Turntables

Turntables were introduced by composers such as John Cage and Pierre Schaeffer, in 1940s and 1950s. These composers, rather than mastering the turntables, experimented on them. Today, hip hop DJ's combined their beats and developed a completely independent technique. Turntablists or DJs use methods such as scratching and beat juggling in the composition of original musical works to manipulate the beats and the rhyme. Most turntables employ one of three systems, an Idler-wheel drive system, a belt-drive system, or a direct-drive system to rotate the turntable platter. All three of these systems work in different ways to produce sound and yet can be played at different speeds. The Idler-wheel drive system was the most common turntable; however the wheel was easily worn out and would decompose. The belt-drive system added motor and platter isolation, which reduced the rubble. The direct-drive system rotated the platter without utilizing the wheel, belts, or gears as part of the rotation. The composers experimented on these systems, however when hip-hop turntablism began, the entire system was changed. Hip-hop turntables were introduced around the 1970s, when DJ Grand Wizard Theodore accidentally put his hand on the record while it was playing. He discovered the sound of scratching by moving the record back and forth under the stylus. DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash also contributed to hip hop turntablism immensely by laying down some exceptional groundwork. Although Old School DJ's led the way to turntablism, today modern DJ's such as Mr. Hahn, the turntablist of Linkin Park, DJ Spooky, DJ Shadow, and many more, discovered ground-breaking methods of scratching. Turntables today occupy a place in many homes across the world; however the purpose and the usage of these instruments vary immensely. While some individuals like to let the music play, other people such as DJs like to scratch.