Scratching Effect in Music

Let's get on to some of the more flamboyant effects that I do, one of which is the scratching effect.

Origin of the Scratching Effect

A lot of people ask where the scratching effect comes from. They question whether it's all in the voice or if it's played.

• Answer: It's both. It can be anything.

Working on Upper Range

The scratching effect is about:

• Working on your upper range.
• Getting good at playing up there while you're in your upper range.

Notice how I wasn't hitting any partials? That was all a pure GLISP with no valves down. That's part of the key to being able to articulate within that gliss.

Articulation

If you can go, that's going to be where those notes live.

• You don't want it to sound too much like:
  • "That's just double tonguing. That's nothing."

The important thing is that it moves within.

That's all just played right there. Okay? And you can do it with your voice. That's all, just with the voice.

Mixing Techniques

You mix them together, and you get something new. For example, again, the key to this stuff is rhythm.

• If you're not in time, it's just a bunch of messing around.
• It makes no sense to anybody.

Usage of the Effect

The important thing is that you use it sparingly, very sparingly.

• While you're using it sparingly, make sure that you're thinking about the landing, not the journey.
• The essential aspect is that it ends and that it ends in the right place where the bass drum comes in.

Not just that you're making this sound.

Effectiveness and Surprising the Audience

This technique only works if you can come up with really spare places to put it and ensure that it stays surprising every time that you do it.

• If it just starts to sound like you have one sound, and you do the same thing every single time...
• Really quickly, the audience is going to get bored with it.

Keeping It Moving

So, the key to it is to keep everything moving. All right?