Welcome
to the first of Scratch’s monthly newsletters where each month we’ll
provide you with…• The latest news on Scratch. This issue, check out the news on Semester III registration.
• An in-depth interview with a groundbreaking DJ discussing how they learned and improved their skills. Jam Master Jay explains all this issue.
• An exercise or two to help work on your DJ’ing skills. This issue’s exercises cover the skills of beat counting and matching..
Only newsletter subscribers will have access to these interviews and DJ exercises – they are not available on the site, however, please feel free to forward it to friends who would be interested! Thanks again for all your support as we try to bring the DJ community education and access!
Semester III begins Sept. 7… Spots are almost filled!
Scratch
DJ Academy will continue to offer hands-on turntable training from celebrity
and professional DJ’s with copy written curriculum and over 30 turntables.
Whether you’re looking to just pick up a hobby or you want to take
your skills to the next level, this is one opportunity you can’t miss
out on. Find out why we’ve been featured on GoodDay NY, WB Morning
News, the New York Post, the Source, Urb, Mixer and more.The first beginner’s section already filled up, but spots are still available in for DJ 101.2 (the second beginner’s section) and DJ 202. Here’s your chance to learn from the masters like Jam Master Jay, Mista Sinista, Evil Dee and more.
Learn
more about Semester III ...* Images from Semester II, Beatmaking class with DJ Evil Dee from the Beatminerz.
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SCRATCH:
Would you please tell the audience why you are a musician?JAM MASTER JAY(JMJ): To me, the musician was always the guy in the band, one of the members of the band; the drummer; the guitar player; the keyboard player. Nowadays, you have the turntablist as a part of the band or actually being the whole band, like myself. We came around. When I saw bands playing when I was a young guy, the band was the main attraction. Then, the DJ would come along and play a little music between the bands. Eventually, the DJ became the main attraction. Therefore, he became the band; therefore, he became the musician. Right now, in the Guitar Center where they sell instruments, they sell more turntables than they sell anything else. So, I guess we are musicians.
SCRATCH: How difficult was it for you to learn to do what you do and are there correlations between music classes that you can take in school?
JMJ: As far as learning (DJ’ing/turntablism) compared to taking piano lessons or drum lessons, you do have to start with the fundamentals. It’s up to you to take it to the next lesson, to take it to the next level. As a kid growing up, my father bought me a guitar. I was taking a couple of lessons. I was able to play a little bit. But once I saw Grand Master Flash doing his thing in the Armory back in like ’79 in Queens somewhere, I was a little kid like, “Yo, that’s what I wanna do.” That guy right there, he don’t need nobody to come to band practice. He can do it all by himself. When cats are slacking, I’m in there by myself in my underwear just doing my thing.
SCRATCH:
So the individuality was a big attraction to you?JMJ: Yeah, of course. I had to carry crates for the older cats who had equipment. I was 15 years old. I knew how to DJ better than the older guy with the equipment. I used to DJ at this bar. I never would go in the bar. They would bring me in the back door. I would play the music; I wouldn’t see who I was playing the music for. I heard it was packed. I heard it was hot. But, I was just in the back room playing music, not seeing anybody at the end of the night. 3 o’clock in the morning, they would take me out the back door the same way I came in. It’s a love for it. You gotta have a love for it. Some kids, you could put a piano in their hand, and they get a little older. They might wanna be a D.J.
SCRATCH: So, how would a DJ academy have helped you back when you first started?
JMJ: I think the Scratch DJ academy would’ve helped me because I could’ve seen some other professionals. “Oh wow, Grand Wizard Theodore is giving lessons. Oh shit! I’m there!” or Grandmaster Flash, Bambataa, or some of these other guys that don’t even have names today like Davey DMX. A few people who were really hot to me that never really got their name were some cats like DJ Smallz and DJ Hollywood, and a few DJ’s that I just liked the way they rocked the party. Some DJ’s were exciting on the wheels of steel. Some DJ’s, after you leave the party you just feel like, “Damn, man! The way he put on that record after that record after that record after that record. I just was up all night.” So, you just gotta have the love. It’s gonna go in all different directions…It’s how you wanna go about it.
SCRATCH:
Why are the DJ’s so popular?JMJ: DJ’s make the world go around. That’s what I say. To me, you’re the DJ when somebody gets in your car and you got this CD selection going on. You’re in control of the music. Once you’re in control of the room, the atmosphere, whether it be in you car, your home, at a wedding, at a Bar Mitzvah, or whatever. You are controlling the music. You are the DJ.
Scratch: So, we’re all DJ’s?
JMJ: At some point, yeah.
SCRATCH: You have a group of kids, adults, whoever in a classroom. How do you get them in a situation where they are not afraid to mess up?
JMJ: One thing about the DJ school, people who are attracted to the DJ school want to be DJ’s. It might be, “I wanna be a DJ, but I don’t know how they hook these wires up.” All the way from start to end, it’s a lot that comes behind it. The basics are definitely being taught to people who don’t know.
SCRATCH: How will you feel as an instructor, as someone who is imparting knowledge to another person, how will you feel when they leave you in the dust?
JMJ:
It happens all the time for me. I mean it’s cool. A lot of cats got
their vibe seeing Jam Master Jay do his thing with Run DMC. Then, the next
time I see them they’re turntablists. While I’m on the road making
everybody say “Ho!” and jump and up and down, these guys are in
their drawls just learning how to beat juggle and doing a whole lot of crazy
scratching. It makes me feel good though.SCRATCH: Why are institutions in this country refusing to accept DJ’ing for the art form it really is?
JMJ: I just think it’s new. Even though DJ’s have been around forever, I just think it’s really new. I think Hip-hop plays a big part with how the DJ became a part of the band when you look at your big pop acts like N’SYNC. Barbara Streisand didn’t have a DJ back in the day, but Britney Spears probably does…It’s not a new art form, but the whole art form is new. It’s going to take a minute. 20 years is new…I know that I’m not the younger generation. I understand that. So, that the reason why I’m here is to make a format for the younger generation to not have to go through what I went through in trying to learn how to do something that I wanted to do.
*Images from Scratch DJ Academy "Slip Mat Studies #1" and Jam Master Jay providing free lessons at the Washington Square Truth event
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This week, we start out with tips covering one of the most important DJ concepts: Beats Per Minute (BPM). In order to blend effectively, DJs must first master the ability to gauge a record’s BPM.
Beginner’s Tip: Measuring Beats Per Minute (BPM)
1. Get a stop watch and a turntable to play your record.
2. Play the record
3. Start the stop watch as soon as the record begins
4. Count the beats until the stop watch reaches 30 seconds.
5. Double the number of beats and you’ll have the record’s BPM!
It is recommended that beginner DJs write down the BPM on the record and then line up the records in their crate, from slowest to fastest tempo, so as to have a better idea of which records can blend together.
Knowing the BPM of a record also helps you identify how much you need to pitch up or down in order to mix, on beat, with another record. For example, if you are trying to mix out of a song playing at 92 BPM on one turntable, find another record that has a BPM rate that is relative to it, and cue it up on the second turntable. If you find a song that plays at 88 BPM, then simply pitch the record up about 2-4%, and cue it in on the one. From there, blend away!
Advanced Tip: Blending Records to the Radio
1. Get a radio and a turntable to play your record
2. Turn on the radio to a station that plays the same type of music as your record
3. Practice pitching the record up and down to match the beats of the record to the radio
This exercise is a good way for a DJ to practice his or her ear, reacting quickly to a song instead of knowing the BPMs of the next record that would be put on. Many of the DJs now that rock the clubs used this technique to improve their skills.
• In coming months, we will be incorporating video/flash demonstrations for exercises and want to address questions about DJ skills that you have. If there are skills that you’d like to learn about in particular, please let us know at theloop@scratch.com and we’ll try to get you an answer!
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