to the beat of another, or your music is going to sound chaotic and, frankly, bad. Use a metronome as you're messing around to get a sense of the beats-per-minute of the different samples that you like using and match one to the other. Build music by matching the beats. Many DJs will mark the BPMs on the record sleeves themselves, making it easy to quickly build beats and songs while you're working.
Layer different sounds to create music. Experiment and play around with a variety of sounds and textures to make music that sounds good. For some DJs, the ultimate goal is to take little samples from the most unexpected sources: latin jazz, spoken word recordings, or easy listening lounge music. Turn it into danceable awesomeness. Turntablist rule of thumb: Combined with a drum track by the Meters, almost anything sounds cool.
Play records at different speeds. Don't be contained to playing a track at the exact same speed to match the beats. RZA sampled a corny Earl Klugh guitar track, sped up and pitched up, to create the distinctive sample that runs all throughout "Ice Cream." The only limit on your music making is your imagination.
Don’t over-scratch. Nobody wants to hear a DJ who spends an entire set making scratch noises on the records. Think of it as a little seasoning for the song, not as a primary way of making music. There's usually only one or two guitar solos in a rock song, and there should only be one or two scratches in a DJ beat.
Learn some basic music theory. A turntablist is a percussionist, which means you need to have a good understanding of rhythm. You will be practicing scratching to music and then eventually making music using records. When you are scratching to a beat, you are scratching out a rhythm. If you have a complete understanding of rhythm, you can develop your skills to recreate these rhythms properly. Most hip-hop and dance music is in 4/4. That means for each bar of music there are 4 beats to the bar. Each beat can be subdivided in only a finite amount of ways. Count these out loud while you listen to music. Each beat will be place between [brackets]: [1] [2] [3] [4] [1 and] [2 and] [3 and] [4 and] [1 e and a] [2 e and a] [3 e and a] [4 e and a] [1 trip let] [2 trip let] [3 trip let] [4 trip let] [1 trip let and trip let] [2 trip let and trip let] [3 trip let and trip let] [ 4 trip let and trip let]
Learn how to count these to the beats of songs you already like. A good way to introduce yourself to beats is to play the snare drum. You can go to the Vic Firth website listed below to get a feel for how beats are subdivided, and how the subdivisions that include rests sound. Once you can sing these rhythms or at least some of them out loud, you can start using these as a foundation for the scratches you develop.
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