sample
A recorded snippet of sound extracted from an existing recording and reused in a new composition.
In Depth
Sampling transformed music production when hip-hop producers began isolating drum breaks, bass lines, and vocal phrases from funk, soul, and jazz records in the late 1970s. A sample can be a single drum hit, a melodic phrase, a spoken word fragment, or an atmospheric texture. Legal sampling requires clearance from the original rights holders, which can be expensive. Sampling blurs the line between creation and curation, making the producer a collage artist.
The Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique (1989) contains over 100 samples from different sources, and it would be virtually impossible to clear all those samples under today's stricter copyright laws.