Scene at Berklee presents snapshots and stories from the hundreds of clinics, workshops, performances, and other events that take place in our community year-round.
There are few names as significant to the story of hip-hop's origins as Grandmaster Flash. The DJ's technical innovations in breakbeat looping, scratching, and more paved the way for himself and a generation of DJs to create the musical bed for what would become modern rap music. I am not the first DJ ever-absolutely not. I am the first DJ to make the turntables an instrument, Flash told students at the Berklee Performance Center on Wednesday during an in-depth demonstration of his most influential techniques. I love the fact that the kids are trying to learn this, he said. The computer corrects you all the time. Vinyl is like being on the 100th floor, no net.
Chief among the techniques Flash presented was his quick-mix theory, which he developed in order to create an endless loop between two records playing the same sample on separate turntables. He accomplished this by spinning one record backwards to the precise point where the phrase began while the other record is playing. To dial that in precisely, he discovered a shorthand that worked: to get back to the start of a four-bar musical phrase, he had to turn the record back six counterclockwise revolutions. Flash also explained how he spliced wires out of stereo components and into a mixer using Krazy Glue to create a system that would allow him to hear both turntables in his headphones-a major technical advancement. And during his final turntable demonstration, he admonished students to always remember the most important rule when sampling short passages of vinyl: This is the Biblical law of DJing: you must never go into the wack part.
Learn more: Berklee's Ensemble Department offers a range of turntable courses and performance groups led by faculty including Brian Raydar Ellis.
Related categories:
Scene at Berklee
News
Related Reading
Berklee's Encore Gala Celebrates 25th Anniversary The landmark event will feature Chaka Khan, Grandmaster Flash, Livingston Taylor, and Twisted Pine, along with more than 150 faculty, alumni, and student musicians.
Encore Gala Raises $2.3 Million for Berklee City Music The 25th annual Encore Gala included guest musicians such as Chaka Khan, Grandmaster Flash, and Livingston Taylor.
Feel the One: Terri Lyne Carrington and Others Get Mystical with Jazz Advice The drum legend and Berklee professor put together a special ensemble to perform and field questions from students.
More from Berklee Now
Most Popular
Listen to the Berklee Artists Who Made 2019s Best Music Whether it was pop, hip-hop, indie, bluegrass, or jazz, Berklee artists performed and produced some of this year's most critically acclaimed tracks.
Latest
Scene at Berklee: Grandmaster Flash The turntable pioneer shared the Biblical law of DJing and other practical wisdom from the early days of hip-hop.
Associate Professor Margaret McAllister Named Fulbright Scholar With McAllister's award, Berklee has received the designation of being a top producer of Fulbright U.S. scholars.
Berklee Presents The Coming: Black History Month Celebration The musical narrative features Daniel Black reading excerpts from his book The Coming, compositions from Tia Fuller's Grammy-nominated album Diamond Cut, and more.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Berklee Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Snapchat
Soundcloud
Spotify
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Scene at Berklee presents snapshots and stories from the hundreds of clinics, workshops, performances, and other events that take place in our community year-round.
