The evolution of a disc jockey
The evolution of a disc jockeyThe Evolution of a Disc Jockey In The Hip-Hop Culture
With the turn of the century, a musical evolution began. The phonograph was part of this musical change. It was a simple musical output device. The role of
this musical component was greatly regarded as that of just a music player during the modernistic period. During the modern era, the world was changing
from the traditional beliefs of more philosophical, social conscious, scientific
ideas. This is when John Cage during the thirties came on to the phonographic
scene displaying the manipulation of a song into abstract tunes exhibiting
modernist thoughts. As the modern period came to a close, post-modernism followed in its path. One of the most notable post modern events is that it has
unravelled and left music "hanging loose" for people to do as they please by
dissecting and recreating that which has already been created and recreated.
During this period, which is still currently evolving, Pierre Schaeffer in the forties
most likely gained influential ideas from John Cage in his attempts to redefine
tunes and make them into segments and samples of unfamiliar notes. It was the
seventies that proved to be the pivotal point of the disc jockeys evolution. No
longer were people putting quarters into the jukebox, or dancing to the American
Bandstand, but enjoying parties that offered live entertainment. In the late
seventies, the disc jockey changed and evolved different musical cultures into
segments. Along came the culture of hip-hop. Hip-Hop lent their open ear
allowed the disc jockey to let the creativity flow. The role of the disc jockey in the hip-hop society evolved into much more than just playing music. The early revolutionaries and their musical ventures contributed to the hip-hop society. The ventures of various musicians helped maintain the role of the
turntables integrity to become more than just a music player. This was exemplified by one man, Pierre Schaeffer, who is now believed to be a visionary
in the turntable arts. " By using multiple turntables, Schaeffer would cue desired sounds from existing recordings...his only means for altering the sounds of the discs were through changing the speeds of the turntables, creating repeating loops or grooves in the disc...and adjusting the volume and playing the sounds backwards" (Holmes 120). Also during this time another fellow musician of Schaeffer's that also contributed his thoughts on this subject. John Cage presented his ideas to the Seattle Arts Society in 1937 with the hope of getting some type of recognition for the turntable. "With a phonograph it is now possible to control any one of these sounds and give to it a rhythm within or beyond the reach of imagination. Given four phonographs we can compose and perform a quartet for explosive motor, wind, heartbeat and landslide (Cage). John Cage demonstrated the creativeness of warping the sounds, pre-dating disc jockeys by nearly forty years. These two men greatly contributed to the dawn of the hip-hop society....
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