Using Samples for Songwriting. Is it cheating?

It's not cheating but it simply isn't songwriting. If you're using samples that make up your melodic content, you aren't really songwriting. At best that could be considered 'arranging'...
 
It's not cheating but it simply isn't songwriting. If you're using samples that make up your melodic content, you aren't really songwriting. At best that could be considered 'arranging'...
You talk as if arranging is a lesser skill than songwriting, wheras I tend to think they're equal, at least.

Any idiot can pick up a guitar, play 3 chords and sing about their girlfriend/boyfriend.
Making a good arrangement is hard.

There's a difference between using sampled loops and presets/patches, I think. Loops are both easier and harder to work with because they're more limiting, and it takes more skill as an arranger to fit them all together.

I don't really think anything is cheating, except maybe construction kits... but since construction kits anyone can buy it's quite hard to get away with using them without anyone noticing.
 
No, it's not cheating at all. Most producers do it. In the end of the day, you want to appeal the audience, and they won't even know if you used samples or made something original.
 
no way, i don't think it's cheating, imo.

what about sampling? people have been sampling for decades and good things and music has come about because of it.

if im gonna use a sample i'll definitely do something to it, like stretch/shorten, transpose up/down, reverse or just distort the sh*t out of it.


in other words make it "my own" as long as you're creatively contributing to the sample i don't see anything wrong about it. ☺

as long as you give credit where its due its all good. ☺
 
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if you do sample at least make it so that its not a blatantly obvious rip, i use loops at times but i always change it around so it sounds a bit different
 
it's not cheating but you didn't write the music in the sample. but its understood obviously. but with all the loop packs out now I wouldn't necessarily like it if someones main riff or whatever was a loop created by someone else.
 
You talk as if arranging is a lesser skill than songwriting, wheras I tend to think they're equal, at least.

Any idiot can pick up a guitar, play 3 chords and sing about their girlfriend/boyfriend.
Making a good arrangement is hard.

There's a difference between using sampled loops and presets/patches, I think. Loops are both easier and harder to work with because they're more limiting, and it takes more skill as an arranger to fit them all together.

I don't really think anything is cheating, except maybe construction kits... but since construction kits anyone can buy it's quite hard to get away with using them without anyone noticing.

I wasn't saying one or the other has more merit, only pointing out that they are two entirely different art forms. As my 'artistic name' implies, I am completely comfortable with 'robbing loops'.


Neither is cheating but the idiot, only needs a guitar, and an ex to write a song about, while the arranger requires a song about an ex, written by some idiot with a guitar to even start with...
 
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Not cheating, but if you ever make any real money off that song you are gonna be in trouble for it.
 
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