Friday, November 23, 2012

How To Make Hip-Hop Beats For Sale (Purchase Beats): Sampling Terms

By Frank Lubsey


Today, we'll discuss the sampler, and we'll explain some phrases that are good to know before purchasing one. First, let's go over what a sampler does. A sampler is a device that allows you to play back audio from a variety of sources. The sources can be from self-recorded sounds to sample cds that are designed for electronic musicians. Some common terms that you'll run across when discussing samplers are:

Time Stretch: Traditional samplers allowed you to change the pitch of an original recording by changing the playback speed. For example, if you recorded a note in the key of C, you could play back that note at a pitch of E on the sampler, but the sampler would do this by speeding up the sample. The result was a shortened sample that may or may not go the length of time that you need. Timestretching allows you to adjust the playback speed independent of the pitch.

Pitch Shift: Pitch shift is similar to time stretch except that it allows you to adjust the pitch of a sample without changing the speed of the sample.

Sample Mapping: This feature allows you to assign a sample to a specific note on the keyboard. Thus, if you have two audio samples, you can assign one sample to play when middle C is played and the other sample to play when the note of B is played. On many samplers, if you assign a sample to multiple keys, the sample will be pitch shifted depending on the note pressed.

Velocity Layer: This is a type of sample mapping that allows you to have one key trigger numerous samples depending on how hard/soft the key is pressed. This is useful because the timbre of the sound changes depending on how hard or soft an instrument is played. With velocity layering, you can make your sampled instruments sound more realistic by assigning multiple samples to the same note. You achieve this by assigning "soft articulation" samples to a low velocity and "high articulation" samples to a high velocity. The finished product will be a much more realistic sounding multi-sampled instrument.

Use this article as a reference guide before purchasing your sampler. A sampler is an extremely versatile instrument that is central to a hip-hop studio.




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