There are DJs and then there are DJs. Over the years, the terms DJ and music producer have become synonymous in some respects, and it’s kind of a misnomer. Think of DJ Jazzy Jeff (of the Fresh Prince), who produced the music behind Will Smith’s rap. Producers of electronic music like hip-hop, drum and bass, techno, electro and house (just to name a few) go by names like DJ something-or-rather, which may be the source of confusion.
Technically a DJ is someone who plays records. DJs use two turn tables and a mixer to blend one record into another, occasionally adding scratching as percussion. That’s not to say that being a DJ not a valuable skill set. It’s just not telling the whole story.
I recently learned that manning the turntables takes a lot of technical know-how, hours of practice and a keen sense of rhythm.
“Nobody teaches this,” says Tyler Acord, a DJ, music producer, drummer and student at Tacoma School of the Arts, “You have to learn it from a DVD. Everyone learns it that way.”
Acord explains that DJs use vinyl records called singles that have four versions of the same song: a vocals-only version, an instrumental version, a PG version with no cuss words, and the regular album version. This enables the DJ to match an instrumental version of one song with vocals from a different song. The DJ must also manage to match the tempos together to avoid a mish-mash (clashing tempos).
When DJs mix their own beats, music samples, voice-overs and vocal hooks into their live performances, that’s when they cross over into the music producer game.
Acord, aka DJ Scout, demonstrated the process of beat-making on his computer all the way through to live DJ performance on the turntables, and explained how it’s done and what equipment is needed.
Acord says, “My mom, Sonya Kaye, is a Christian R&B and blues singer, who performs alone and with a local band called Type A.” He explains that having a parent in the music business allowed him access to music gear and musical aspirations early in life. He learned to play drums when he was in the 4th grade on a drum set he bought using $400 that he earned by appearing in a Bisquick commercial as a toddler. He used instruction videos to learn to play them. This drum training proved helpful when he grew older and wanted to learn how to make electronic beats using the software program Acid Pro. Acord is now very adept at splicing and dicing a song in order to add his own beat, change the tone and tempo, and make a completely new version of it. He adds instruments, stutters the vocals, vamps up the choruses, and adds his own signature melodic synth finale. That’s not to say that he does only remixes.
He also makes background tracks for local rappers to rap over using his own completely original beats and instrumentals. Luckily he has an in-house session player, his twin brother, Skyler Acord, also a SOTA student, who adds any guitar and bass parts needed in his projects.
When Acord performs live as a DJ, he can mix his original beats and samples into his set by connecting his laptop to the turntables. He places a vinyl record called a scratch live control record on one of the turntables, and the music from the laptop plays as if it were on that record. This special record contains no music, just a high pitched humming sound that people never hear. It tracks time information that pertains to the time signature of the digital music file playing on the laptop. This enables him to move the music backwards and forwards on the turntable with his hand as if the music were on the record.
Acord explains that scratching techniques are crucial to knowing a good DJ from a bad one. But that’s a lesson for another day.
- Check out DJ Scout’s music at www.myspace.com/djscoutbeats
- Check out the Acord twins in their rock band called The Marque at www.myspace.com/themarquemusic
- For more information about Sonya Kaye visit www.sonyakaye.com or www.type aband.com.