Daniel Dehaan

Lecture - Week 10

Lecture - Week 10: Sampling — Learn from Sample-Based Producers

Overview

Sampling is both an art and a tradition—building something new from existing sounds. This week, we study the masters of sample-based production, analyze their techniques, and practice the craft of flipping, chopping, and transforming source material.

Topics

The Imitation Approach to Sampling

  • Learning from the greats: J Dilla, Madlib, the RZA, Kanye, and more
  • How sampling itself is imitation (and transformation)
  • The creative choices that make a sample flip work
  • Ethics and legality: a brief overview

Anatomy of a Sample Flip

  • Source selection: what makes a good sample?
  • Chopping techniques: isolating the useful parts
  • Repitching and time-stretching
  • Layering and combining sources
  • Making it your own

Studying Sample-Based Producers

  • Listening to the original and the sample flip
  • Identifying what was kept, changed, and added
  • Understanding the creative decisions
  • Recognizing signatures of different producers

Sampling Techniques

  • Traditional chopping and rearranging
  • One-shot sampling
  • Texture and atmosphere sampling
  • Drum break manipulation
  • Creative resampling of your own work

Tools and Workflow

  • Your DAW’s sampler
  • Slicing and warping options
  • Finding sample sources (legally)
  • Organization for sample-based work

In-Class Activities

  1. Sample Detective (20 min)

    • Listen to a famous sample-based track
    • Then hear the original source
    • Analyze: what did the producer do?

  2. Flip Challenge (30 min)

    • Given a sample source, create a flip
    • Focus on making it unrecognizable yet musical
    • Share and compare approaches

  3. Discussion (10 min)

    • What makes a creative sample flip?
    • How does studying others’ flips improve your own?

Resources

Connection to Wednesday

Feedback Session: Share mid-semester reflections and portfolio plans from Week 9. Discuss progress and adjustments.

Assignment Preview

Assignment - Sample Flip Project

  • Find a source sample (legally—royalty-free or cleared)
  • Create a beat or track based on the sample
  • Document your process: original → transformation
  • Include habit check-in