Why is it better to learn these scratches first?
An example of a more advanced scratch is the crab orbit. You move the record forwards and backwards while crabbing the crossfader. What you're doing with the record is a baby scratch. If you haven't practiced the basic faderless baby scratch, then you won't have a nice consistent motion so your advanced scratches will sound sloppy. If you practice all the basic techniques above, then when you move on to flares, 2-clicks, orbits etc. you'll have a head start over people who jumped straight in trying to do them, plus your scratching will sound clean and precise. Even if you only get a few of the basics down, you can use these techniques when you're doing a set to add an extra dimension to your mixing. A few simple scratches here and there sound a lot better than sloppy attempts at complex ones.

What are some good practice tips?
Start off slow. Don't get frustrated if you don't sound good to begin with. That happens to everyone. Keep working on the basics and you'll soon improve. Practice as often as you can and for as long as you can.

Recording your practices is a great idea. Listen back to them and you'll hear where you're good and where you're not so good. That way you can work on the techniques where you might be falling behind. I've got practices from a couple of years ago on tape. When I'm feeling like I'm not progressing and I want to give up, I listen to those and I can hear how much better I've got. It's a bit of an ego boost you might say. Hehe.

Practice with other DJs if possible. If you can hook up in person with another DJ and scratch together in what's called a Q&A session, then you'll pick tips up off each other. You'll also be more inspired to practice and it's a lot more fun than learning alone.

Once you start to get certain scratches down and you can do them consistently, speed things up by increasing the pitch of the record you're scratching over. At first you might not be able to keep up, but keep at it and your arms and hands will soon get used to it.

Finally, remember that there is no right and wrong. If you do a scratch slightly differently to someone else, then so what? Everyone develops their own way of doing techniques, which is why watching DVD's may give you the false impression that a certain scratch has to be done a certain way. Originality is extremely important. You can start out by copying other people, because that's a good way to learn, but you'll eventually reach the stage where you have a style of your own and that's what sets you apart from everyone else.

I hope this helps the people who want to get started. It's a lengthy read, but I've tried to make the tutorial easy to understand. Remember, this is a beginners guide for those just starting out, or those that want to build a strong foundation for their more advanced scratches.

< < Previous