How to Create Scribbles on a Turntable

If you want to be a disc jockey, then you should know that it's about more than spinning a few vinyls and coming up with lively patter. You have to learn a lot about the turntable and how to create the sounds that the modern disc jockeys use. Scribbles and scratches are two of the basics for the turntable kings today.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Know that when a disc jockey scribbles, it's one form of scratching. In fact, the actual name is "scribble scratch." The forward scratch releases, turns down the volume, pulls the vinyl back in place and pushes again. When you scribble, you never release the vinyl.

2. Place your fingertips on the vinyl. Lightly push forward and backward. This is the first step in scribbling. Practice going forward and backward at different speeds.

3. Manipulate the record to the beat. Do some double time with action from the muscles in your forearm. The sound that you hear is somewhat like a scribble, which is how this scratch got its name.

4. Coordinate the arm movement with the volume fader on the DJ mixer. The combination of one hand controlling the vinyl and the other on the mixer creates rhythms that can be used between songs or by itself for entertainment.

5. Realize that when a disc jockey uses scribbles, he also has a multitude of other scratches to integrate into a complete routine. Several scratches can be combined. Orbit scratches, forward and backward scratches, flares, bubbles, chirps and crabs are some others that can be combined with the scribble scratch.