12 replies to this topic

[squatski]

I can do a crab no problem(ish), after realizing I didn't need to put any muscle on my hand/finger, but it being a very very very relaxed hand and fingers. anyway. I do the normal 3 tap crab. The problem I have is going from my usual thumb/index pinch into the crab.... I feel I have to wait half a second to set my hand up right.

for a few months I was resting my 2 little fingers on the area near the x-fader soon to be told (probably here) that this wasn't a good idea in the long run... well you aint wrong!! I'm now trying to re-practice but with my hand hovering above the x-fader... if that makes sense, but I still have a problem going IMEDIATLY into the crab... any advice? or just stick with it for another year? lol thanks guys

edit: I also get this fear in my head before I do a crab that i'm not going to get it right... and that's probably where this feel of getting ready takes place in my hand position.

PS, I'm not hamster just in case you're wondering.

[soul technic]

you might try practicing transformer crabs (starting with closed fader) vs flare crabs (starting with the fader open and closing with your thumb
to start the crab).

also at the end of your crab or pinch concentrate on leaving the fader open and you will be set up to go into a flare or open fader crab and it may help with your control.

bending your thumb to get the click may also help

just my 2 cents

[Eksotik]

Even people considered the best skratchers in the world often rest some fingers near the CF, I don´t think it´s that bad a habit. I sometimes do it, but usually I "hover". Actually I have been training myself to not rest fingers there in the past, but I don´t think it´s a big deal anymore, some things are even easier to do it this way..
I think one thing the resting fingers are useful for is when you try to train yourself to use more fingers than hand, so you can "lock" your hand by putting it against smth to keep movements from it minimal. Similarly I´ve tried to scratch while holding the elbow by the hip, so the arm doesn´t move and I HAVE to use fingers haha.. but yeah there are just (silly?) exercises, but you may discover smth when doing.. anyway, I think it´s good to keep hand placement etc on mind, but on the other hand maybe there´s some weird angle/position for your hands which works for you, but you may be avoiding it

[Vekked]

Eksotik, on 01 March 2013 - 07:20 AM, said:

Even people considered the best skratchers in the world often rest some fingers near the CF, I don´t think it´s that bad a habit. I sometimes do it, but usually I "hover". Actually I have been training myself to not rest fingers there in the past, but I don´t think it´s a big deal anymore, some things are even easier to do it this way..

you can get really good at scratching and still have bad habits... I doubt the reason they became good was because they rest their fader hand. It doesn't do anything but limit your speed for certain cuts and combo's because you keep going from resting on the mixer to not depending on what speed/technique you're doing. Ideally you want to keep your technique as uniform as possible between scratches unless there's a reason to switch it up.

[goldielocksnthethreebrares]

I do that (rest fingers on the f.plate, near xfader), its like driving, bad habits are hard to shift

[Jam Burglar]

I don't think the finger resting is what causes what you're talking about, it might make it worse, but like you said, it's still there even with the hovering. That transitional delay can show up in other things too and I tend to think it's mostly the mental block of getting the scratch down. I chalk it up to muscle memory. Try doing a lot of crab style orbits, either twiddle or 3-finger crab (I mean like 10 or 20 in a row) and then go back to something like chirps for a second or two, then try to re-tranistion into the twiddles/crabs. The other thing you might try is using your middle finger on the fader instead of your index finger before you transition into crabs/twiddles.

I'm not sure this will help you, but I know exactly what you're talking about. You're sratching regular, right?

[Jam Burglar]

Also, if you really want to get out of your comfort zone, ask your granparents to make love on the table next to where you're scratching. Try it! It's fucking crazy man.

[stillspringwater]

Have you tired just doing a forward/drop and then crabbing on the reverse? If you havent I would start there. I find it really helps with your timing too. After drilling those and 1 clicks seperatly (or even 1 click forward, then leaving the fader oper for the pull back) you should find it a lot easier to combine a 1 click forward, then a reverse crab.

[squatski]

thanks for all the replies guys, trying all this out now.

oh yeh, @ jam's last post, haha!

[Eksotik]

Vekked, on 01 March 2013 - 09:58 AM, said:

you can get really good at scratching and still have bad habits... I doubt the reason they became good was because they rest their fader hand. It doesn't do anything but limit your speed for certain cuts and combo's because you keep going from resting on the mixer to not depending on what speed/technique you're doing. Ideally you want to keep your technique as uniform as possible between scratches unless there's a reason to switch it up.

Hehe, yeah sure, that´s why I said "not THAT bad habits".. but for example when resting fingers will give someone better stability or smth when doing a certain movement, then it could be even considered a good habit
Actually so far I´ve come to the conclusion that resting the fingers does practically nothing to help or hinder my cutting, it can rather help if I want to force more movement to fingers, but that´s a practice-thing..

[Vekked]

"stability" seems kind of unnecessary unless you're too weak to hold up the weight of your own hand or something

[Eksotik]

Vekked, on 02 March 2013 - 11:02 AM, said:

"stability" seems kind of unnecessary unless you're too weak to hold up the weight of your own hand or something

Ha ha, I mean lateral movement, not vertical

[chile]

transferring from pinches to crabs and back smoothly took me years.. maybe 3-4.. i tried at first for a few months to just land them but eventually gave up and just practiced other things then naturally over a long time span i started to get used to them until one day i found myself doing them without any hassle. with these sorts of things i think its better not to overdo practicing them. instead maybe just work on scratching in general and occasionally give them a go. i dont think theres much point in trying to focus on nailing them quickly because its not really a regular scratch pattern.. its more about your hands learning those very slight adjustments and readjustments in fader posture that come with experience