Here are a few sampling tips for you to consider when you’re fine chopping a record for Hip Hop beats.
After reading many of the comments and questions from my YouTube channel, in particular on my sample-based beat making videos… it seemed that there was some possible confusion from some folks on how long it actually takes me to record a MIDI sample sequence into my DAW, and complete the beat overall.
In many cases, it may appear that I record my sample sequences in a single take, when in all actuality my process for sampling typically requires a little more effort – specifically for those cases where I really get in and fine chop the record.
Admittedly, there are instances where I do find a nice loop or I otherwise already have an idea in my head of how I plan to arrange the chops. However, it’s not always that easy 🙂
My Approach for This Beat
Using a recent Hip Hop instrumental I released, “Be There” as an example – the fact that it uses a well known 90’s R&B sample… I knew I wasn’t just going to loop it up. But rather, I precisely chopped on the upwards of about 81 small audio pieces, phrases and vocal stabs to work with.
And so the approach on this track for me was to “marry” parts from the beginning, middle and end of the sample in such a way that the melodies aligned and the 4, 8 and 16 bar sequences made sense overall.
“What parts catch my attention first? What pieces can I start with? Maybe I’m starting to work on the beginning of the sample sequence. Okay… let’s try to find two or three, maybe four sample slices that I can get the ball rolling with. For this particular track, I didn’t start with a drum pattern or anything. I just got in and experimented with some of the chops. And what I found was three sample slices to start the beat with.”
Instead of trying to figure out an entire four or eight bar pattern at once, I went ahead and recorded in the first few samples into my software. In my experience, sometimes if I don’t get a particular idea translated into my software while I’m in the moment – I may forget it!
Maybe you’ve been in a creative state before while playing the piano or guitar, where you’ve come up with a really great chord progression or melody run – and later when you try to replay it exactly as before, you can’t remember how it went.
This is why I highly recommend for you to press the record button often!
Piecing Together the Puzzle
I think two of the most important things to remember when you’re sampling is:
- To trust your ear.
- And to NOT be afraid to experiment and try some different techniques out.
Look at it like piecing together a puzzle.
“So when you sit down to put together a puzzle, what’s the approach you might take?
One approach you could take is if there are distinguishable parts in that puzzle… let’s say your puzzle is a yellow balloon floating in blue sky. And you want to piece together this entire thing. You could potentially start with putting together the yellow pieces of the balloon simply because they are easily identifiable.”
And taking that analogy back to creating a beat, that balloon could be whatever particular parts of the sample that really grabbed your attention to begin with. And so you could start with those parts to get the track started.
“And then another approach that a lot of people take when putting together a puzzle is to start with the edge pieces. They’re are a lot easier to identify, and will help you to start developing the framework. And taking this analogy back to making the beat, I’ve got the first three chops to start the sequence… and if I didn’t have any ideas for how to fill in the middle, I could go ahead and skip to the end of the loop and fill in the turnaround.”
Conclusion
At the end of the day, sampling can potentially be an easy process. But in many cases it can take a lot of time to meticulously slice a record, and further massage and manipulate the stabs to create something new and original.
In order to get better at making sampled beats… just like anything – you’ve got to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
The more you do it, the better you’ll get.
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About the Author
Travis Cole has been operating TCustomz Productionz, LLC full-time since 2011 and hopes for it to serve as a source to help many music artists, producers and entrepreneurs worldwide achieve their dreams of success.
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