How to DJ With Scratch Vocals

Touch is vital when scratching records.

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Since the late 1970s, DJs have been doing more than just playing records. Direct-drive turntables and elliptical needles allow fast cueing, backspinning, and most distinctively, scratching. Scratching has become synonymous with hip hop and designated records are available featuring a capella vocals, specially designed for scratching over instrumentals. Scratching vocals over instrumentals is an essential DJ skill, and once you can do it well enough to improvise, you'll effectively be able to create your own remixes and mash-ups in real time.

Related Searches:Difficulty:ModerateInstructions Things You'll NeedScratch vocal recordsInstrumental recordsSuggest Edits1

Determine which hand is your dominant scratching hand. Normally DJing is an ambidextrous activity, but when scratching, you'll have one hand on the record and the other on the cross-fader, so one way will feel more natural than the other.

2

Place the scratch record on the turntable operated by your scratching hand, and the instrumental on the other. Press play on the instrumental.

3

Move the cross-fader fully over to the instrumental side of the mixer, so only the backing track is audible. Press play on the scratch record and watch the level meters on your mixer until you see a spike. This indicates the start of the sound on the scratch channel.

4

Stop the scratch record with your hand and pull it back until the signal disappears from the level meter. Move it back and forth and watch the meter until you can determine the exact start of the sound.

5

Determine the point at which the vocals would enter after waiting for the start of a bar. Jog the scratch record back and forth across the starting point of the sound. Wait for the start point of the sound and release the scratch record. At the same time, move the cross-fader to the center point, so you can hear both records. When the sound finishes, move the fader back to the instrumental side and catch the record.

6

Release the record again after waiting for the next bar to come around, then play the next sound on the track.

ReferencesIndabaMusic; Acapellas Over Bonus Beats; March 2010ResourcesDJ TechTools; Good Sources for Acapellas; David Meridian; June 2010Photo Credit Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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