so i picked some pretty decent turntables. the Gemini XL-500II direct drive. its not very strong, and bounces like a sluts bedframe, but still i practice.
i’ve been practicing since january. almost every day for an hour. i finally feel a little ok with my skills that i’m gaining.
but its still small, simple, and novice to me. i dont feel like im growing as fast as i should be in scratching and beat matching.
so… i ask you guys. how long did you practice before you felt good about your skills, and how difficult would you say it was to get there. do you think it could have some to do with really bouncy and semi-weak decks? i wouldnt blame it on them totally, cause ive seen people kick ass on plastic shit numark belt drives. but seriously, i need to start improving more than this. its hardly noticeable to me that im improving. gimme some of your tips to improve, and how you practice.
TL;DR give me practice help and ways to improve. questions welcome too.
It’s better to practice a little bit everyday than a lot one day (say 20 minutes a day vs. 2 hours in a weekend). I’d say it took me about 6 months to become confident with my skills and it wasn’t difficult, just time consuming. I learned to scratch on belt driven turntables, but once I got just one 1200, even with a shitty mixer, I was able to increase my ability by A LOT because of the added torque and tracking ability which is important in scratching. If you keep practicing, you ARE improving if you notice it or not. The best way is to record your practices and view them after noting what you need to work on. I did this my entire way in learning and I think it has helped me a lot.
Here’s me with 6 months of scratching.
Here’s me with one year of scratching.
And here’s me just about now.
So in other words: practice, practice, practice. I learned most of what I know from DJ Angelo’s YouTube tutorials which I highly suggest you use. He is a magnificent teacher and his tutorials are top notch.
and i think being around others that are better than you to practice with makes you work harder/learn more in my opinion. its like your always pushing each other to become better. if you understand what im saying
i know alot of people aspiring to be producers, or are already good producers, or artists of traditional instruments, but i’m the only aspiring turntablist around it seems
dang hipnopath, I started scratching over 10 years ago and your 6 months video makes me look like an amateur hmy: It shows exactly what you’re talking about re: practice though; the times I did practice daily for a couple months I saw dramatic improvements. The reason I still suck is I just don’t ever practice regularly these days.
Honestly the big thing for me is trying to hit the decks EVERY DAY. Or at least if I have to miss a day, getting on the next evening. Sometimes I just want to be lazy, but it’s about time and effort more than anything. Something I learned playing instruments (Bass guitar, Flute, Tuba, Harmonica) it’s just about practicing.
Sometimes I’m in the groove, sometimes I’m not.
Also, record EVERYTHING you do, and then listen back to it later. In the car, on the bus, whatever. I’ve found that’s helped me a lot figuring out where I need to improve and change things. Also posting it up places and asking for feedback has honestly helped me a TON in a short amount of time.
I also have the luxury I guess that most of my close friends also spin, and while none of us play out at the moment, we get together and just chill and have turns at the tables. And we also travel to events together all the time, and always have new mixes for each other to listen to in the car for the rides. It’s super helpful looking over someone else’s mix, and then having them look at yours as well. It’s something that I almost take as a given these days, but I realize not everyone might have that.
But really, just keep at it. I’ve owned my setup for under a year, and I already feel 10000x better than when I started.
I like to mix up my practicing, especially when scratching. If I am learning a new scratch or combo, I go back to basic scratches or straight mixing when I begin to get frustrated. I want to enjoy what I am doing so keeping it from seeming like a chore is very important.
i try to do some practice everyday, whether its scratch or mixing, i just need to so something.. but yeah generally about a half hour does it.. no need to practice 3 hours or something, it gets to a point where its non beneficial to practice anymore than you can handle.
just gotta look hard enough
hmy: It shows exactly what you’re talking about re: practice though; the times I did practice daily for a couple months I saw dramatic improvements. The reason I still suck is I just don’t ever practice regularly these days.