trees are people too

I have a relatively rudimentary understanding of this, but here is a bit more info.

When analogue is converted to digital audio, it is done in many many little chunks. These are called ‘samples‘ and they are collected at a particular sampling rate that dictates how many samples are taken from a continuous signal (or sound) to create a discrete signal. A discrete signal is a sound made up of numerous samples of the original.

Different sampling rates are more suited to different sounds, but the higher the sampling rate and bit resolution, the more fidelity (the quality and the accuracy) of the recording.

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also possible with tape loops or with vinyl records on a phonograph.

Musical sampling has become popular through its use in a wide variety of modern music, primarily hip hop, and has also provided a foundation for the development of new music styles, particularly electronica. The use of samples also outlines important copyright ssues, as artist incorporate (copy?) more and more snippets of other recordings into their own compositions. A bit more on that here. It again brings up the question of promoting a read/write or remix culture vs a read only culture.

Although not exactly a ‘composition’, this weeks exercise in sampling demonstrated a method of sample (albeit at a very slow rate). Perhaps not ready to be looped into some epic hip hop masterpiece just yet, but just an example of what can be done (with a digital dictaphone, no less) and how sampled sounds can be used.