how do you choose samples?

Wonderkid

New member
wats up FP this is my first post on here! :victory:

Anyways, i just started trying to sample and I've been having trouble choosing samples. I mean I'll find a sample, put it into the mpc, chop it up, then find i can't do nothing with it. I don't know if it's that I'm using bad samples or that i just don't know what I'm doing or maybe both, but I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on choosing the right samples to flip.

Thanks.
 
usually I try to find something that isn't very "drum heavy" or "vocal heavy"... more instrumentation. It should click it your head when you hear it. Be like, "That right there would make a great sample for a song".. be able to hear it in your head.
 
Welcome to FP! I've been having this problem a lot lately also. When I find a sample I like, I hear at least 4 or 5 different flips at the same time. I usually try something just to get the overall idea so I don't lose it. Then come back to it every once in a while. Eventually, I hear the flip I'm supposed to make & finish the beat. How long that may take though is the only part I haven't figured out yet.

As far as choosing samples, for me, it depends on mindset. I usually go for more funky percussive or bass & drum driven samples than melodic ones. And I haven't really gotten the hang of chopping samples with vocals just yet, but working on it. Lately, I've been trying for more off-key, weird samples just for the challenge. The best advice I could give is this: if you listen to a sample, & hear a flip that you could listen to for 24 hours NONSTOP & NOT get sick of it, you're on the right path.
 
Just keep forcing yourself to use a variety of different genres of samples, eventually you will figure out what you work best with and what you're most comfortable with.
 
I dont have a process or sample style that i pick. I just sample dope shit usually. I chop it up and make it sound more like my personality.
 
i usually have like a two step formula 1st i wait till i hear a sample i really like, and then i think can i do anything to this or is it just a dope bit of music cos like if knowone had heard of beat it by jacko do you think you could make something better from it than what it already is? but yeah i agree with the other guys not drum heavy, also if you ever hear anything open like a piano melody or a guitar riff or something sample it and save it cos you might use it later
 
wats up FP this is my first post on here! :victory:

Anyways, i just started trying to sample and I've been having trouble choosing samples. I mean I'll find a sample, put it into the mpc, chop it up, then find i can't do nothing with it. I don't know if it's that I'm using bad samples or that i just don't know what I'm doing or maybe both, but I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on choosing the right samples to flip.

Thanks.


having trouble?

just listen to music...any type of music, with a STRAIGHT FACE... the exact second your face scrunches up and you make that "GahDAYUM, someone just farted in the room, face" thats when you know you're listening to a dope sample.
 
yea I have this problem too. Try doing remakes if you wanna get more into sampling that way you can get in teh mind of that producer and it helps with your stuff too. Alot of times ill be listening to a record and be so psyched because i found a sick sounding sample, but then when I try to chop it up and create sometin i have trouble. I think you just gotta practice and get used to hearing certain things in teh music. try to listen to specific instruments in a song
 
just listen to music...any type of music, with a STRAIGHT FACE... the exact second your face scrunches up and you make that "GahDAYUM, someone just farted in the room, face"

haha yu crack me up
you right though!! that's the exact reaction you need to have!

If you don't have that expression on your face, it won't be a hit ;)

but it doesn't really matter if there's a lotta vocals in it or not, I mean look at the heatmakers their samples are filled with vocals, but they feelin it ya know?

there's no rule to sampling!

oh yeah skip through some reggae tunes they have a great potential for sampling too!!
 
I start out by scanning through the song to sample, set up a 4 bar loop, and place it at different places of the song, lay a basic boom boom bap drum sequence in the background, and then start chopping and rearranging.
 
I don't really have a set method of choosing samples, it all depends on the mood I'm in and the type of beat I want to make. Sometimes I'll want the sample to have no drums or vocals, and other times I might want vocals.
 
Best advice I can give is I listen to a lot of music. I got Pandora on my phone so I just put together different music stations and listen to different kinds of music. If I find something I light, I write down the artist and name of the song. When I get time I re find the song and listen to see if anything is sample worthy. If I find it sample worthy I'll load it up and play around with it until something comes. Best advice is don't force it. I've had to come back to samples to get them to work.
 
When I'm bored, I just start playing records.
If something I hear strikes a nerve in my ear and the lightbulb upstairs comes on like "I could use that piece right there", I'll grab the sample.

The part of tracking down what to listen to is tough.
 
Welcome!
I agree with @RobC that remakes are great to get you started. Heck there just fun to do anyway. But you can always put your own twists on it. Whosampled.com is your best friend for remakes. Or just any sample of a song your interested in. Theres a load of blogs as well with good music and possibly mentionable samples. (Just like Gilson's jazz blog up top there!).
But don't limit yourself!! Study music. I'm not talking theory and whatnot (although that doesn't hurt either). But just the tone of instruments, what you like personally, your favorite instrumentals. Your music will be more diverse/unique if you can find those crazy sample.
I'm only starting, but its a never ending road to finding the perfect samples, at least it's a beautiful road, frustrating at times, but beautiful.
 
I kinda do the kanye thing. i just listen to a bunch of music and if there is part of a song i like, i just cut it up and put it in a folder for later if i dont have in definite plan for it. then one day when im bored, i just get the samples out and see if i can do any thing with the parts. sometimes i might have a drum loop from a 70's soul song and a melody from a 90's pop song and a little snippet of some cartoon sound that i liked. originality is key. not too many people sample songs and do something out of the ordinary with it.
 
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