ABSTRACT
To be able to analyse the creative process of hip-hop turntable teams from a devising standpoint it is necessary to compare their creative process with devising models. To assist in this, a model framework of the devising process has been constructed, based on the major elements outlined by Kjølner, Lamden, Oddey and Landy and Jamieson. This framework has been created not to provide a practical detailed template for devising groups to follow, but to enable the identification of any similar patterns in the creative processes of the teams studied:
Table 6.1 Model framework of the devising process
of the group • Allocation of roles • Establish skills of individuals • Establish common artistic ground
process • Generate and share ideas • Create and share material
Stage 3 Rehearsals phase 1 • Establish creative framework • Create basic ‘template’ for structure • Generate material • Try sections
• Develop ideas and content • Set and work on individual and
group tasks • Share with group • Select and discard material • Confirm content and clarify sections • Reflect and evaluate • Re-work according to feedback
This chapter will aim to produce a suitable analytical methodology for the study of the composition processes of hip-hop turntable teams and will be structured in three main sections. The first section will look at some existing analytical methodologies for hip-hop and popular music in general, discussing their suitability for an analysis of team turntablism. The second section will focus on frameworks for the analysis of hip-hop turntable music and the development of a new analytical model. The final section will explore emerging notation and transcription techniques and, following a discussion of the implication and use of such systems, set out a notational system for the analysis of specific turntable team compositions.
