ABSTRACT
In the beginning was the DJ, hip-hop's creative force and prime mover. Since the late 1980s, virtuoso hip-hop DJs known as "turntablists" have regularly "battled" each other in regional, national, and international competitions, earning prizes and bragging rights for creative, skillful performances. Proponents of turntablist notation, or "turntablature" as it is sometimes called, fall into two general camps: those who are keen to develop a notation style specific to the instrument and those who adapt existing notation styles to the turntable. More recently, some turntablists have also shown an interest in "legitimizing" turntablism as "art," and notation has been one of the key tools turntablists have used to facilitate their entry into the "art" world. Among the proponents for a new scratch notation system is Canada's DJ A-Trak, one of turntablism's superstars. Like A-Trak's notation, turntablist transcription methodology (TTM) replicates the mechanics of making the sounds.
