Today we are celebrating School of Scratch Student Crystal from Hong Kong, who recently completed the 100 days of scratching challenge. ??❤️
Huge congrats Crystal! Well done for sticking with the process, for the progress you have made and for the other DJs you have inspired!
I asked Crystal some questions to help those of you who are considering doing the 100 Days of Scratching Project.
Interview
Hey Crystal! Can you give us some background on your interest in music and scratching?
Hiiii, I’m Crystal and I’ve been playing clubs / events gigs on and off for about 5 years, before ? (School of Scratch) I only know how to mix songs to songs, and only knew some basic scratches like ?? baby and stab scratches.
What made you decide to undertake the 100 day challenge?
I’ve always wanted to learn to scratch and the 100 days challenge sounded like a mission, it’s exciting to me and it’s fun to explore creativity in scratching.
What was your approach?
My approach was to be able to scratch clean, to understand different tricks and scratch to flow with the music.
What is your recording and posting workflow like?
My workflow – when I don’t know which one I want to scratch, I go to the ? classroom then I closed my eyes, put a finger on the screen to point at any scratches and I practice the scratch with the one I pointed at. I started with learning how to do the scratch step by step, very slowly, without any beats and record it to hear if it’s clean then put on a beat to scratch on it. As soon as I can scratch with a beat then I will record it and pick the “I think it’s the best part“ to post it. I recorded the 100 days scratching challenge with iPhone 6s.
What did you learn?
I leaned that I to start with a slower beat to scratch, really take my time and take it slow, real slowwwww, 60 bpm maybe 58bpm.
What were some of the highlights for you?
I think the best highlight was having some of my favourite and unexpected deejays sending me messages telling me about how they’ve seen me improving from time to time and scratching became a hobby to me, I also feel like it’s a meditation (I light up a candle when I practice ? ?♀️.)
What helped you on your way?
Emma (The founder of ?, the school teacher of ? and my amazing life coach aka the Queen ?.)
Emma definitely helped me sooo much, I remembered I was worrying about a lot of things, she encouraged me with lots of love and support and the 100 days daily emails I received everyday that put me in a good mood and of course the ? family, seeing them posting their videos was very inspiring, and knowing that I’m not alone in this.
What didn’t work ?
It didn’t work when I try to be cool… to impress others, because when someone’s scratching fast and clean with different tricks, it’s impressive and I want to be like that too, but in my case, it didn’t work, it reminded me of a Chinese phrase “you can’t run before you can walk.” it means “you can’t take on higher level things before you have mastered the basics.”
What was the most challenging part and how did you deal with that?
The most challenging part is to make time to practice E.V.E.R.D.A.Y, it’s fine when you’ve good days but when I’m not in the mood, it was really challenging and I’ve many of those moody days. The best way for me to deal with it is I tell myself that I only have to scratch for 5 mins, the 5 mins rules always ended up a good 30 mins practice ?
What are your top tips for anyone who wants to undertake this challenge?
My top tips is probably to really take your time, do it as slow as you can. And schedule a time to scratch, make it like it’s part of your daily life, allow yourself to scratch even just for one min ?? and have fun, have lots of lots of fun with scratching!!
If you were to do this challenge again, what, if anything would you do differently?
I’ve seen other ? students have written down their scratch scheduled and the scratches they want to improve on a white board, I think I’d do the same, to set a time, which scratch I want to improve each week, cause I’ve someday just off, I was completely blank and didn’t know which one to scratch!
You are a School of Scratch student. What has your school experience been like?
I’m loving and enjoying being ? student, I used to learn to scratch on YouTube, they are also good but it’s hard for me as a beginner to catch up, ? has a perfect system from setting up equipment to counting bars and all scratches is taught step by step, Emma explained it all in very clean details. I’d recommend anyone who’s interested in scratching to join ?, it’s a big family with love, and Emma is a super nice teacher, she would help you out if you’ve any question!
What is next for you?
My next challenge is definitely joining the School of Scratch monthly challenge and I’ve also started my 100 days producing challenge ⚡️✨.
Where can we find you online?
If anyone is up to collaborate:
- Personal instagram: yes_imcrystal
- Producing instagram: crystal.sty_
- Soundcloud: https://m.soundcloud.com/crystal117
That’s a wrap!
Thanks Crystal! It was so great to watch you show up and really make progress. You inspired so many and I love working with you one on one.
Well done again for taking part and completing this challenge! Looking forward to seeing your continued posts and progress! Let’s go 100 Days of Producing!
One on One Life and Business Coaching with Emma
The life and business coaching work I do with Crystal focuses on helping her grow and expand her DJ business, in line with the vision and goals she has.
If you would like to work one on one with me to create or expand your DJ (or other) business, you can enquire here. Coaching with me is designed to help you create the life that you truly desire.
(Please note that my life and business coaching is not scratch tuition / coaching or DJ training.)
About 100 Days of Scratching
100 Days of Scratching is a project I started and completed (see here) and have been encouraging my students to do the same – as a way to get in the habit of daily practice, documenting progress and connecting with others.
Crystal joins fellow School of Scratch Students Smallimus, Allexia, Thomas, Ashley, Adam, Erick, Magnus, Roly G and Denise who have all completed the 100 Days of Scratching project. What an amazing crew of creators!
Wanna take part in the 100 Days of Scratching Project?
You can take part in the 100 Days of Scratching project and join our group of supportive DJs here:
Join the 100 Days of Scratching Challenge
If you are curious about School of Scratch you can check it out here and sign up below to get 2 free lessons to get you started.
Happy Scratching! 😀
– Emma Short-E