Editing Turntablism (section)

{{Short description|Art of manipulating sound using turntables}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
[[File:DJ Q-bert in France (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[DJ Qbert]] manipulating a [[phonograph|record turntable]] at a turntablism competition in France in 2006]]
[[File:Janek Schaefer playing his Tri-Phonic Turntable 1997.jpg|thumb|World premiere of the Tri-Phonic Turntable, July 14, 1997, London]]
[[File:DJ Jazzy Jeff.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Record producer [[DJ Jazzy Jeff]] manipulating a [[phonograph|record turntable]] in England in 2005.]]
'''Turntablism''' is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, [[sound effects]], mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more [[Phonograph|turntables]] and a [[cross fader]]-equipped [[DJ mixer]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Art Of Turntablism {{!}} History Detectives {{!}} PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/the-art-of-turntablism/|access-date=March 31, 2021|publisher=PBS}}</ref> The mixer is plugged into a [[PA system]] (for live events) or broadcasting equipment (if the DJ is performing on radio, TV or [[Internet radio]]) so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists typically manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth (the popular rhythmic "[[scratching]]" effect which is a key part of [[hip hop music]]),<ref>{{Cite web|last=globaldjacademy|date=March 10, 2019|title=What is Turntablism? {{!}} Turntablism Artists {{!}} Turntablist vs DJ {{!}} Turntablism Songs|url=https://www.globaldj.co.in/what-is-turntablism/|access-date=March 31, 2021|website=Global Dj Academy|archive-date=June 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609011456/https://www.globaldj.co.in/what-is-turntablism/|url-status=dead}}</ref> all while using a [[DJ mixer]]'s cross-fader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records (Greasley & Prior, 2013).

Turntablists, often called DJs (or "deejays"), generally prefer [[direct-drive turntable]]s over [[Belt-drive turntable|belt-driven]] or other types, because the belt can be stretched or damaged by "scratching" and other turntable manipulation such as slowing down a record, whereas a direct drive turntable can be stopped, slowed down, or spun backwards without damaging the electric motor. The word ''turntablist'' is claimed to be originated by Luis "[[DJ Disk]]" Quintanilla ([[Primus (band)|Primus]], [[Herbie Hancock]], [[Invisibl Skratch Piklz]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Falkenberg Hansen|first=Kjetil|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/609824040|title=The acoustics and performance of DJ scratching, analysis and modelling|date=2010|publisher=Skolan för datavetenskap och kommunikation, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan|isbn=978-91-7415-541-9|location=Stockholm|oclc=609824040}}</ref> After a phone conversation with Disk, it was later popularised in 1995 by [[DJ Babu]]<ref>Newman, Mark "Markski" (January 3, 2003). [http://downloads.pedestrian.info/PedestrianHistoryofTurntablism.pdf ''History of Turntablism''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320021024/http://downloads.pedestrian.info/PedestrianHistoryofTurntablism.pdf |date=March 20, 2009 }}</ref> to describe the difference between a DJ who simply plays and mixes records and one who performs by physically manipulating the records, stylus, turntables, turntable speed controls and mixer to produce new sounds. The new term coincided with the resurgence of [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] DJing in the 1990s.

According to most DJ historians, it has been documented that "[[DJ Babu]]" of the "[[Beat Junkies]]" / "[[Dilated Peoples]]" was the one who originally coined the term "turntablist". In 1995 while working on the groundbreaking mixtape "Comprehension", DJ Babu hand wrote the name "Babu The Turntablist" on hundreds of copies of this mixtape to describe his style of DJing, while working on the track "Turntablism" with "[[D-Styles]]" and DJ Melo-D, Babu would say "if someone plays the piano, we call them a pianist, if someone plays the guitar, we call them a guitarist, why don't we call ourselves Turntablists?" found in the documentary "[[Scratch (2001 film)]]" which was released in 2001.

[[John Oswald (composer)|John Oswald]] described the art: "A phonograph in the hands of a 'hiphop/scratch' artist who plays a record like an electronic [[washboard (musical instrument)|washboard]] with a [[Stylus#Use in music recording and reproduction|phonographic needle]] as a [[plectrum]], produces sounds which are unique and ''not'' reproduced—the record player becomes a musical instrument."<ref name="Cox2004">{{cite book |last=Oswald |first=John |author-link=John Oswald (composer)|chapter=Bettered by the Borrower: The Ethics of Musical Debt |editor=Christopher Cox and Daniel Warner |title=Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music |publisher=The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc |year=2004 | isbn=0-8264-1615-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgDgCOSHPysC&pg=PA132 |page=132}}</ref> Some turntablists use turntable techniques like [[beatmatching|beat mixing/matching]], [[scratching]], and [[beat juggling]]. Some turntablists seek to have themselves recognized as traditional musicians capable of interacting and [[musical improvisation|improvising]] with other performers. Depending on the records and tracks selected by the DJ and their turntablist style (e.g., [[hip hop music]]), a turntablist can create rhythmic accompaniment, percussion breaks, [[bassline]]s or beat loops, atmospheric "pads", "stabs" of sudden chords or interwoven melodic lines.

The underground movement of turntablism has also emerged to focus on the skills of the DJ. In the 2010s, there are turntablism competitions, where turntablists demonstrate advanced beat juggling and scratching skills.