In
music,
sampling is the act of taking a portion, or
sample, of one
sound recording and reusing it as an
instrument or a sound recording in a different song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by
experimental musicians working with
musique concrète and
electroacoustic music, who physically manipulated
tape loops or
vinyl records on a
phonograph. In the late 1960s, the use of tape loop sampling influenced the development of
minimalist music and the production of
psychedelic rock and
jazz fusion. In the 1970s,
DJs who experimented with manipulating vinyl on two turntables gave birth to
hip hop music, the first
popular music genre based originally around the art of sampling. The widespread use of sampling in popular music increased with the rise of
electronic music and
disco in the mid 1970s to early 1980s, the development of
electronic dance music and
industrial music in the 1980s, and the worldwide influence of hip hop since the 1980s on genres ranging from
contemporary R&B to
indie rock. Since that time sampling is often done with a
sampler, originally a piece of hardware, but today, more commonly a
computer program.
Vinyl emulation software may also be used, however, and many
turntablists continue to sample using traditional methods. The inclusion of sampling tools in modern digital production methods increasingly introduced sampling into many genres of popular music, as well as genres predating the invention of sampling, such as
classical music,
jazz and various forms of
traditional music.