The art of playing the turntable as a musical instrument. Not to be confused with DJing, which is more about providing dance music and/or mixing beats. Turntablism is more about manipulating sounds and creating rhythms or even melodies by scratching and techniques using a mixer.
by turtle-bird love slave June 21, 2004
Get the turntablism mug.a form of music, which uses turntables to manipulate the sounds of a record in a rhythmic manner to create a new musical composition.
by TrAnSpArEnT iTcH ZuCcHiNi November 20, 2002
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by The Grammar Nazi August 18, 2002
Get the turntablism mug.1) one who has the ability to improvise on a phonograph turntable
2) "one who uses the turntable in the spirit of a musical instrument" (Dj Babu)
3) a musician; a hip-hop disc jockey who in a live/spontaeneous situation can manipulate or restructure an existing phonograph recording (in combination with an audio mixer) to produce or express a new composition that is unrecognizable from its original ingredients.
2) "one who uses the turntable in the spirit of a musical instrument" (Dj Babu)
3) a musician; a hip-hop disc jockey who in a live/spontaeneous situation can manipulate or restructure an existing phonograph recording (in combination with an audio mixer) to produce or express a new composition that is unrecognizable from its original ingredients.
by DJ Conan December 4, 2003
Get the Turntablist mug.a word coined by Dj Babu(Beat Junkies). turntablist - a person who has been dj'ing for many and multiplte years, having achieved and mastered the beginning levels of djing like mixing (matching b.p.m. and counts on any two musical records)and programming (mixing two different songs that have similar style and "match" each other so you can not notice the transition between the two). a TRUE turntablist can dissect any quantization rhythym on two records and innovate and manipulate the sound LIVE, in realtime to make their own different rhythyms, using a mixer: which switches the sound between the 2 turntables thus giving the option of switching sound from record to record, using a crossfader. when this art is done in a recognizable quantized rhythym this is known as BEAT JUGGLING. another part of turntablism is the skratch. this is when you use one record to play a song, and you use the mixer to switch on and off the sound of your fingers manipulating the other record's sound. there are hundreds of intricate patterns and combinations of record movement along with simoltaneously fader movement which gives the sound of a speedy, intricate, clean instrument (kind of like a drummer's quantization). REAL turntablists' scratches and beat juggles follow the general rules of western music quantization. a REAL tablist does not just scratch, for that is only ONE aspect to the art ... keep this art alive ... dont seel yourself short!! many years of learning and practice and persistance and discipline in this art is the only way you can be honestly called a turntablist.
dj qbert, mixmaster mike, dj craze, the X-ecutioners, dj a-trak, dj pound are all real turntablists. a real turntablist knows how to beat juggle and scratch seemlessly.
by danny elbee September 6, 2006
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Get the Turntables mug.Line from a Beck song called "Where It's At". Two turntables and a microphone are supposed to represent a dick; the shaft and two balls...
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