ABSTRACT
Sampling is the cornerstone of all dance music. In fact, it’s fair to say that without the introduction of samplers and sampling, drum ‘n’ bass, jungle and trip-hop wouldn’t have come about, and neither would many house and trance tracks exist. Sampling plays such a vital role in dance music that, without it, it is incredibly difficult to produce most forms of music. This isn’t solely due to the numerous genre-specific sample CDs that are available, although these do often play a role, but because samplers are one of the most creative tools you can have at your disposal. With some creative thought, a recording of a ping-pong ball being thrown at a garage door can become a tom drum, hitting a rolled up newspaper against a wall can make an excellent house drum kick, and the hissing from a compressed air freshener can produce great hi-hats. As a way of making music, sampling can be quick, easy and an immensely creative resource, so much so that if you don’t own a sampler, it’s about time you did!
