Turntablism

Turntablism uses turntables and records as instruments for rhythmic and sonic performance. Its techniques manipulate recorded sound in real time, often through scratching and beat juggling.

Scratching: A turntable technique that rhythmically moves a record back and forth against a stylus to create percussive sounds. Its hand movements and rhythmic patterns form turntablism’s most recognizable performance technique.
Hip-hop: A cultural movement that emerged in the Bronx in the 1970s, encompassing music, dance, visual art, and community practices. Turntablism developed within hip-hop’s DJ culture.
Direct-drive turntable: A turntable whose motor drives the platter directly, allowing rapid start-up and resistance to speed changes. Its responsive platter supports repeated starts, stops, and record reversals.
Battle DJing: A competitive DJ practice in which performers demonstrate technical skill through routines and direct contests. Turntablism techniques are often arranged into routines for DJ battles.
DJ mixing: The selection and blending of recordings to create a continuous sequence of music. Mixing usually emphasizes transitions between tracks rather than manipulating records as instruments.
Beat juggling: A DJ technique that rearranges beats from multiple copies of a record by switching and manipulating them across turntables. It builds new rhythmic patterns from repeated recorded passages.
Kool Herc: A Jamaican-born DJ credited with pioneering hip-hop breakbeat DJing in the Bronx during the 1970s. His extended break technique helped establish the performance role of the DJ.
Slipmat: A low-friction mat placed between a turntable platter and a record. It allows the record to move independently while the platter keeps spinning.
DJ Shadow: An American producer and DJ known for constructing instrumental hip-hop from sampled records. His music demonstrates how turntable-based record culture informs composition beyond live routines.
Sampling: The reuse of recorded sound within a new musical work, often through digital or electronic equipment. Sampling edits and arranges recorded material, while turntablism performs manipulation directly on turntables.

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