Curious about our new SONGtech program? Thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation we’ve been meeting with 20 youth in grades 7-10 each week since the end of March. SONGtech members are learning how to create music using a variety of apps and production techniques, and they are also being encouraged to really think about what music means in their lives.
Here’s a snippet of one conversation the SONGtech group is exploring:
SAMPLE THE WORLD AROUND YOU (written by SONGtech facilitator Chris Trimmer)
Sampling is the art of capturing snippets of audio (e.g., music, movie dialogue, environmental sounds, etc.) from different audio sources (like, vinyl records or field recordings) and creating a completely new piece of music. Sampling isn’t ‘copying’ someone else’s music – its building something new based on what’s been done before.
To sample, you need to have a mindset of curiosity for music (and sound) that is meaningful to you in order to create music that best represents you.
It’s very common for hip-hop superstars, like Beyonce, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z and Eminem, to talk about the old records from the 1970s that their parents played in the house as an inspiration for them when sampling to create their own unique music. To these musicians, those old records represent a sense of home and ‘where they came from’. In other words, the sounds on those records are meaningful to them. Having this type of mindset can be beneficial for you too, and not just in music making.
Being curious about the sounds (and sights, and smells, etc.) in your environment helps you understand better how your environment is affecting you. Do you really like the sound of a parent singing in the kitchen? Do you feel stressed when you hear your morning alarm go off? Your curiosity about your environment will help you understand how it affects you. As the saying goes,’The more you know, the more you grow’.