15
votes
Difference between drum sounds and melody sounds
For the purposes of this question, lets consider three broad categories of musical sounds:
Unpitched sounds - examples include cymbals, bullroarer
Semi-pitched sounds - examples include tom-tom drums,...
- 56.1k
14
votes
Accepted
How to check the quality of an audio sample?
The only thing that matters is if the sample sounds good. You have to listen to it and decide whether you want to use it. No numbers or waveforms or analysis programs are going to tell you whether ...
- 19.5k
11
votes
Accepted
Difference between drum sounds and melody sounds
Well, sound is pretty much all about spectrum. And it so happens that there is a fundamental difference between typical unpitched percussion sounds and the typical sounds of melodic instruments (even ...
10
votes
Cannot seem to discover what scale is used in a sample (Dm F Em D♯)
A chord progression doesn't have to all fit one scale. This one seems basically in D Dorian, with the E♭ a chromatic passing chord between Em and Dm. (I wonder why they named it D♯ instead of the ...
- 90.4k
9
votes
Accepted
Will characteristic acoustical properties of real instruments also be observed when using high quality digital samples?
In general, yes - a high quality sample is essentially a high-quality recording, and will capture the overtones/harmonics, as well as other 'unstable' noises, that would be heard when simply listening ...
- 45.9k
8
votes
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Cannot seem to discover what scale is used in a sample (Dm F Em D♯)
I'd consider that progression in D minor (Dorian) with the D♯ as a transition chord. In other words, the D♯ is a chromatic transition chord, taking you from Em to Dm: Em -> D♯ -> Dm
- 6,309
6
votes
How to check the quality of an audio sample?
While the ultimate indicator of quality is what sounds best. If you're looking for the "cleanest" sound, there are a few things you should look for.
Typically, you want to find audio files in ...
5
votes
How to check the quality of an audio sample?
While everyone is rightfully emphasizing that the sound is, at the end of the day, the only important metric, there are still a few basic technical things to look out for:
Lossy vs. lossless: given ...
- 150
5
votes
Accepted
What sort of samples you need to record for a good flute sample pack
This boils down to "How much detail do you require, how much articulation & can your playback engine support that articulation?"
At one end of the scale we have the single sample, stretched the ...
- 27.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Can a song be made entirely of samples?
Can a song be made entirely of samples?
Of course.
For example, say I sample a single middle-c piano note. My understanding is that a DAW sampler can then change the pitches of this one sample so ...
- 45.9k
4
votes
Where can I get Native American drum and flute samples
Sample libraries exist [hundreds of them], but though they all are licensed so you can use them in your own compositions for commercial use, I doubt whether any of them would permit re-use inside what ...
- 27.4k
4
votes
How to check the quality of an audio sample?
There are no real indicators like that. Of course, in general you could say for example, that .wav files are higher quality than .mp3 or that during the production phase 24 bit may be better than 16 ...
- 2,921
4
votes
How to check the quality of an audio sample?
Other answers have given some information about the technical considerations of the audio format, and pointed out that one primary consideration is of course "is this the sound I want?".
There are ...
- 45.9k
4
votes
Are most modern drums in pop/hiphop/edm music synthesized?
It's not clear exactly what genres (the phrase "modern music" isn't very precise) you're asking about, so I'll cover several of them:
Rock, Hard Rock, Punk, Country: More often real acoustic drums ...
- 56.1k
4
votes
Accepted
What is the lowest scientific note on a piano (for sampling)?
The range shown in the last link is correct for almost any standard piano.
There are models with a narrower range (like those small pianos seen in living rooms of many american films and tv series, ...
- 6,013
3
votes
Accepted
Using additive resynthesis to avoid sample clearance?
It's always wisest to get clearance first than to try to apologise for it afterwards. It's cheaper too, in the long run.
Of course, if it's not from one of the 'big boys' who pay people to hunt down ...
- 27.4k
3
votes
Can a song be made entirely of samples?
I think you have a number of issue combined in this question.
But about the piano sample using only middle C, you could do this but when the single sample is pitch shifted through the full piano ...
- 54.9k
3
votes
Can a song be made entirely of samples?
Yes, we can make music with only sampled sounds. And we do. If we're trying to imitate 'real' instruments, it's almost exclusively what we do.
There'll be more than one base sample for each ...
- 90.4k
3
votes
How to import a piano sound from a VST plugin into a synth?
Because the flute can be considered (if we exclude the initial breath noise) as a single waveform that can be repeated or extended without too much problem, it is very easy to import it as a sample. ...
- 36.8k
3
votes
Cannot seem to discover what scale is used in a sample (Dm F Em D♯)
One way to approach this would be to use D Dorian for the first three chords, then D# Lydian on the D# chord.
- 31
2
votes
Creating music tracks from samples in ableton live
Yes, Ableton has two powerful samplers built in, Simpler and Sampler. I think some of the smaller versions of Ableton (like Live Lite) only contain Simpler. But they both can be used to create sample-...
- 2,447
2
votes
What's the best way to play variable-tempo samples live?
I would suggest looking for a Tap Tempo feature on a sampler. This should allow you to have prerecorded samples stored within a single device that can have their output tempo adjusted simply by ...
- 7,429
2
votes
Accepted
Standard scratch samples used in every dang song ever
The opening scratch to "My Name Is" is a baby scratch of a kick drum sound. "24K magic" also has a baby scratch of a kick drum. So I'd guess that's what you mean.
It may be a sample but it's probably ...
- 771
2
votes
Electribe ES-1 and Mbox 2
You've misunderstood the way inputs and outputs work.
The output of one device is almost always connected to the input of another device. You don't connect inputs to inputs and outputs to outputs. ...
- 56.1k
2
votes
How to get good legato from a choir sample library?
The sad truth is that if the legato of a sample library is programmed bad, it'll stay bad no matter what you do. There are not really many things you can do yourself to make sound a legato better. ...
- 2,921
2
votes
Accepted
Do I need to EQ frequencies before layering or after?
Assuming each of those EQ diagrams is a band-pass filter, eliminating the frequencies outside the permitted band, then to EQ all after you comp the sample will affect the entire combination sample, so ...
- 27.4k
2
votes
Can a song be made entirely of samples?
I'm just wondering what the point is of synth instruments (manipulating waveforms) if I can just use samples for everything.
Synthesizers don't usually make convincing substitutions for acoustic ...
- 4,823
2
votes
Accepted
The gist of how you create varied pitched/volume realistic drum samples in JavaScript
I think you have the gist pretty well already!
You certainly could use a large number of samples per drum, and select them based on striking speed, position, etc. That is by far the most common ...
- 45.9k
2
votes
What are some easy methods of making score typesetting software sound better?
You can sometimes improve realism by 'over-notating' - adding phrasings, dynamics and articulations that would be done naturally by a live player.
For more control over balance, you can Export the ...
- 90.4k
2
votes
Cannot seem to discover what scale is used in a sample (Dm F Em D♯)
Thinking of it as D dorian with a passing chord is a perfectly good approach, but theres actually some cool jazz theory going on too. ignore this if its overwhelming - jamming and listening are much ...
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