Figuring out when sampling just isnt for you

  • Thread starter Reign of Terror
  • Start date
my goodness was it good to see all of this info, i dont want to type all the names but i learned something from all of you, yes all. esp heatstar, a lot of yall came through with powerful posts, but i think my problem mainly stems from what he said. even though im all about making my own sound, i didnt realize that everytime when it though of a heatmakers/jb/alc sample, i was trying to take on their style instead of doing as what Maksone said by getting something that "wows" you and is not just a random ole pick of the lot.

damn, ill keep reading this thread for some months to make sure i dont forget, thanks yall, im really grateful, cause at the moment i truley thought maybe sampling wasnt for me...but just like anything in life, you have to work for it

thx and stay safe,
Reign
 
Don't lose faith. I was in the same boat. I started using FL that I downloaded and couldn't do shiz. Finally.........One day.....It all clicked and I made a sick beat using the drum break from "Sing A Simple Song", its famous to every other producer in the world, but to me I thought I had discovered the Holy Grail.

I had hella people coming to my room, I'd grab everyone I knew to get them to listen to it and people liked it. And when that happened I was hooked. That happened a lil over a year ago and here I am now with a whole hardware setup looking to make this into a profession.

Seriously, it takes time...Especially if your like me and have no musical background, and this shiz is still frustrating too, that never leaves you. But when you make something that you and other people like, its the best feeling ever. IF I can say anything, DON'T GIVE UP.

Your gonna regret it if you do, trust me. Making music has already started to change my life and I don't even play an instrument....(but hitup the myspace I got some sick shiz)

Plus someone else said somehting that exactly how I feel, that you learn "little tidbits of knowledge." I call em "nuggets" of musical knowledge. From going to places like here yourbeats.com, mvnation.com, and what mpc site and countless other productions sites you go to, you start to pick up things. Not coherent knowledge, but like the idea to start your bass riff this way, or to have the drums change up like this. And after awhile you have a pretty big base of knowledge that pretty fragmented, but shiz is exponential the more you learn it help you out ten-fold.
 
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I found when I first started digging, I overlooked mad breaks and grooves. Then I started listening to the madvillain record, which Madlib produced. I realized not only can you use ****ty equipment and make dope beats, but also take weird samples nobody else would use and chop the **** out of em to make them your own sound. Now I have tonns of samples, most of which were right under my nose the whole time.

PS: Buddy who suggested DJ first, is right. I built up a 300 LP collection, and was making mixtapes and selling em like crazy to build my music knowledge. Then I purchased my Akai s-1000, and aquried ****loads more records and 45's. Now I strictly sample no more keys or dj'ing, although now I have mad apprieciation for what those guys do.
 
when i first started i never sampled. i thought it was "cheating". but as i got tired of all the sounds i used, i started to sample and actually made some good stuff. still trying to to loop straight though as much but find some off the wall stuff and you'll be fine.
 
Another way to practice techniques is to recreate sampled songs that you like. take the original sample and try to emulate what the beatmaker did to get the song. you will learn a lot that will help when you take your own samples. you'll also start thinking, man, he should've did THIS and That and you'll start creating your own signature sound over time.

Try to recreate a sample song that you like. In doing so, you'll learn new techniques that the beatmaker did to get that song and it'll help you in your productions.
 
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I first start using Fl about 4 months ago and for bout 2 months I was trying to learn how to sample.... but the problem most people have is knowledge of sampling.

For starters learn how to read waves because dat is important...I think there is a lesson on that @ www.Todaysbeats.com (kanye style beat).... also you might want to chop your samples in another software progams like adobe, sony sound forge etc. Even though you can in the playlist in FL but you can better see the wave forms in other programs and you can see and hear what your loop sound like at each wave point.I member for the longest I couldnt find out what I was doing wrong but it was mainly me not looping a song correctly and not making all my chops the same amount of bars(learn how to count bars)...

Also if you are using FL studio you might want to trying a tempo(S) 70-90

and time stretch your samples to fit into the pattern....
If you got a sample dat is two bars you stretch it to 2 bars and set the pattern to 8. A 4 bar loop is going to strecth to 4 of course and set your pattern to 16 .....


PS
to give it a chip munk effect you can try speeding the sample up or pitch it (or do it in another program something I still dontt do lol)

----Dont give up, cuz you'll ge it. The first song I sampled was minne ripperton and it actually didnt sound that good but I saw dat I could make a sample beat.....GL to you



Get @ me at TheKidd4mDC and I show you how to chop samples or chop it for you......

When you loop a song it becomes its own song so you make it your own

(MY FIRST POST) Hope it help ~1~
 
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You could also go to warbeats.com.....they have some tutorials on sampling with FL Studio....and checkout Samplekings.com..... they have a video you can buy called the art of sampling...it's not what you use it's all in the technique. Don't give up
 
i know exactly how reign feels.. i want to start ****in around with programs and right now i have a demo of fruity loops 4 because im a poor bastard lol.. while back i had another demo of it and i did ..well.. alright .. now i look at it looks the same and i turn into a retard. and it pisses me off at the same time that i ask people for help and they look at me like they were never beginners and laugh. ill chop there effin heads off. lol and now im on the verge of giving up. so hopefully.. if i tell you not to give up reign.. i wont eighther.. and we both find help.. but damn is is a *****.. specially when your naturally extreamly impatient...
 
Dont give up man! I know its frustrating at times but you cant force creativity. Theres been times when I just wanted to give up because I'd get a dry spell where I couldnt get any inspiration. But then you take a little break, let you mind reset and go back to it when your feeling up to it. Theres other factors that might just be making it hard, for one fruity loops isnt the best software for sampling. Look into a soft sampler like halion or kontakt and use it as a plug-in on FL. With those you can be a little more creative with you sampling. Also having some music background/schooling helps to deal with the technical aspects of the music. And finally you gotta have an ear for music, that is the one tool you cant buy, You have to know how to hear the music and pick out those little clips of audio and manipulate them to you liking. All I can say is keep at it, you'll eventually learn day by day and things will keep getting easier.
 
bro,

Rome wasnt built in a day. There has been much good advice already posted but i just want to re-interate on some and drop some of my own:

1. Being a DJ first will allow you to have a better understanding of music. bars, tempo, song structure, etc...just the feel of everything. it will help when you step up to produce. Countless producers came up this way: MadLib, Prince Paul, DJ Shadow.

2. Knowledge: I can already tell you that you dont know FL well enough just by what you have posted in this thread. If you know anyone else who uses it in your area try and hook up with them, even if they make music which is totally different than the direction you are going they can show you the basics of FL. There are countless posts on this forum and others that will help you learn how to use FL properly. On top of this learn music. I mean that in every possible sense. Learn theory and learn about music, listen to old soul/funk/reggae, etc. Check out www.the-breaks.com to see what your favourite producers have sampled...and try and cut up the same tracks and see what you can do with it. The more you practice the better.

3. Patience: This aint gonna happen overnight...if thats what youre looking for move on to something else. Try and enjoy the journey...dont fret about when you are going to reach your destination.

Try and enjoy yourself bro, if you're not having fun whats the point?
 
Everything isn't for everyone. There is no rule that in order to make a hot beat, you have to sample. If you make heat rocks without it, you shouldn't force yourself to do it. Making music should always be fun. Always question the reasoning behind doing something that makes it unfun.

Alota people are gonna bash me for this, but I think you should try using samples that you know have already been flipped in beats that you love. If you can't get inspired by those to make something, then sampling probally isn't for you.

Thats not saying you shouldn't practice, but sampling... I don't know. If you're not feelin it then don't do it.
 
all the posts were very good,so I'll add this.Dj Premier isn't the greatest "beatmaker",but he was a dj who has immense knowledge of music,not just hiphop.I read in a magazine that his demos consisted on punching breaks to a 4 track,when he went to the studio to record the first Gangstarr lp,he had to work with an engineer because he had never used a sampler before!! In fact Large Pro taught him how to use the "legendary" sp-1200 in exchange for access to his deep crates!!!
Same for Pete Rock,his dad was a dj who had mad records,and he listened to so many music,that he chops and recreates sounds.
Just listen to a record,cd or mp3's and if you like something,listen over and over so that you know the song by heart,and you'll find a sample or two.
Madlib is another guy that have immendse knowledge and he couldn't care less if his beats are simple or complex,so the result is that he is one of the most consistent producer out there.
Just make a beat that yourself would love to hear,remember we have to be fans first and foremost,that's the key!!
Good luck,homie
 
Keep working on your sampling, but when you get frusterated move on to something else,and come back to it later, or move on to the kitchen for some food, and come back to it when you full. :)
 
also

I dont know how old you are and how long you have been making music (sampling or other music) - just so you know, you should expect to be doing this intensively for years or at least a year before you feel

it is not always the case but often it is

you should LOVE MAKING MUSIC - when you do, you don't really care if you sit down for 5 hours at a time doing it... You just love it... 2 years doing it? No problem "I LOVE MAKING MUSIC".

It shouldnt be something you try hard to do. It should feel like learning how to walk (= not easy at all and takes time but still feels natural)

Good luck, take a deep breath, practice and practice.
 
I don't know about being a DJ. But it definitely helps. All your fav producers were DJ's.

But even the simplist pattern or song can be a hit.
 
Pimpmatik said:
all the posts were very good,so I'll add this.Dj Premier isn't the greatest "beatmaker",but he was a dj who has immense knowledge of music,not just hiphop.I read in a magazine that his demos consisted on punching breaks to a 4 track,when he went to the studio to record the first Gangstarr lp,he had to work with an engineer because he had never used a sampler before!! In fact Large Pro taught him how to use the "legendary" sp-1200 in exchange for access to his deep crates!!!
Same for Pete Rock,his dad was a dj who had mad records,and he listened to so many music,that he chops and recreates sounds.
Just listen to a record,cd or mp3's and if you like something,listen over and over so that you know the song by heart,and you'll find a sample or two.
Madlib is another guy that have immendse knowledge and he couldn't care less if his beats are simple or complex,so the result is that he is one of the most consistent producer out there.
Just make a beat that yourself would love to hear,remember we have to be fans first and foremost,that's the key!!
Good luck,homie
Click to expand...


I have to agree with you there. I look up to premier, he is definitely one of my inspirations for makin hip hop. And yes he is not a great beatmaker in say the technical sense but his choice of sounds/samples and arrangement put him in a field of his own. Hes got that ear! And you cant duplicate his flavor. If your ever interested in learning how to sample put on a pair of crisp headphones and listen to some premier trax and pay close attention to the samples, determine which are duplicates and which are fragments of the same sample. Train your ear and practice with patience.....
 
to add to your excellent post.Primo coaches the mc's on how to spit on his beats like Dre.
He's definitely an inspiration,because he's so passionate about hiphop,you can feel the sincerity and I can't wait for the new Nas!!
 
Yo, Rome ain't built in a day. You say you want to eat with your production skills, you gotta learn to hunt, feel me?

Only person I believe when they say they just jumped into it is Madlib. And he grew up with his pops as a TALENTED Jazz musician, so that's prolly where his understanding of it all came from.

Very few people can just jump into sampling and be tight at it, and these people often have a musical background of some sort, so they already get the theory. Read up on the theory first. It's not that hard. Basic math.

Once you learn how it all strings together and that it's all mathematics, you can start to train your ear for what to listen to when looking for samples so you don't spend hours listening to songs over and over, you can just mark down what you like and what you want to sample. I bet the more you read about theory the more you will find samples and songs coming together in your head. It don't just mean intros and outros with no drums or other sounds. In fact, 9th wonder advocates NEVER sampling the first 20 seconds of a record. Self imposed limitiations like this force you to grow beyond the basics.

Step 1: read a book about basic songwriting, melody, composition, you need to understand how what you're sampling is put together to extract what you want from it, no?

Step 2: listen to ALL kinds of music. I've sampled stuff from Gregorian Chanting all the way to that out there 1970's experimental stuff to Frank Sinatra.

Step 3: keep a notebook of what you do, your goals and what you've learned. When you get stuck go back and read your notes.

Step 4: Don't give up. Sample based music is hard. Harder then non-sample based anyway (at least to me).

Good Luck!
 
Actually,I tought like you that Madlib jumped into production right from the bat.It's true and false in a way.
His uncle is a world class jazz musician(John Faddis) and his parents were locally known(his pops was a singer and his mom,a songwriter,I think).Back then,most soul albums had scarce distribution to get national recognition.
Anyways,he was exposed to all kinds of music at an early age and listened to a lot,I mean a lot of hiphop and jazz.He loves jazz and prog rock!!!
He was talking about stealing a lot of rare jazz lp's of college radio stations and from this strong foundation,he developed an amazing ear and can play live instruments(check out YNQ,a jazz quintet that consists of him with 5 different aliases!!)
I think that it's mostly a real passion for music combined with an open mind and thirst for knowledge.
And basic music theory shouldn't be overlooked as well...
 
Don't rush it. You said you were new to this so don't expect it to come over night. You have to practice and it will come with time. Feel the music first and then try to make something with it. Don't try to make a Kanye beat or a Just Blaze beat (not saying you are, its just that if you try to duplicate with what they do, you wont have your own style or sound)because that's where you get frustrated and you want your beats to sound just like theirs. Trust me I know.
 
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