The Chirp: Developing Timing
When developing timing, most of your attention is focused on trying to get both hands to keep moving together. You focus on moving both hands together, opening and closing the fader while moving the record forward and backward. But as your technique becomes more consistent, smaller details begin to become more apparent. You start to notice that the opening and closing of the fader is relative to the record hand’s strokes. You begin to hear when they begin too early or end too late. Small differences in movements between the two actions become noticeable because you understand that there is a relationship.
With time, you begin to recognize whether the record hand or the fader hand is early or late, or if both are contributing to the error. Good timing gives us the ability to understand how the record strokes, fader movement, and rhythm relate to the beat, and this allows you to execute the technique in time with the music.
Good timing matters because the Chirp can only be executed in time when the record hand and the fader hand are in sync. The record moves forward and backward while the fader opens and closes to cut the sound. If the record is off beat, the fader will also be off, and even if the record is in time but the fader is not, the result may still be the same. Recognizing this relationship makes timing errors easier to identify both audibly and visually.
A solid understanding of rhythm and the relationship between the record motion, the fader motion, and the rhythm being scratched helps you develop the technique to the point where you can make adjustments when needed.
Understanding the following will help improve your timing:
- The record must be on beat for the technique to be in time
- If the fader opens too early, the sound comes in before the stroke, and if it closes too late, the sound extends past the stroke, which can take away from the technique’s sharpness and create a sloppy sound
- When both are in sync, you will see, hear, and feel everything moving in unison.
Below is the original transcript from the video.
Rhythm 1
Hey what’s up guys? We are going to continue to build on the foundation of our previous videos on the chirp. In this video, we are going to learn how to play sixteenth notes, eight notes, and quarter notes. If at any time you are confused, remember to re-watch our previous videos. Alright, let’s go ahead and dive into our first example. The tempo is at 86 beats per minute. Here we go!
Rhythm 2
Let's move on to another example, but this time we're going to reinforce the basics. We are going to work on our sound. Let’s focus on playing clean and even strokes. We want our strokes to be clean. We want our strokes to sound identical, and we want them evenly spaced apart. Here we go!
Rhythm 3
Let's go ahead and move on to our third rhythm. We are going to continue to drive home the basics. We’ll work on getting clean and even strokes, but this time I also want you to focus on playing a steady and even tempo while counting out loud. Alright, here we go!
Rhythm 4
For the fourth example, let’s put it all together, but this time we are going to focus on our accuracy. We are going to continue to play clean and even strokes at a steady tempo while we count out loud, but this time, we are going to play this rhythm without making mistakes. It may take a few attempts, but you want to be able to play this mistake-free. Here we go!
We hope that you enjoyed this lesson. As always, be sure to practice this lesson several times with both hands. Do us a favor and hit the thumbs up button, because it really helps us out. And if you liked the video, be sure to share it with anyone who might find the information helpful. If you have any comments, please leave them in the comment section below. Thanks for watching!!! See you next time. Peace.
FAQs
1. Why does timing matter for the Chirp?
Timing matters for the Chirp because the record hand and the fader hand must be in sync for the technique to be executed in time with the music.
2. What does good timing with the Chirp help you recognize?
Good timing with the Chirp helps you recognize whether the record hand or the fader hand is early or late, or if both are contributing to the error.
3. Why is understanding rhythm important for developing the Chirp?
Understanding rhythm is important for developing the Chirp because it helps you understand how the record strokes, fader movement, and rhythm relate to the beat, allowing you to make adjustments when needed.
Summary
The Chirp is executed in time when the record hand moves the record forward and backward in sync with the fader hand opening and closing the fader. Understanding how these movements relate to the beat helps you recognize whether either hand is early or late and make adjustments when needed.
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. 7 → Pt. 8
Continue to: How I Learned to Scratch With the Cross Fader - The Chirp (Part 8)
