Scratching / Hiphop Mixing
An Introduction
It is our philosophy that no one can teach anyone to be a great DJ or producer. The path to both these professions is a long and personal one; practice and perseverance are key. As such, the aim of our sessions is not to turn you into a superstar DJ or producer. If this was possible in two hours, you wouldn't need us, would you?
In contrast to all the other bootcamps and schools out there we are more concerned with making you comfortable with the concepts & history behind DJing and producing while you get your fingers into it, so that when you leave you will understand what it's all about should you want to pursue it.
More importantly, you will have had fun and experience a side of life you have probably only seen from a distance with an instructor who does not just talk the talk, but actually lives the life - working & performing in the music industry. In short, this is an experience you cannot get elsewhere.
Our sessions are two hours, one-on-one inside our actual record store or studio at a cost of $175 (including GST).
Hip Hop Scratching
Do you know the difference between a Crab and a Flare? You will after a DJ scratching taster course in our inner city underground record store! Learn the basics of scratching and the history of hip hop from a working Sydney DJ with years of mixing experience. Are you ready to battle?
If you've ever pulled a record back and forth and liked the noise, then you've been hooked by scratching! But there's a lot more too it, as you will learn with our hip hop and scratching taster course.
Your lesson will be conducted exclusively on vinyl records. This is how scratching was invented and the fundamentals are best learnt without digital bells and whistles to distract you! Your new-found knowledge and skills are then easily transferred to digital media.
Once your lesson starts, you will learn that there are literally hundreds of different ways to scratch, each with its own name but all made up of the same underlying basic moves, and you will get to try many of these on the day. You will also see how you can make records say things by scratching samples in certain ways and learn about beat-juggling in order to create new rhythms from old ones.
You will learn about who invented scratching and why and hear stories of some classic battles that have happened at the world scratching championships.
We provide all the tools and equipment for your DJ scratching course and have the largest range of battle weapons - records with scratch-friendly samples on them - in Sydney. We will even show you the correct way to set up turntables and speakers at home.
The bonus of one-on-one scratching sessions is that you can learn at your own pace. If you want to stick to one area of interest, you can! But most importantly, you will have fun. There's no right or wrong way to scratch or beat juggle, so after you learn the basics, it's all about creating your own style!
Testimonials
We have been providing these experiences for Red Balloon for 5 years
Way more than I expected.
Had an incredible time, was so interesting and enjoyable the people were really relaxed and friendly too so all in all had a wonderful experience. Defiantly a must for music lovers.
I really liked it, Peter was keen to know exactly what I was wanting to get out of the experience which we were then able to tailor the session to what I was wanting to do. 2 hours was a good time to start and it answered a lot of questions I had about audio production. Highly recommended.
Even though it was only 2 hours i gained some real quality information. I look very forward to booking plenty more hours. Great to work with, level headed and open minded. Keep up the good work.
I would tell them, if they want to get into dj'ing this is a must before they do anything!
Red Balloon experiences make amazing gifts!
Great group of guys at the store and with a vast selection of records. I was a complete beginner coming into it and by the end was scratching and mixing my way to enjoyment. A great experience I wont see myself becoming a DJ anytime soon but was a great music experience.
Great one on one experience. Friendly staff with exceptional communication. 10/10
Bit daunting to begin with but got right into it eventually and couldn't get me off the decks...
All good. Lefroy took the time to evaluate my experience. A great learning experience in a chilled / relaxed atmosphere. I recommend
The DJ mixing taster was unbelievable. It was done at the Record Store in Sydney and the DJ, Lefroy was great. He grabbed a couple of beers and went through everything that i needed to know. He let me keep practicing until i got it right and then moved onto the next part of the lesson. Overall the experience is one i wont forget in a hurry!
Great night learning to dj in a relaxed atmosphere, I learnt a lot and i am pumped to learn more!
I would definitely tell those interested in DJing to try this taster course. I learnt a lot, had fun with two of my favourite tracks, and had a couple of beers during to make it relaxing too.
The scratching class was superb. I didn't actually want to leave, and they tolerated this very amiably. A great relaxed atmosphere and teaching that was very responsive to to my particular interests. Top marks - thanks!
I had fun, the boys and the ol' record store are easy going fun and professional
Lefroy was a great teacher, relaxed and really positive and keen to tailor the experience to my musical tastes ... the 2 hrs went very quickly, so I definitely want to do it again. It was also good to practice before hours so that I didn't look like a learner in front of customers! Thanks.
I bought the voucher for my best friend and I went along to watch on the day. The guys at the store were really friendly and made it a very relaxed environment. The experience was great and my friend got a lot out of the day. We will be going back to the Record Store from now on!! Thanks Guys!
The experience was brilliant. often with these things you sit around watching some guy show off his chops and then he calls that a lesson...this was exactly the opposite. i had heaps of time on the decks and got very instructive and logical input from Matt. he very much tailored the lesson to suit my taste and capability. the set up was very relaxed and made me feel very at-home; esp. the beers to help bring the groove! will thoroughly recommend it to my friends
The guys put plenty of effort & extra time in - they are very passionate about what they do and more than willing to share.
I had so much fun being a DJ or 2 hours.. it was an amazing experience.
Getting the original voucher was great, being able to exchange it for something I appreciated more was better
A great experience & I would do it again