Learning to crab

Rytalin · #1 (**permalink**) Jun 23, 01

It's fucking HARD to do...
or at least right now it is.

I just can't seem to get the coordination/speed/snappiness needed for it.

any recommendations as to how to make my fingers agile enough to crab scratch?
finger exercises?
voodoo spells?
anything?

**ƒORM** · #2 (**permalink**) Jun 23, 01

things to master when you're trying to be a turntablist. The key is the motion. I've heard many excercises that will help create the rhythm of the fingertips and the best one to start with is by picking up a set of the chinese balls. No, not your oriental friends nutt-sack but the ones you can buy at those sweet little stores in chinatown. Practice that for awhile and once your able to rotate the balls without having them cling or clang you'll be ready for phase 2.

Rytalin · #3 (**permalink**) Jun 23, 01

BWAHAHAHA... nuttsack....

yeah, I know what you're talking about though. My buddy as a pair of those metal chinese balls. I'll pick a pair up sometime soon.
thanks for the advice.

just out of curiosity though, what is phase 2?

**ƒORM** · #4 (**permalink**) Jun 24, 01

Once your hands are loosened up it's time to practice the crab on a relatively long sample (best found on a scratch record) that is a pitch or even tone. Once you know what a crab scratch sounds like you can get carpal tunnel syndrome learning to master the sound. It takes time and patience and is definitely one of the trickiest apects to master. I hope you're young and you have skinny fingers because if you're a 30 year midget with fat fingers or an ewok you'll definitely have a rough journey ahead of ya.
Lemme know how things go.
Happy crabbin

~Form

dermatitis · #5 (**permalink**) Jun 29, 01

Well, You can do alot of exercises with your fingers alot.

I personally warm up by doing a couple stabs with each finger 4 times then moving on to the next one, then 3 times, then 2, then 1 etc. Just takes a while for you to realize how to move your fingers and such. You may feel some pain, I still have some issues bashing the fader with my pinky, but.. Well thats life.

Perhaps try working on the twiddle first..
But then again, Crabbing isnt everything, it just seems to be the rage now a days. I'd much rather lay out some drags stabs and a few transforms here and there than here a constant crab etc..

Patience; and practice. For some reason it'll just come to you one day, I promise;

Cheers;
Dave