Turntablism

Turntablism and Djing are terms used interchangeably these days by oh-not-so-musically-informed people. But there is a fundamental difference between the two that sets them apart though not as much as east and west. Today even a DJ makes use of turntable techniques to lend innovation to his music. Which gets me back to describing what Turntablism exactly is? Well, it helps you lend a personal touch to the music/ sound you are playing as you have to physically touch and move the records and manipulate the sound using stylus and mixer.

According to John Oswald, its like “A phonograph in the hands of a 'hip-hop/scratch' artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced -- the record player becomes a musical instrument”. Talking of turntable techniques like beat mixing/matching, scratching, back spinning, cutting, and blending and beat juggling, it is worthwhile to mention that it isn’t exactly an art form. After all you are manipulating someone else’s music. But at the same time it is also a feat of innovation and it all depends on the skills of the Turntablist whether he is able to make ‘music out of scratch’ or no. well by scratch here I mean the scratching noise fit into the original tracks at regular rhythmic intervals. This is exactly how DJ Babu described the phenomenon on Turntablism as and he is the one credited with having coined the term.

Turntablism has attracted much criticism but nevertheless it is still a widely respected form. It is at least better than ‘studio-bound’ music because as pointed out earlier it helps you lend personal touch to the music you create.

Another derived phenomenon, visual Turntablism is on the rise these days where a DJ or a VJ includes pictures, video, and computer generated effects into live performances with the help of a distinct and separate video mixer along with their Turntablist equipment.