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Location: New York, NY | I've noticed that some of the newer bands, like Deftones, Incubus, Linkin Park, have a turntablist or deejay as a full-fledged band member. Being in my late forties, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of some guy scratching records being on the same level as someone playing a regular musical instrument. On the other hand, I confess total ignorance as to what a turntablist actually does, besides scratching said records, and how one might contribute to a band's sound.
Has anyone ever worked with a turntablist?
Do they have to practice like the rest of us?
My apologies in advance to any turntablists out there! |
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Location: Simpsonville, SC | as much as I hate to admit..... and it's definately not my cup of tea...but banging on a skull with a leg bone can be considered music.. if it brangs sometin to da party...OK by me! ;) |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by BegginJIM:
banging on a skull with a leg bone Explaining how Carlo Gambini got his first top ten hit... |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | I think the soundman should be considered a bandmember first.
That said, I like the sound of Sugar Ray and they consider the DJ a member. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Mixing, scratching, any music done by a geek with a PC keyboard...
NONE OF THIS IS "LIVE" MUSIC!
Even a thwacking a Cow-Bell is music.
But scratching a record is not music.
Understand, it may take a form of "talent" and practice. But that does not make it music.
While typing this, I decided that if you cannot do it without electricity, it is not music.
All electronic musicians can play acoustic.
Even keyboardists can play a piano, or pipe organ.
Naw, I'm mistaken, that don't work!
You can scratch with a crank-up gramophone...
Even if you scratched with a Gramophone, it still wouldn't be music! :mad: |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Has anyone ever worked with a turntablist?
No
Do they have to practice like the rest of us?
Probably. They function like a percussionist.
To me they are a gimmick, good for one song. Then back to the disco with them. |
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Location: big island |  |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Vic`sekipedia :
TURNTABELIST : Humanoid band in a box a.d 2000-and something. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | NO.
next question. |
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Location: East Tennessee | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal:
NO.
next question. Blunt, to the point and Right. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal:
NO.
next question. If a Banjo-Player plays Celtic Music, I he still a Hillbilly? :confused: |
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Location: Central Florida | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal:
NO.
next question. You beat me to it, Bill! |
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Location: Cicero, NY | "If a Banjo-Player plays Celtic Music, I he still a Hillbilly?"
Better question - if a banjo player playing Celtic music is shot down before he finishes his first tune, are the rest of my drinks on the house? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | A turntablist is a musician, just like someone heating up a freakin hotdog in a microwave oven is a chef. Dave |
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Location: East Tennessee | Originally posted by Tupperware:
A turntablist is a musician, just like someone heating up a freakin hotdog in a microwave oven is a chef. Dave 
Now I can put Chef on my resume. :D |
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Location: NJ | back in the mid 80's I was putting a new thing together. dj's were the rage and no one seemed interested in musicians at the time. I envisioned combining a dj with a live band and thought that it would be gimmicky enough to work. everyone thought I was crazy.
years later I was beaten by the beatie boys, ice T and biohazard, kid rock etc etc etc.
I guess I am just way ahead of my time.... |
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Location: East Tennessee | Originally posted by Weaser P:
"If a Banjo-Player plays Celtic Music, I he still a Hillbilly?"
Better question - if a banjo player playing Celtic music is shot down before he finishes his first tune, are the rest of my drinks on the house? Where is Jiffy Pop? |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Didn't mean it, Jiffy.
The Evil Twin again. |
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Location: CA | Another 'no' vote here. Of course, I don't think rap is music either, and the 'musicians' who play or 'sing' rap? Hah! in much of it are only musicians because they own an instrument. 90% of the bass lines you could teach to a 12 year old in about five minutes. |
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Location: Indiana | Or a 5 year old in 12 minutes.....or less
Bill |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Is a commercial airline pilot a janitor?
Is astronomy one of the culinary arts?
I guess on some level they are "musicians" because on some level, they create "music" sometimes but Rap is sung by Rappers, no singers (although some also sing.) DJ's (turntableists) MIX sounds, beats and music to create something to dance to.
I'm sorry, but this has been a pet peeve of mine. One of many probably, but comments like "I like all music but RAP" makes as much sence to me as "I like all Actors except Pilots" There are some actors that fly and some pilots that act, but one really has nothing to do with the other. There are some Rappers that sing, and some DJ's that play music and some Musicians that Rap, and are pretty good DJ's.
Kid Rock is a great example. He plays guitar well enough and writes some good tunes. He's also a master behind two turntables. I'd call him a musician.
Has anyone ever worked with a turntablist? - YES
Do they have to practice like the rest of us? - Probably More than most of us put together.
I don't have the coordination, and I've tried. Oh sure, a little wicha-wicha I can do, but really... scratch like some of these guys, forget-about-it. They are playing segments, mixing, matching volumes, tempo and pitch and doing it all live. Not an easy artform by any stretch. Even if you are not into it, go see a demonstation some time, or maybe someone else can recommend a video to watch. Some of these guys are truly artists.
You might as well say Wendy (Walter) Carlos or Mike Oldfield, or Rio Kawasaki aren't musicians either. |
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| "Do they have to practice like the rest of us? - Probably More than most of us put together."
Speak for yourself. |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | On " TUBULAR BELLS " I thought Mike Oldfield played most of the instruments himself, (if not all of them)...he`s a musician, without doubt,..otherwise I Agree with Mr.Ovation`s comments..
Vic
..those comments were well put.. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by Solid Top aka Enfant Terrible:
On " TUBULAR BELLS " I thought Mike Oldfield played most of the instruments himself, (if not all of them)...he`s a musician, without doubt,..otherwise I Agree with Mr.Ovation`s comments..
Vic
..those comments were well put.. MO did play most if not all of the instruments and would certainly be the "musician" at that point. I was referring to actually producing TB which I'm sure took a LOT longer than recording it did. Edit, cut, tape, mix, loop, repeat, etc.. Still, a musician at that point too as it all goes together "musically." If MO didn't record all the instruments, I would still call the person that put those montsers together, musicians. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by Solid Top aka Enfant Terrible:
On " TUBULAR BELLS " I thought Mike Oldfield played most of the instruments himself, (if not all of them)...he`s a musician, without doubt,..otherwise I Agree with Mr.Ovation`s comments..
Vic
..those comments were well put.. MO did play most if not all of the instruments and would certainly be the "musician" at that point. I was referring to actually producing TB which I'm sure took a LOT longer than recording it did. Edit, cut, tape, mix, loop, repeat, etc.. Still, a musician at that point too as it all goes together "musically." If MO didn't record all the instruments, I would still call the person that put those monsters together, musicians. |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
You might as well say Wendy (Walter) Carlos or Mike Oldfield, or Rio Kawasaki aren't musicians either. Excellent point. When Wlater Carlos came out with Switched on Bach back in the 60's, many in the classsical music world viewed the album with utter scorn. The thinking then was that classical music cannot and should not be taken apart, played and recorded in individual parts, put back together using hi-tech (for then) studio techniques and mixed so that it all comes together as an orchestrated piece. Such recording techniques are now thought of as mainstream. Switched on Bach is now well regarded as a masterpiece.
As for tuntable players, there now are college music courses for turntable performance. Like anything new there's always going to be some resistance by folks who just don't like it.
Music is art. Someone who plays a turntable and creates sounds that are part of a muscial piece is a musician. Same thing for a person who plays a kazoo, a jaw harp, "spoons", etc. Like it or not, they are musicians.
Here's something else. I play guitar, but not very well. I perform in public 3 or 4 times a years anyway. I consider myself a musician, albeit with limited skills. Am I any more or less a musician than someone who is very accomplished at creating turntable sounds? |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Tones put together that generate Soundwaves, which a Person defines as "MUSIC"...How those Tones are being brought about are of Interest to Some people ,people like us,... DJ`s and the like, I may not call "Musicians", but they could be Labelled "ARTISTS", but Why Not call them Musicians..??..is it because they mainly "use" Tones that were conceived by Others, and then have been "Reshuffled", so as not being "original" anymore,...and what about the person who uses an X-tra device, such as Keyboardists, who, for some years have used electronic drummers, and, those that are using a "band in a box", in order to "enhance" their Performance,... Things have changed fast in the last couple of decades, so Redefinitions maybe in order.. :)
Vic
...a Musician is an Artist, an Artist is not allways a Musician..how Often they perform is Irrelevant.. :) |
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Location: Cicero, NY | Sorry, gg...I'm just funnin' around with Jiffy as we're prone to do from time to time. If we didn't, he just wouldn't feel loved, would he...? Think of it this way - didja ever see a Mother Goose leave the slow one behind? No way! Well, we're not gonna leave the slow one behind either. Unh-unh, not gonna happen.
(Ok, well maybe that was a tough analogy but I'm tryin'...! ;) ) | |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by guitargirl777:
(banjo is for sale by the way..any takers? :D ) Not right now... But Someday.
Gotta learn how to play all these guitars first! | |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Arthur, repeat after me :
I`m a guitar Virtuoso..I`m a guitar Virtuoso..I`m a..
Vic
..repeat until your fingers bleed.. :D | |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Maybe this needs to be clarified a bit.
Are these wankers musicians? You know, they very well could be and they could be good ones too. Like the example of Mike Oldfield who spent more time mixing than playing. So yes they could be really musicians.
However they are NOT when they are making noise with a turntable. That is not creating music, it's just playing bits of it. | |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I well remember Switched on Bach. It was the first 8-track tape I ever bought that was recorded in quadrophonic, with all eight tracks (four channels) running in a single direction, to play on my nifty new Panasonic quad set up. Still have the Panasonic in the living room and the receiver and amp work fine with some form of analog splitting of the L/R channels into front and rear, but the quad 8-track quit working years ago. | |
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Location: CA | The 'rap' thing is also a pet peeve of mine. But it's not an apples/oranges thing, or a musician/pilot thing. The music INDUSTRY considers those guys 'artists'. They make 'albums' in the studio (which — maybe it's just me — all sound exactly alike) and are on the billboard charts and they attend and receive awards at shows like the Grammys. So for lack of a better pigeonhole, I feel the industry considers them musicians. But wherever you classify them, my all-time biggest pet peeve is how much money they get paid for having so little talent. The emporer truly has no clothes. | |
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Location: enid, ok | Hey, when did Kid Rock write a good song? | |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | never. | |
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OT: Are turntablists really musicians?