Turntablist transcription methodology

Turntablist Transcription Methodology, or TTM, is a notation system for scratching and turntablism designed by John Carluccio (a Brooklyn-based artist best known for the Battle Sounds documentary film on turntablism), by Ethan Imboden, and by Raymond Pirtle. It is intended to be an intuitive graphical representation of the movement of a record whilst performing with a turntable, and was originally documented in a booklet form for distribution.

The system has achieved acclaim from a number of recognizable turntablists, and is becoming increasingly accepted as a valuable method for transcribing turntablist music. However, it has not yet seen many compositions released in written format as is the project's intention: only the future will reveal the eventual extent of its usage for this purpose.

Lesser-used systems of turntable notation have been devised by other Turntablists, and whilst they are less commonly available and/or used, they deserve a mention. One example of an alternative system is that developed by composer Raúl Yañez for DJ Radar, which was used to transcribe his Concerto For Turntable and uses traditional musical staves and notes to record the scratches. This system is limited in comparison to TTM, however, as it does not give such clear directions over the many aspects of scratching, such as velocity, direction, and crabbing.

The TTM musical notation system has aided in the communication and collaboration among DJs, turntablists, musicians and producers. It has been recognized as the industry standard of musical notation for turntablists worldwide.  The TTM system is used by renowned DJ instructors at Electronic Music Collective, Scratch DJ Academy, School of Scratch, The Beat Junkies Institute of Sound, and Q-bert’s Skratch University.

TTM origins

While documenting the X-ecutioners first studio recording X-pressions, John Carluccio created the notation system in 1997 and started testing his rough concept with DJ Rob Swift [1]and turntablists. [2] In 1998 he partnered with industrial designer Ethan Imboden to create a TTM booklet, and by 2000, with additional aid from DJ Rae Dawn (Raymond Pirtle), a full detailed booklet was distributed at The Battle Sounds Turntablist Festival  #4 at New City’s Symphony Space on February 5, 2000. [3]The TTM booklet has been downloaded, shared, and translated versions in Italian, French, Spanish[4] have been created by turntablist enthusiasts. [5] In 2001, John Carluccio was named by Time Magazine as one of the next 100 Innovators in music for TTM.[6] In 2004, Scratch Magazine (issues #1- #6) featured TTM notations in a reoccurring column that explained iconic hip-hop scratch patterns.

References
  1. "Rob Swift TTM demo". www.synthtopia.com. October 2009.
  2. McKinnon, Matthew (2012). "Drop the Needle: John Carluccio has found a way to transcribe the ineffable art of scratching".
  3. Turntablist, LLC (2000). "Official TTM booklet (pdf)" (PDF).
  4. Tom, Perchard (2017). "From Soul to Hip Hop". Google Books.
  5. Mark, Katz (2012). Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ. Google books. ISBN 9780195331110.
  6. Josh, Tyrangiel (2001). "Music: TURNTABLIST EXPERT: Now Every Night He Saves a DJ's Life". TIME MAGAZINE.
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