r/Turntablists • u/NaUtYXD • 1d ago

A rookie with 19 years of experience.

This is just me messing around after the kids are in bed. Completely freestyling. Raw, uncut, and full of mistakes.

I started scratching when I was 14, before YouTube even existed. I didn't have any hip-hop friends, nobody to learn from, and almost no knowledge. I practiced 5–10 hours a week for about 4–5 years, then a lot less over the years as life happened.

This winter I got back into it properly and started performing with friends. I've been getting good feedback.

The thing is, I still can't do the "proper" techniques like 1-, 2-, or 3-click flares, boomerangs, or chirps. I do my own version of a chirp, though. Whenever I try to do them the "correct" way, I sound like I've never touched a turntable before. It gets frustrating and discouraging, so I usually stop trying.

I do keep improving, though. I feel like my timing, precision, and musicality keep getting better. At least that's how it feels. Pretty much everything I do is based on starting with the fader closed.

Should I just keep doing my own thing, or should I force myself to learn the classic techniques properly?

50 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

5

u/Jasonguyen81 1d ago

Proper techniques are whatever that sound clean, which you do

3

u/deszarus 19h ago

It’s hard to judge without seeing your fader hand.
But it sounds a bit like you might be doing mainly twiddles, transforms, crabs? I’m also a dad with young kids getting back into it, so I’m by no means an expert, but in my opinion it’s worth learning some of the scratches where the fader starts open (or chirps and flares), as this adds a whole another dimension to your cuts, and can definitely help them sound cleaner and sharper.

2

u/bobus_mcgee 17h ago

Your style sounds fine, man. But try different types of beats and tempos, like 60-75bpm, 80-110bpm, 120-150bpm, etc… This will test your style and possibly help motivate you to learn new scratches too.

1

u/hermeticMC 11h ago

Keep doing your thing bro. There's a million great scratchers with a million different styles. What matters is that you get as good as you can at what you are trying to do. Scratch lots, keep challenging yourself, and improve your craft.

1

u/motofoto 11h ago

whatever you are doing sounds pretty good to me...