Sampling, as the meaning of the word reveals, is basically taking a part of a sound that already exists and putting it into a song. It can be from music that already exists, made in a studio electrically, or even everyday sounds, such as train noise, bells or rain.
For those who think that sampling is only present in electronic music, as current as this method seems, it has been used since the 40’s, with the “Musique Concrèt”. However, it was in the 80’s and 90’s that it really gained space between productions, thanks to the hip-hop genre, which used the technique so much to manage their beats that this kind of music and sampling became almost the same thing.
Brazil was not behind in the use of samplers, with the success of rap music in the 90s, a series of productions became popular and took the brazilian beat to the international world, such as “Five Minutes”, by Jorge Ben Jor, that was sampled by The Black Eyed Peas, in “Positivity”.
Another group that took full advantage of this wave was Racionais MCs. For several times, they used different stretches in their compositions, such as “Homem na Estrada”, which has a sample of “Ela Partiu”, by Tim Maia.
A little bit of history
It is interesting to point out that, in the beginning, artists were very afraid to use this practice and not be well received by the public. Bands like The Beatles, in the album “Revolution 9”, were very bold in jumping on the bandwagon right from the start. Even today we have a lot of resistance from some people who claim that sampling is configured as a copy or lack of creativity.
But the poor view of the technique is a mistake, considering that a lot of research, study and tireless revisions are needed to make everything fit in the best way. In addition, the composers and DJ’s that use it claim that the intention is not to benefit from someone else’s work, but to use it as a reference for something new and as a way of paying a tribute, showing admiration for the original composer.
Some famous songs with samples
These days, sampling is everywhere and you’ve probably heard a lot of songs that use sounds from another. Brazilian funk itself started as rap, with isolated clippings, and today they focus on even bolder proposals, with samples of songs that have been very successful, like “Atura ou Surta 2”, by MC GW, which uses part of “Mi Gente”, a global hit made by J Balvin.
Even one of the latest songs released by Brazilian singer Anitta, “Girl from rio”, brings a part of “Garota de Ipanema”, a classic song by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.
Moreover, electronic music can not be left out. The use of the technique is very recurrent among artists in this niche and is quite successful. The most interesting thing is that, in some cases, the public has never heard the music that was used for sampling, making electronic music lovers get to know a wider range of songs and visiting different decades. A good example is the track “Play Hard”, produced by David Guetta with Akon and Ne-Yo, which has parts of “Better Off Alone”, by Alice DJ, a big hit of the 90s.
Sampling X Remix
But then sampling would be a form of remix? No, remix is when you use the same structure as the original song and create a new version of the same composition. Different from sampling, which is the clipping of a specific part, used to create a new melody, with new characteristics.
Can it be configured as plagium?
Even though the art of sampling has had a boost in the music world, there are still many legal issues among artists about whether or not it is plagiarism in certain circumstances.
The law is quite complicated and can vary a lot in each case, because, in fact, you are taking part of someone else’s sound construction. Analyzing jurisprudence around the world, we can see that it is quite contradictory. In general, two steps must be respected:
- The sampling cannot be the main object of the work and cannot harm the views of the original.
- It is necessary to credit the original author in the list of composers of the song.
A good example of these required credits is “Hotline Bling”, by Drake. The artist used a sample of Timmy Thomas, who has his name on the list of collaborators and is also considered a composer of the song. However, to ensure that your music with the sampling won’t be processed, it is best to always talk with the original author and his record label.
How do I know if the song I’m listening to uses some sampling?
If you’re curious and want to discover more songs that use this digital resource, the website WhoSampled? can help you! In it, you can find most of the music from around the world that already used this resource.
If you want to listen to more song that have samples from others, check out the playlist we made!
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The article above was edited by Julia Queiroz.
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