It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that sampling has become a fundamental aspect of music production, allowing creators to infuse their tracks with unique influences from a wide range of sources.
Whether you’re a seasoned producer or just starting out with making music, learning how to find the samples that align with your creative needs can elevate your music to new heights. In this article, we explore some resources and strategies that can help you discover captivating samples for your next project.
1. Dive into the world of crate digging
The early days of sampling were driven by a process known as crate digging, where one would go to a record store or marketplace and sift through records, CDs, and tapes to find hidden gems that could be reimagined in the context a new track.
While this is still undoubtedly a great way to find samples, the internet has vastly expanded where and how you can dig for unique sounds. If you’re still set on exploring physical records, websites like Discogs and eBay allow you to browse and purchase them from the comfort of your own home, while resources like WhoSampled offer unparalleled insight into the deep cuts sampled by your favorite artists for inspiration.
There are also online marketplaces like BeatStars, where music producers license, sell, and give away beats to other creators. This is how Lil Nas X famously found YoungKio’s beat that became the backbone for “Old Town Road.”
Meanwhile, sample libraries like Splice Sounds offer millions of samples that are not only organized by instrument, key, BPM, etc., but are also 100% royalty free—meaning that if you ever wanted to release your music on digital stores or streaming platforms, you don’t have to worry about the commercial intricacies that could occur with sampling existing records. Furthermore, Splice Sounds’ new Rare Finds feature lets you filter for sounds that are still undiscovered by most users, simulating the feeling of finding that special record at the bottom of a bargain bin.
2. Look towards non-musical sources
It’s also worth noting that other musical sources aren’t the only place to find samples. For example, tracks by artists including the likes of BTS, Skrillex, and Lil Durk have sampled video game sound effects and re-imagined them as builds, pre-drop phrases, and percussion one-shots:
On the other hand, midwest emo songs have sampled dialogue from TV and film so frequently that it has spiraled into its own meme format.
Other artists have sampled historic speeches or recordings to fortify the message of their music—hear how Linkin Park samples Mario Savio’s famous “Bodies Upon the Gears” speech in “Wretches and Kings,” a track off of their concept album that addresses themes such as political power and nuclear war.
When searching for samples for your own productions, consider the full spectrum of the places where you personally find inspiration that might extend beyond music.
3. Find samples in the world around you
On that note, one great way to create samples that are truly your own is by capturing the sounds in the immediate world around you. Consider taking a walk while capturing audio with a Zoom recorder or even just the built-in mic on your phone and seeing if there are any sounds you gathered that might be useful as atmospheric beds or percussive elements.
In the tutorial below, powerhouse Jersey club producer UNIIQU3 puts this idea to the test by transforming her own field recordings into a hard-hitting beat:
“As producers, we’re usually working with the same sounds and loops,” she says. “This is a way to make your music stand apart from the rest. It’s a way to level up your production and get creative with your surroundings.”
In fact, you don’t even need to leave your home to get creative—check out how we made a house track using nothing but household sounds:
How to find samples for your music: Conclusion
And there you have it! Sampling is an art form that inherently encourages creativity and exploration, and by diving into the world of crate digging, exploring unexpected sources, and drawing inspiration from the world around you, you can discover and create samples that will make your music truly feel unique to you.
Do you have any tips for finding samples of your own that you’d like to share? What other topics would you like to see us explore next? Start a conversation with us and an ever-growing community of music creators via the Splice Discord.
Ready to start hunting for gems? Grab your Creator or Creator+ subscription and start crate digging like never before:
July 30, 2024
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