Nat 4Nat 5HigherAdvanced Higher

Sampling

Sampling is the use of recorded sound as musical material in a new context.

Level relevance: introduced at Nat 4; tagged for every later level where the same concept remains useful.

Explanation

Sampling involves taking recorded audio and reusing it in a project. A sample might be a single drum hit, a vocal phrase, a sound effect, or a longer musical loop. In production, samples can be trimmed, pitched, stretched, layered, and triggered from MIDI. Sampling is powerful, but the source material must be used legally and musically.

Topics

SamplingAudioCreative production
Curriculum statussupporting vocabulary
Review statusdraft

Related terms

Loop

A loop is a section of audio or MIDI designed to repeat smoothly.

View term

Pitch

Pitch is how high or low a sound seems to the listener.

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MIDI

MIDI is performance and control data that tells devices what to play, rather than storing recorded sound.

View term

Waveform

A waveform is the visual shape of an audio signal over time.

View term