Analysis of the Acoustics and Playing Strategies of Turntable Scratching

Abstract

Scratching performed by aDJ(disk jockey)isaskillful style of playing the turntable with complexmusical output. This study focuses on the description of some of the acoustical parameters and playing strategies of typical scratch improvisations, and howt hese parameters typically are used for expressive performance. Three professional DJsw ere instructed to express different emotions through improvisations, and both audio and gestural data were recorded. Feature extraction and analysis of the recordings are based on ac ombination of audio and gestural data, instrument characteristics, and playing techniques. The acoustical and performance parameters extracted from the recordings give afirst approximation on the functional ranges within which DJsnormally play. Results from the analysis showthat parameters which are important for other solo instrument performances, such as pitch, have less influence in scratching. Both differences and commonalities between the DJs' playing styles were found. Impact that the findings of this work may have on constructing models for scratch performances are discussed. PACS no. 43.75.-z, 43.75.Cd, 43.75.St, 43.75.Tv,43.75.Zz 303 ACTA ACUSTICA UNITED WITH ACUSTICA Hansen et al.:A coustics of turntable scratching Vol. 97 (2011)events, butinanatural musical context in which theyare used in combination with each other.In the next section, some characteristics of the DJ instrument are discussed. Then details of the data collection for the experiment are explained. The "Analysis" section describes the steps in the data analysis and feature extraction, including mechanical, acoustical and performance-related features. In the "Results" section, the data from the feature extraction are presented and discussed, both with a general perspective and with af ocus on performance and expressive aspects. The paper finishes with some conclusive remarks on the feature extraction and data analysis, and also proposes some future directions.

Expressivity and Musical Shape in Turntablism: Response to Greasley and Prior

“…For the performances, the DJs were given few instructions and they appeared to be somewhat puzzled by them. This observation matches experiences from previous experiments conducted by Hansen, Fabiani, and Bresin (2011) where DJ participants showed some difficulty interpreting expressions and terms commonly used in research on tune-based or classical music. Even playing expressively to match emotional descriptions ("play with sadness") needed in many cases further explanations or consultation.…”

“…In previous studies, we have seen that DJs are good at expressing different musical intent with the same set of scratching techniques and in a similar way (Hansen, Bresin, & Friberg, 2008;Hansen, Fabiani, & Bresin, 2011). These studies also reveal differences and similarities between turntables and other musical instruments in emotional performance strategies (Juslin, 2001;Friberg, Bresin, & Sundberg, 2006).…”