Considering all the things around us that can be sampled I feel like by limiting what I sample to only things which I somehow connect with on a spiritual level; often in a way that might not present an obvious meaning to me, is the only way to commune with sound. Does anyone else feel similar?
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Did someone say “samples”?
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Did I manage to misspell something so simpel again?
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Mostly I use whatever is dictated by the sample challenges!
I have got a few sample ideas that are very meaningful to me, but I never feel like I produce anything that’s worthy of them so I hold them back.
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I rarely have a connection to the samples provided for the battles, and its hard to find what I should make out of them… its exhausting, but that much more rewarding when it does works out.
Its made me a way better music maker because of that dynamic.
I would say its a balance, because after I use a sample, that source is burned after that, from scrubbing over it and listening it five hundred million times… and thats if its good… double that if Im struggling…
So if I like the source, I wouldn’t sample it… like the theme to M.A.S.K. I love that synth arp in it, so I will never use it.
Now… I do need to be invested in the sample though… so if I buy a library, then I feel really compelled to use it…
and thats why I’m scaling back my battle submitting. I’ll host them, but I may step back for a couple weeks to finally start producing my own stuff from all the libraries i bought over Black Friday…
Between the battles, and learning the Maschine Mk 3, I’ve neglected my own music, and want to make stuff based off my ear and gut.
To answer your question, it should be something thats fun and interesting, nothing too personal, because you may ruin it for yourself from fatigue.
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This is what I meant… Im glad im not the only one who feels that way!
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no… my ears perked up like saying “treats” in front of my dog
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I feel the complete opposite to this but I also don’t feel that liking the source means sampling something obviously musical because to me that’s just stealing and no one should steal from spirit friends.
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Well… your mileage may vary…
As for the stealing part? As long as I’m not making money off it, then I’ll “steal” the shit out of something to sample.
How do you think we do the battles? We put up a track or a soundtrack and sample from it.
I also copy artwork to make my own compositions…
Consider this my warning to the world… Im coming for you!
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I didn’t mean to imply I’m passing judgement on how anyone else approaches samples. I only have enough will power or interest to judge myself on such matters. Simply curious, really.
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Quoted for truth. Even going through my OT looking for inspiration, when I come across a loop I’ve used before (even mangled), I instantly skip because I don’t want to have to listen to it ever again.
I vastly prefer using anonymous loops procured from various corners of the internet. They don’t have any pre-existing associations, so I carry less baggage into working with them.
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Oh, its okay… its good to have some sort of ethical framework about things, and Im glad to have ones that differ from my own…
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Amen to that!
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No
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I’ve recently had a lot of fun exclusively using samples that are familiar but not meaningful to me. Old commercial jingles, lines from movies that I like, songs that I hate to love, etc.
I find them far more interesting to work with than random stuff from sample packs, but also feel no pressure to do the sample justice or anything like that.
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This is sort of what I was getting at; but it sounds like you have some innate connection to these sources despite not feeling some obligation towards them and they beckon you for a reason which isn’t obvious. The sound of the dryer running in the house when one sleeps might not be something a person considers meaningful until it is.
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I have struggled with this recently. My mind contains a carefully curated tapestry of sounds that are special to me. Should I only use those sounds which hold a special place to me or avoid them entirely? Using them feels eerily familiar and easy. Almost too easy. Avoiding them entirely works a lot of the time. But is something missing?
I miess with both. No rules. I always try vocals from singers or songs that I liked years ago. But when I find a record with a nice random vocal break on it, I will grab that and try to use it as well.
Personally, at my skill level, I only sample songs I like (at least some aspect of) but don’t feel super attached to. For songs I love, I can’t unhear the original enough to really get chopping creatively. Every time I’ve tried, it just sounds like a lazy remix.
(That’s also how I choose acapellas. Song can’t be too classic or I feel like it’s untouchable)
Well I create samples and I use whole tracks to sort of live remix songs & or DJ as I recently put the arranger in my workflow to playback tracks from slice points on an arranger. Learning to string it together mixed & how well or not so well will it sound?