Counting bars gives you the ability to know where you are in a song, even when the drums are not there as a reference point. In this lesson, I show how counting can be used to create structure by letting the music play for four measures, scratching for four measures, and stopping before an arrangement change. The lesson demonstrates how counting gives you more control over where you place your scratch phrases and allows you to be more deliberate and creative.
Below is the original transcript from the video.
The ability to be able to count bars changes everything. It’s a great skill to have because it gives you the ability to know where you are in the song at all times.
This is because counting allows us to be able to know where the beats are when there are no drum sounds for us to use as a reference point. In the last video, we used a beat that didn’t have the typical kick drum on the first beat of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th measures.
A lot of DJs use the drums as a reference point for mixing in a new song or knowing where to scratch. If you can count, it doesn’t matter if the drum isn’t there.
No drums were a nightmare for me when I didn’t know how to count. I had to rely on instincts and feel as well as complete and total concentration. I always felt uneasy, especially when using a cappellas.
Luckily, I never train wrecked in public when I dropped an acapella, but it was a total nightmare because I always was praying that the drums would come in on beat. If you want hear a good example of what I’m talking about, click the link in the description and go to 42:40.
Do you want to hear something crazy? I didn’t know how to count and that’s because I didn’t know I was supposed to count. You don’t know what you don’t know. Here is the thing. Counting changed my life. I wouldn’t be here making this video if I didn’t learn how to count.
Luckily, those days are over. Now that I can count, I have more control and I can be deliberate with what I do. Which means that I can be more creative. I often count bars when I want to scratch into a song that has music arrangement changes.
For instance, with this track, I would let the music play for 4 measures and then I would scratch for 4 measures and stop scratching just before the sound effect comes in.
I would probably let the music continue to play and prepare to mix in another song or I might scratch again. Essentially the point I’m trying to make is that we are counting bars to create structure for the routine. The ability to count gives us the freedom to place our scratch phrases wherever we want. If you want to know more scratch phrasing, check out the next video! We take the mystery of Scratching. Links are in the description.
Peace!
FAQs
1. Why is counting bars useful when there are no drums?
Counting bars is useful when there are no drums because it allows you to know where the beats are without using drum sounds as a reference point.
2. How does counting bars help create structure for a scratch routine?
Counting bars helps create structure for a scratch routine by allowing you to decide when to scratch, when to stop scratching, and where to place scratch phrases within the music.
3. How can counting bars give a DJ more control and creativity?
Counting bars gives a DJ more control by allowing deliberate placement of scratch phrases, which creates more freedom to decide where those phrases occur in the song.
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.
Continue to: How Phrasing Works in Scratching | 4-Bar and 8-Bar Examples
