Scratching

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"Scratching" is also a present participle of "scratch."

Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique originated by Grand Wizard Theodore, an early hip hop DJ from New York (AMG). Theodore developed scratching from DJ Grandmaster Flash, who describes scratching as, "nothing but the back-cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it [the recorded sound] out to the crowd." (Toop, 1991) Kool Herc was also an important early figure. The technique is designed to accentuate the work of the DJ by creating an assortment of sounds through the rhythmical manipulation of a vinyl record, and has spread from hip hop culture to a number of other musical forms. Within hip hop culture, scratching is still of great importance in determining the skill of a DJ, and a number of competitions are held across the globe in which DJs battle one another in displays of great virtuosity. In recorded hip-hop songs it is common to have a scratched hook where lines from different rap songs are scratched in succession.

Almost all scratches are produced by moving a vinyl record back and forth with the hand while it is 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 does not damage a record because the needle stays within the groove and does not move horizontally across the record's surface. The basic equipment setup for scratching includes two turntables, and a mixer with a crossfader. When scratching, this crossfader is utilized in conjunction with the "scratching hand" to cut in and out of the scratched record. CD players and computer hardware/software combinations have emerged which allow DJs to produce scratch sounds without vinyl records by manipulating digitally recorded sounds.

1 Sounds and techniques
2 World of scratching
3 Scratching outside hip hop
4 See also
5 Sources
6 External links

[edit] Sounds and techniques

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 ScratchTools or 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 is not unique, we shall employ terminology consistent with the terminology used by DJ Q-Bert on his Do It Yourself Sqratching DVD.

Baby scratch - The simplest scratch form, and the basis for all other scratch forms, the baby scratch is performed with the scratching hand only, moving the record back and forth in continuous movements while the crossfader is in the open position.
Forward & 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 is 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. It also allows complex rhythmic patterns. The term "tear scratch" can also refer to a simpler, slower version of the chirp. For example: the fader is cut in, the record is dragged forwards, the fader is cut out then back in again as the record is dragged backwards. The fader is then cut out and the pattern continues.
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 in minute movements.
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 distinctive "chirping" noise. When performed on drums this allows creating the illusion of doubled scratching speed. This illusion is due to the attack created by cutting in the crossfader on the backward movement.
Transformer scratch - The transformer scratch starts with the crossfader closed, and involves moving the record with the scratching hand while periodically "tapping" the crossfader open and immediately closing it again.
Flare scratch - A flare begins with the crossfader open, and involves moving the record 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. E.g. a two-click flare is a flare where the fader is closed two times during each the backeard and the forward movement of the record, a 2-1-Flare is a flare where the fader clicks twice during the forward movement and once during the backward movement. The flare allows a DJ to scratch continuously with less hand fatigue than transforming as the fader hand can briefly rest during continuous scratching. The flare can be combined with the crab for an extremely rapid continuous series of scratches.
Crab scratch - The crab scratch consists of moving the record while quickly tapping the crossfader open with each finger of the crossfader hand. In this method, the thumb acts as a spring, immediately pushing the crossfader closed after each tap. In this way, DJs are able to perform transforms or flares much faster than they could by manipulating the crossfader with the whole hand. A precursor to the crab scratch was the twiddle scratch, where the first and middle finger tap the crossfader in rapid succession.
Orbit scratch - An orbit scratch, describes any scratch, most commonly flares, repeated during the forward and backward movement of the record. Orbit is also used as a shorthand for 2-click flares.
Tweak scratch - The tweak scratch is 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 - This scratch is a variation of the Flare scratch in which two faders are used simultaneously with one hand to cut the sound much faster.

The various different record movements can be combined with the various fader movements creating a wide variety of different scratch sounds.

[edit] World of scratching

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Since the 1990s, the use of scratching in popular music has seen a substantial increase. Some examples of this would be within Nu-Metal acts (especially DMX and Tupac) and in some pop music (Nelly Furtado). DJs are also often included as 'stage-props' (especially in the urban genre) where they stand behind turntables pretending to emulate scratching and mixing. The majority of these DJs are there simply to add effect to the stage and create more of an atmosphere.

Because of this, many people perceive scratching as an easy and simple skill to acquire where all one needs to do is move your hand back and forth to create the associated "wikki-wikki" sound. The reality is, scratching is a skill that requires considerable practice.

While scratching is becoming more and more popular within pop music, the art-form itself is still predominantly underground. One of the most influential groups to the world of scratching would be the Invisibl Skratch Piklz hailing from the San Francisco area. Forming in 1994 as DJs Q-Bert, Disk & Shortkut and later Mix Master Mike the group took scratching to a whole new level. With their focus primarily on scratching, the group displayed exactly what the turntable is capable of.

"The turntable is the most versatile instrument. You can be a drummer, you can be a guitarist, you can be a lead vocalist — anything." DJ Shortkut

With the departure of DJ Disk, enter two new members, Yogafrog followed by D-Styles. DJ A-Trak from Canada was also a guest member of the group after winning the Technics' DMC World Finals in 1997. After releasing their Shiggar Fraggar CD series and touring various countries around the world the group disbanded in 2001.

Each of its members however have continued to prove they are at the forefront of the scene by pursuing their own projects. In 1998, DJ Qbert made scratch history by composing the first ever album made entirely by scratching^{[citation needed]} - from the beats to the sound effects. The album was entitled 'Wave Twisters' and was later released in 2001 as a feature length movie. DJ D-Styles (now a member of the Beat Junkies crew from Los Angeles), who contributed the 'Razorblade Alcohol Slide' chapter to Wave Twisters was at the same time working in his own 'scratch music' album entitled 'Phantazmagorea' - released in 2001. Both these albums displayed an array of new scratches & techniques, further proof that these guys were still out there pushing the boundaries. In 1996, while both still a part of the ISP group, DJs Qbert & Yogafrog set up their own company — Thud Rumble — dedicated to the art of scratching. Their main goal was to spread the art of scratching on a global scale. They released their own videos called Turntable TV where DJs from around the world would hang out and scratch.

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”. By bringing the globe’s important DJs together in one arena, professional and amateur DJs were given the chance to learn and utilize various skills, techniques, and styles. In the past, Thud Rumble was involved in the facilitation of important historical DJ events like ITF (International Turntablist Federation) and the Vestax World DJ Championships. After being praised by Source Magazine as the “Greatest DJ event of all time”, Thud Rumble had successfully added Skratchcon2000 to the list.

In 2001, Thud Rumble opened their office doors to become an independent company that managed and maintained the production and distribution of their own products. By working with various DJ artists to produce and distributed scratch records, Thud Rumble was able to provide a wider range of practice and/or performances tools for DJs. Thud Rumble have close ties with many of the leading electrical DJ equipment companies and have often been approached to help design new products for the DJ community. Most notable of all these is the Vestax QFO released in 2004. The QFO is a turntable/mixer in one, allowing DJs a portable device able to set up literally anywhere. Designed mainly for this reason it has met mixed reviews however since its release many of Qberts shows have seen him using only the QFO.

[edit] Scratching outside hip hop

Scratching has been incorporated into a number of other musical genres, including Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Classical music performances. Two of the earliest such examples were released in 1983: scratches by Grand Mixer DXT on Herbie Hancock's hit song "Rockit", and, more obscurely, on a few songs the first Golden Palominos record, where Bill 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.

For recording use, samplers are often used instead of physically scratching a vinyl record.

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.

Christian Marclay was one of the earliest and one of the most notable musicians to scratch outside hip hop.

In the anime Samurai Champloo, a record scratch is used instead of the common bleep to cover expletives, keeping with the Hip-hop soundtrack.

Audioslave (and former Rage Against the Machine) guitarist Tom Morello is known for his scratching-inspired guitar solos, which he creates by rubbing his fingers on the strings over the pick ups with and using the pickup selector switch on the guitar, typically run through a wah or auto-wah, and one or more envelope filters.

In Meteos, the planet Luna=Luna has a hip-hop soundtrack, with dull piano music and record scratching for Meteos launches.

A scratch is also typically used in comedy as an abrupt stopping gesture, as if someone had said or done something unexpected suddenly.