Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Moving the record by hand while a needle reads it turns vinyl into a percussion source. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a music fact?

Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

A turntable became an instrument

Moving the record by hand while a needle reads it turns vinyl into a percussion source Block parties in the Bronx pushed the technique into a style of its own. Battle competitions later judged cutting, scratching and timing. Digital controllers imitate the feel while keeping the maths clean. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Music trivia

More facts like this

Vibrato wavers about six times a secondSmall, regular pitch wobbles make a sustained note sound fuller Baroque music ran on a bass line and chordsThe continuo filled in harmony from a figured bass Sampling had to be licensed after a 1991 rulingA court held that taking a recorded phrase without permission infringed the recording Hip hop started at a Bronx block partyA DJ isolating the percussion break gave dancers more of what they wanted Hip-hop's birthday is traced to a party in the BronxDJ Kool Herc played at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on 11 August 1973 The Roland TR-808 built its drums from oscillatorsIt used no samples at all, only synthesised thumps and bursts of noise

Tags: turntables, hip-hop, performance

A turntable became an instrument: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Moving the record by hand while a needle reads it turns vinyl into a percussion source. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a music fact?: Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.