Introduction to Creative Sampling

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Welcome to our introduction to creative sampling. Let's dive in. Sampling is the process of taking an existing sound and reusing it in a new composition, whether unchanged or manipulated.

Early sampling techniques involved analog mediums such as tape and vinyl. These days, sampling is most commonly done in DAWs, with most DAWs including their own sampling features and plugins. This includes tools to splice, stretch, and transpose the pitch of audio files.

Modern software can also be used to create full virtual instruments out of individual samples. This is most often achieved by recording individual notes from an instrument and assigning these recordings to different pitches on the keyboard. Samples can be sourced in many ways, whether that is by recording them yourself or using other existing recordings.

While collecting samples online, it is important to think about any copyrights that may be associated with them. Most commercially available music will require a license to be sampled. However, some creators may choose to release their sounds under a license, such as Creative Commons CC0, which allows you to use sounds any way that you'd like without need for attribution.

If you are using samples created by others, always check which license they have been released under, as many creators will only allow you to use their samples with attribution, for non-commercial works only, or with explicit permission. In future videos, we will explore even more ways of creating and manipulating samples to enhance your compositions. Thanks for watching and happy composing!