The Baby Scratch: Builds Foundational Skills
If you’re just starting to scratch, this is the place to begin. The Baby Scratch may look simple from the outside, but underneath it lies the core movements that form the foundation for everything else in scratching. It’s the scratch that teaches your hands how to move.
Most DJs first learn to baby scratch by instinctively moving the record back and forth. What separates a good scratch DJ from someone who’s just moving vinyl is control. And that starts with understanding rhythm. Without an understanding of rhythm, the Baby Scratch becomes guesswork. With knowledge, it becomes music.
In this post, we’ll look at the Baby Scratch not just as a basic technique, but as the first step in a structured progression rooted in rhythm and music theory. This is where you’ll start developing control, feel, and timing. These are skills you’ll rely on for everything that comes later.
Understanding How We Approach the Baby Scratch
The Baby Scratch is executed by pushing the record forward and pulling it back while leaving the crossfader open. For the most part, you’re not cutting the sound in and out yet. You’re simply focusing on record control and movement.
- Each movement should fall in time with the beat.
- Forward and backward strokes are controlled, not inconsistent.
- The sound should lock into the rhythm like a drum beat.
That’s where rhythm and theory come in. If you can’t feel the beat or understand where the sounds land, your scratching may be affected by a lack of understanding of time. You may feel disconnected when scratching a rhythm that you are not comfortable or familiar with. But when you can feel the beat and understand where the sounds will land, the Baby Scratch becomes a tool for musical self-expression, not an elementary technique.
We recommend starting the Baby Scratch using simple rhythms with quarter notes and rests. It may seem super basic or overly simple, but this is where everyone starts when embarking on the journey of learning music and studying an instrument. Use a metronome or a drum loop and start with a tempo where you feel comfortable. Write the counts of the rhythms down if you need to. To help you stay in time, we use simple written rhythms that show exactly when each movement should happen. The goal is to teach your hands and your brain how to think and move in time.
Since real DJ setups often require switching which hand controls the record and which hand controls the mixer, you should be comfortable scratching with both hands to avoid limitations when performing. So always remember, your strong hand isn’t the only one that needs to be worked on. If you only scratch with one hand, you’re limiting your potential and setting yourself up for problems in the future.
Developing ambidexterity takes time and consistency, but it gives you freedom and flexibility. Switch hands during practice. Build coordination equally. That discomfort you feel when practicing with your non-dominant hand? Don’t run from it. That’s growth.
The Baby Scratch isn’t just some beginner-level technique. It’s the cornerstone that every other technique grows from, and once you truly understand rhythm, you might very well come to the conclusion that it’s the one technique you really need.
The original transcript for the video is below.
Hey what's up? This is Ronin from Scratching Made Easy. In this lesson we will go over quarter notes and quarter rests.
Hopefully, you’ve already checked out our previous video on some of the basics of rhythm. If you’ve already done that, you’ll be up to speed with what we are about to cover. In the last video you learned that the bottom number of the time signature tells us which note will be the pulse of the music.
Remember that the pulse is what we often bob our heads to when listening to music. In other words, the pulse is the beat. When the bottom number is a four, this means the quarter note will get the beat. When we count this rhythm, we count ONE TWO THREE FOUR ONE TWO THREE FOUR. We only count to four, because the top number of the time signature lets us know only four beats are allowed in one measure.
Rhythm 1
Now let's apply what you just learned to the baby scratch. Put your hand in a comfortable position between nine and twelve, and make sure that the cross fader is in the open position, so we can hear the sound. Now let's play two measures which are often called bars. The tempo is at 85 beats per minute. Here we go!
Rhythm 1
Congratulations! You just played your first two measures. Now let's play the rhythm again, but this time let's focus on counting out loud. I know it sounds crazy, but overall, this will help you in the learning process. Here we go!
The first time I did this I realized that my timing was terrible, and I had a hard time controlling the record and staying on beat. If you keep at it, all of that will change over time. That being said, let's move on to the quarter rest.
This is a quarter rest.
Wherever there is a quarter rest, you should rest for one beat. When we count this rhythm, we count ONE, TWO, THREE, ONE, TWO, THREE.
Rhythm 2
We only count to three because there is a quarter rest on beat four. Now that we have covered the basics of the quarter rest, let's play these next four bars.
Rhythm 2
Let's play the rhythm one more time and make sure that our strokes are clean. When I say clean, I mean the strokes should sound the same. We want a clean and consistently good sound. Here we go!
Rhythm 3
Now let’s move on to another example, but this time let's focus on playing even strokes. We want the strokes to be evenly spaced apart. You want to be right on beat. Here we go!
Rhythm 4
Now that you have some of the basics, let’s move on to our last rhythm. We’ll continue working on getting strokes that are evenly spaced apart, that are clean, and on beat. Alright here we go!
If you’re new to this, it’s likely that you’ve made some mistakes—and that’s normal. Be sure to practice until you get the hang of it, and always practice with both hands. If you liked this video, be sure to check out our website, scratchingmadeeasy.com where you find our extended premium lessons. If you have any comments, please leave them in the comment section below. See you next time. Peace!
FAQs
1. What is the Baby Scratch?
The Baby Scratch is a basic scratching technique that uses forward and backward record movement while the crossfader stays open.
2. Why is rhythm important for the Baby Scratch?
Rhythm is important for the Baby Scratch because it teaches your hands and brain when each movement and sound should happen.
3. Why is ambidexterity important when practicing the Baby Scratch?
Ambidexterity is important when practicing the Baby Scratch because real DJ setups may require either hand to control the record or the mixer.
Summary
The Baby Scratch is a foundational technique that teaches you how to move the record forward and backward in time while keeping the crossfader open. Practicing it with simple written rhythms helps develop record control, timing, and a better understanding of where each note should land. Practicing with both hands also helps develop ambidexterity and prepares you to adjust to different DJ setups.
About the Authors
Jason E. Bullock and M. Dwayne Bullock (DjRoninTokyo) are the creators of Scratching Made Easy and the authors of Scratching Made Easy Turntable Method Book 1: A Guide to Scratching. They created a scratch notation system that uses standard musical notation to apply fundamental music concepts to scratching.
Pt. 1 → Pt. 2
Continue to: How I Learned to Scratch on Beat - The Baby Scratch (Part 2)
