
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 ...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
CueScript and Lighting Design Group Expand Customer Opportunities
Through New Partnership
Find both companies at 2026 NAB Show in CueScript Booth # C 4720
...
20/04/2026
[Sydney, NSW, 20 April 2026] - Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media orchestration platform Streamcake, today announced the formalisation of its i...
20/04/2026
Deployment spans FOX Sports' REMI infrastructure, IP production for a major global soccer event, and its Jewel Events production systems
Appear, a global l...
20/04/2026
Pro Sound Effects Launches the Industry's First and Only Native Sound Effect...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 Update
Brie Clayton April 20, 2026
0 Comments
New update adds camera control and monitoring ...
20/04/2026
Maxon Announces Free Tools and Mobile Expansion of ZBrush and Cinema 4D
Brie Clayton April 20, 2026
0 Comments
Cinema 4D brings professional 3D workfl...
20/04/2026
Vizrt AI Keyer kills the green screen and creates virtual scenes in any environm...
20/04/2026
Register now - Market & Audience Department Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 11 February 2026
Screen Australia Head of Market & Audience Rakel Tansley
Talking to...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia announces funding for 44 documentary projects that reflect a s...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia appoints Tanya Phegan as Narrative Content Head of Development 17 March 2026
Tanya Phegan
Screen Australia has today announced the appointmen...
20/04/2026
Applications Open for Skip Ahead 11 19 March 2026
Past Skip Ahead recipients (L-R): Macfarlane Bros, Rainbow Bop, Lyanna Kea.
Screen Australia and YouTube Aus...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia empowers the next games generation, including new creatives fro...
20/04/2026
Official Co-production Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 26 March 2026
Image (L-R): Mix Tape, Michele McDonald, Flower & Flour.
Interested in international Co-pro...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia announces Narrative Content funding for 91 projects, including ...
20/04/2026
Production Infrastructure and Capacity Analysis (PICA) pinpoints four key workfo...
20/04/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia Announce the 2026 Participants in the T...
20/04/2026
Screen Australia relaunches website with new tools and improved user experience 16 April 2026
Screen Australia relaunches website
Screen Australia has relaun...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Manufacturing is at an inflection point. Across every major industrial economy, ...
20/04/2026
AI agents are transforming how work gets done across all industries, acceleratin...
19/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP and ATEM 4 M/E Constellation IP Plus, two SMPTE 2110-native live production switchers. The ATEM ...
19/04/2026
Grass Valley is finding the right balance between its hardware heritage with an ...
19/04/2026
Oracle's strategy rests on the foundational strengths of Oracle Cloud Infras...
19/04/2026
Program Productions, the live sports production industry's leading crewer, i...
19/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, SVG sat down with Joe Scionti, Account Manage...
19/04/2026
At its 2026 NAB Show keynote event, Ross Video came out swinging with one of its...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) is set to present new services within its evertz.io platform...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) will showcase its IPMX-certified NUCLEUS platform alongside ...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) is set to showcase ENX at NAB 2026, a media core platform designed to support hybrid SDI and IP infrastructures in production facilities and...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) will introduce Studer VistaVUE Touch at NAB 2026, a control surface designed to integrate audio, video and control workflows within a custom...
19/04/2026
Evertz (Booth N817) will highlight X-CALIBER at NAB 2026, an encoding and decodi...