sampling and adding other instruments

D

drought

New member
Hey wats up fp i got a question that i need help with. so here goes, my question is when your using a sample from song or sample pack and you know the key of it how do add other instruments to it with out it sounding muddle? i want it to sound cohesive? so if i have horn sample and i want to add piano to it do i work with the volume of each or make each sound be in the same pitch with each other?

any help would be great thank u
 
this is basic composition/arranging

to make it work you need to understand what the underlying chord progression is for your selected horn line and maybe even what notes are played in that horn line knowing either or both of these then allows you to sketch out the piano part so that it will match what is being played

an example horn line would help me to illustrate this so much better
 
bandcoach said:
this is basic composition/arranging

to make it work you need to understand what the underlying chord progression is for your selected horn line and maybe even what notes are played in that horn line knowing either or both of these then allows you to sketch out the piano part so that it will match what is being played

an example horn line would help me to illustrate this so much better
Click to expand...

exactly....

or you can **** around with it until it sounds good. It's music, don't overthink it!
 
more like "don't make others look bad by actually using your brain" - a self-imposed limitation of refusing to learn something is not a limitation but an anchor that holds you back and stifles your creativity
 
Bandcoach, you are one of the most knowledgeable guys in this forum and i respect that. I agree that learning theory is important and I never refuse to learn anything new. But that being said, whenever i make a record i try to not consciously think about that theory. i know i still subconsiously use the knowledge i have, but to really think about it and draw stuff out really kills the creativity for me personally. Creativity works different for different people and everybody should find their own way to do stuff, but this works for me.

When i say **** around with it, i don't mean to just go in without knowing wtf you are doing. I mean to use the knowledge you have gained and play around with that to get the desired result without getting caught up in the theory.

You don't always need a book to tell you what you need to do.
 
I don't think my point was any different - but refusing to apply what you know about music is worse than just bumbling around in the dark because you don't have a flashlight or matches
 
bandcoach said:
this is basic composition/arranging

to make it work you need to understand what the underlying chord progression is for your selected horn line and maybe even what notes are played in that horn line knowing either or both of these then allows you to sketch out the piano part so that it will match what is being played

an example horn line would help me to illustrate this so much better
Click to expand...

Hey bandcoach thank you answering. I totally understand wat ur saying. so my question is u know scale of the sample, so how do u figure out the chords or the notes being played in the sample piece? how would u go about doing it? The piece i was talking about was young hearts run free candi staton. heres the link. the first 2 bars of the intro.
 
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so a quick listen and I knew the chord type straight away m7/4 in this case Gm7/C or 6/2 in this case Bb6/C aka C9sus4 - a typical disco period chord (start of many different songs including the hustle)

horn line is C-C-Bb-A-Bb-C-G and variations thereon

this is really simple applied aural skills - helped that I have played the opening chord a few thousand times on guitar and keys, but ultimately the same skills that allow me to decipher the melodic line come into play: rhythm, intervals, tonality

to acquire these skills will take some time but you can make a start at teoria.com with their ear training and theory drills

once the song kicks of the harmonic material is slightly more complex a there are two disparate ideas running the chords vs the bass

bass moves C-C-D whilst the chords go C/D-Dm7 then it all moves up a 4th to F-F-G whilst the chords go F/G-Gm7 then back to the previous phrase then the opening chord before moving into the chorus which is based around Gm7 wit a bass line that ultimately descends back to the C/D-Dm7 phrasing

Notes in chords
Gm7/C ~ G-bB-D-F over a C bass
Bb6/C ~ Bb-D-F-G over a C bass
C9sus4 ~ C-F-G-Bb-D - this is the most accurate voicing although the G is on top i.e. C2-F2-Bb2-D3-G3
C/D ~ C-E-G over a D bass
Dm7 ~ D-F-A-C
F/G ~ F-A-C over a G bass
Gm7 ~ G-Bb-D-F

octave numbers note
middle C = midi note number 60 = C3 in most daws = C5 in fl and BiaB
 
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Once you get all the music down dont forget about the texture of the sample. You're going to want to match that texture with the instruments you add in order to have it sound like one piece of music.
 
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