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.
Tips
- Rent/buy DJ Shortee's DJ 101 and DJ 102
- Protect your ears so you don't go deaf later on.
- Go to the DMC website and see past winners of the yearly competition for the best DJs.
- Rent/buy Qbert's Do It Yourself Scratching Volumes 1 and 2
- Search for DJ performances on the internet
Warning
- Protect your ears! Wear earphones or earplugs if you have to play with the volume turned up.
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