How to Chop & Screw Music on My Computer
Created by the late DJ Screw, the art of chopping and screwing music gained popularity around the Southern region of the United States, mainly in Houston toward the late 1990s. Screwing music involves dropping the pitch of a song at least two or three keys, and slowing it down to approximately 65 quarter beats per minute. As a result, the song can be chopped, a process that consists of scratching and skipping certain downbeats through the song's screwed playback. Although most DJs chop and screw on turntables, you can do all of this on your computer, and it is a lot less technical that way. With the official ScrewLab audio editing software for authentic chopping and screwing, you can edit whatever music you desire in a matter of minutes.
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Instructions
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Access the ScrewLab Download page. (See Resources for download page link.)
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Read the specifications below the download link to select the one you desire. Click the download link for the version you desire. (Two versions will be available for downloading: ScrewLab Platinum and the ScrewLab basic version.)
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Click the "Save" action when the file download window appears. Click "Next" on each of the InstallShield download screens to select all of the ScrewLab recommended settings and installation preferences.
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Select "Done" when ScrewLab initial screen opens with the speaker options. Do not change any of the speaker settings because they determine the balance of the chopping effects for the song. (ScrewLab will open with two split players: one on the left and another on the right side.)
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Click the "Add Both" button below the left player. Locate the song from your hard drive files, highlight the file and click "Open." (The song will play automatically, in both players.)
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Click the "StopBoth" button in the middle of the application screen to stop the song in both players simultaneously.
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Select the "Sync Rate" button in the left player, and slide its lever to the left side of the bar. (The lever in the right player should also slide. This action disables the right player, so all actions can be taken through one player.)
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Screw the song. Click the "Play" button in the left player. When the song begins to playback, use the Sync Rate lever to change the pitch of the song. Select "StopBoth" to begin working on the chop.
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Select the "Style 2" button, which is a specific cross-fading style that will be in the middle of the audio editing application. (This is directly below the delay interval number.)
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Click the "Play" button to begin playing the song back, so you can find the delay interval for the chop. (The delay interval enables the song to skip certain beats for the chop effect.)
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Move the plus or minus lever to increase or decrease the speed of the chop. (See Tips section for help with locating the chop for your particular song.)
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Click the bar below the "Style 2" button to chop the song. Hold and release the button where you want the chop to take place. (The bar will move from side to side with the Style 2 cross-fading effect. This indicates that the chop is switching between both players to cut up the song.)
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Click the "REC" button at the bottom of the application when you are ready to create and record your own mix. Then you can save the recorded version of your screwed and chopped song.
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Tips & Warnings
The Internet houses a couple of other audio editing applications, but you will not be able to chop a song with these programs, as they are made for sampling, changing the key of a song, and creating new music productions. ScrewLab is the only audio editing application made specifically for chopping and screwing. Unlike other applications, ScrewLab also maintains the sound quality of the original song. The song will have the same great audio quality once it is chopped and screwed.
With chopping, the delay interval depends on the actual speed of the song. In most cases, the delay interval should be 250 or lower for slower songs, on average. It should be approximately 350 or higher for faster songs.
ScrewLab can only read MP3-formatted songs for editing and audio playback. Make sure your music is formatted correctly before attempting to load it into ScrewLab.
The initial ScrewLab download is free for use during the trial period. But as a result, only a snippet of the song can be saved, because you do not have full access to the program. For full access, so you can download and save your full chopped and screwed song, you'll have to purchase an activation key for your ScrewLab download.
Chopping requires a little experimentation. The chop rate depends solely on the speed of the actual song. So you'll have to work with the numbers a bit, until you find the chop you want.
References
Resources
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