Goff General Music students learned about records, turntables, musical technology and the history of hip hop from a local musician on Tuesday. DJ Trumastr visited Music Teacher Jarod Grieco’s classes and showed off his DJ equipment, complete with vinyl records, analog and digital turntables, mixers, control panels, laptops and speakers.
DJ Trumastr showed students how he plays music and how he moves from one song to another during his performances.
He also demonstrated how DJs make the scratching sound by moving his fingers on the digital turntable.
“I never had an opportunity to pick up an instrument, until this. That’s me playing an instrument,” he told students after the demonstration. “Sure, these songs are playing, but me doing that and manipulating that scratch sound is me playing an instrument.”
At the end of the presentation, DJ Trumastr invited students to come to the front of the class so he could teach them how to scratch records.
“Eighth grade students utilized DJ Trumastr’s presentation to gain hands-on experience inside the world of hip hop and DJing,” said Mr. Grieco. “Trumastr showcased the basics of vinyl, the mechanics of turntables, the evolution of the technology through the years, and the musicality of scratching along with a beat. Many students got the chance to try scratching on Trumastr’s own controller and learned it might take more concentration than anticipated to make it sound musical!”
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