Help A Young Digger Please

Well, I'm 15 and i got records, but i'd like to know more about old artists so i can learn and make it easier to choose records. Do you guys have any tips on learning, starting with not a lot of specific knowledge is hard.
I'm gonna be sampling mostly jazz, funk, soul, rock, latin, reggae, stuff like that.

I appreciate any help given.

Just listen to what u got.. and listen to alot of hiphop.. and work out what type of thing has been used to make the hiphop u listen to, listen to how things have been chopped etc...

and listen to ur records alot to hear those types of things and get used to whats what etc, chop them up in ur head and hear how they could be used

U'll soon start pickin up on sh!t and realizin whats useful to urself and whats not, end of day everyone is different when it comes to that, but regardless of personal preference its always obvious what u could class as a break and what u wouldnt etc...

Just listen, break sh!t down in ur head.. and listen some more, it will soon click and u'll know whats what.

Hope that helps, get at me if u got any specific question, any questions about a particular genre etc.. coz ur question was very open

ok thanks. What i mean is, there's so many records, i don't know what to look for. I don't want to just grab anything. I have some pretty decent records already, but i got those by chance. I went on thebreaks.com and looked for what artists were sampled for some of my favorite beats, but that feels like cheating.

thanks for the help.

First, something easy you can do...

Always read the liner notes on your records. Read the credits. Check all the players listed, check the label, year etc. You may have no idea who those people are, but if you see their name on enough records, you will start remembering them.

When you go out to buy records, look at the credits on the ones that catch your eye. You might see the name of a bass player you like or something.

Also...

there's these books that I have that I find are pretty good references. There is a website too, but I like to have the books. I'll pay the money if it means I don't have to wait for a web page to load. Check them out here

http://www.allmusicguide.com/

They have biographies on many artists and info on all their albums. Each genre of music has it's own book.

Also, read the notes on some of your favorite hip hop records. If there's a song you like that has a cool sample, it might be listed. Maybe you can try to find that record or something and it will introduce you to some new stuff.

A good start would be to try and find some records on the CTI label. They aren't hard to find or too expensive, and for the most part they put out some dope music. You'll notice a lot of the same musicians are on a lot of the records.

If you're at a thrift store or wherever and they have records for cheap, I'd pick up whatever looks interesting. Not too much goes into it. They aren't gonna cost a lot anyway. Maybe you got something good, maybe you didn't. You'll start to pick better ones the more you do it though.

Peace

here check it out this will help you some

now u just have to read the liners and see WHO they played with .


you need to SEARCH this forum there's a lot of valuable info on here.

thanks for the help you all. i'll be doin work on this, i like lookin at old records, something about it...

hey i feel u, im 16, been into records for almost 2 years now. its an amazing thing, and unfortunately, not many kids are into records. anyways, there's no real shortcut u can take when it comes to digging. u learn by experience, u eventually know what u want to look for. personally, i like 70s soul the best. everyone has different preferences.

i suggest you get a numark pt01. that is the digger's best friend. this way, you can listen to all the records before buying them, so u can find samples and won't waste ur money on sampleless records

all i can tell u is get out there and dig man, and dont limit yourself! You can find good stuff from anything. But yea the categories of music u mentioned there is pretty damn broad anyway, so just get to the record spots and listen to stuff ur interested in, and over some time u will get a taste for watever it is u like the most.

loh90 wrote:hey i feel u, im 16, been into records for almost 2 years now. its an amazing thing, and unfortunately, not many kids are into records. anyways, there's no real shortcut u can take when it comes to digging. u learn by experience, u eventually know what u want to look for. personally, i like 70s soul the best. everyone has different preferences.

i suggest you get a numark pt01. that is the digger's best friend. this way, you can listen to all the records before buying them, so u can find samples and won't waste ur money on sampleless records

yo real real talk, a portable turntable will save alot of time, theres been time where ive got records, get home a jam to em and then there aint shit on em, but dont limit yourself to certin types of music, check out sum stuff u wont usually pick up it,u never know it might be sum real good stuff, it has happen to me

Spend a lot of time in the dollar bins and at thrift stores. They are your ally. You can try and research on the net to see who your favorite producer's influences are. You can try to look for certain labels like blue note, stax, or KUDU ... but really it's whatever you like. If you can't afford a portable turntable, find a record store with a turntable for you to listen with. Spend like 8 hours one day listening to everything that catches your eye. Then, try and remember the musicians, label, and/or producer on the ish you like. Then find another store and do it again. Then another. Then another.

dusty fingers

dopedee wrote:dusty fingers

noo... maybe as a starting point to learn how to chop but take in mind these samples have been used heavily and as a digger u wanna find those rare records that are gonna separate u from the next guy.

word up, im 17. i just started digging about 6 months ago and the best way that i would tell you is to just buy records. youll learn what you like as far as artist,label.once youve got a couple names that you like you can start searchin on theweb for arists that are like them. atleast thats how i do it. keep diggin

"yo real real talk, a portable turntable will save alot of time, theres been time where ive got records, get home a jam to em and then there aint **** on em"

Man sometimes the dumbest records will have that perfect 2 bars, I know it's strenuous listening to em though

there isn't no shortcut to digging just keep on listening and digging those records. If you plan on really getting into it though i would get a portable turntable. Useful for car boot sales and charity shops.

Look at the musicians at the back, loads of musicians have performed with each other especially in jazz. e.g. John Coltrane has performed with Elvin Jones and he has also put solo albums out.

Look at the instruments they use: do they use synths? Is there any drum solos? etc.

Funk and soul has been done to hell. Don't be afraid to dig something different. Shit even your dad's rock albums have breaks on them.

Don't be/get obsessed about looking for rare records. Just look for things you enjoy listening to. some rare records suck balls anyways and digging rare records won't make you a good producer.
Its always good to listen to the well known heavy sampled stuff you never heard, e.g. David Axelrod, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Headhunters, etc.

Don't pay too much. Think about your purchases before you give the badly dressed store guy your $$££.

Don't dig on a saturday! The busiest days are saturdays. so the record stores might be a bit empty.

Don't be afraid of comps. **** what ppl say. Comps are a great starting point for people to kno the classic breaks and also a good start for people to learn chopping them.

keep diggin!