Grandmaster Flash

Grand Master Flash's "Quick Mix" theory applied

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• published: 19 Mar 2014
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Here's exactly what the "Quick Mix Theory" entails. Identify the "Break". As the Break plays, cue up the beginning of that same part (in your headphones) on the alternate turntable. This requires the use your ears to differentiate the music you're hearing come out of the loudspeakers from the music you're cuing up in your headphones. Once the Break ends on the turntable playing through the loudspeakers, move the mixer's fader over to the opposite turntable (the turntable you've cued the beginning of that same break to) and cut the Break in. Thus, extending or looping that Break section. In order to do this, you must be able to count bars -- assess if the Break is 4 bars, 8 bars, 12 bars, etc. When cuing up the Break, keep in mind it's easier to backspin the record opposed to picking up the needle ("needle dropping" -- invented by Grandwizzard Theodore) hoping you'll place the needle back on to the part of the vinyl where the beginning of the Break starts. The best Djs can actually incorporate both techniques. In other words, pick up the needle, drop it as close to the Break as possible, then spin the record back or forward a rotation or two, if needed, to get to the beginning of the Break. Grand Master Flash's "Quick Mix Theory" is a key DJ skill that has been lost over the years. I'm seeing today's club DJ cue up a record and simply let it play for a few minutes, then mix in a new song... [*yawn]. BOOOORING! I blame it on a variety of things. Music sucks today (breaks in modern music don't exist). The craft of DJing/Turntablism has been watered down by a Vortex of Wackness (wackness begets wackness) and technology has made so students of this art rather press a button to loop a "Break" instead of physically doing the work themselves. My students are a different breed though. In fact, they're a new breed and at the very least my goal is to make sure they ALL have an appreciation for this essential style of DJing.