Turntablism

A turntable is a spinning machine used to play vinyl records.

Turntablism is the art of using turntables and a DJ mixer to manipulate sound and create new music, rather than just playing a record from start to finish.

Through techniques like scratching, looping, and beat juggling, the turntable can be used as a musical instrument to turn existing sounds into something original and new.

A regular DJ usually focuses on choosing songs, mixing them smoothly, and keeping the crowd engaged. A turntablist does that differently by actively changing and shaping the sound during the performance.

The term turntablism was made popular by DJ Babu in 1995, although the practice itself had already grown out of hip-hop DJ techniques developed in the 1970s by pioneers like DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Grand Wizzard Theodore.

The term helps distinguish artistic sound manipulation from conventional DJing.