Sampler (musical instrument) facts for kids
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument. It is a bit like a synthesizer, but it works differently. Instead of making new sounds from scratch, a sampler uses recordings of sounds. These recordings are called "samples".
A user adds different sound recordings to the sampler. Then, the sampler plays these sounds back. How it plays them depends on how you set it up. Samplers often store these sounds in a special computer memory called RAM. This helps the sampler find and play the sounds very quickly.
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What is a Sampler?
A sampler is a device that records and plays back sounds. Think of it like a super advanced tape recorder for music. You can record anything, from a drum beat to a dog barking. Then, you can use these recordings to make new music.
Samplers let you change the sounds you record. You can make them faster or slower. You can also change their pitch, making them sound higher or lower. This allows musicians to be very creative with sounds.
How Samplers Work
Samplers work by taking small pieces of sound, which are the "samples." These pieces are stored digitally. This means the sound is turned into numbers that a computer can understand.
Once a sound is a digital sample, you can control it. You can play it back at different speeds. You can also play it on a keyboard like a piano. Each key might play the same sound at a different pitch. Or, different keys might play completely different sounds.
Using Samples in Music
Musicians use samplers in many types of music. They are very popular in hip hop, electronic dance music, and pop music. Samplers let artists use unique sounds. They can take a sound from anywhere and turn it into music.
For example, a musician might record a drum hit. They can then repeat that drum hit to make a beat. They could also record a voice and play it back like a melody. Samplers give musicians a lot of freedom to experiment.
History of Samplers
The idea of using recorded sounds in music is not new. Early machines used tape to play back sounds. These were big and hard to use.
In the 1970s, the first digital samplers appeared. These were often very expensive. Only big music studios could afford them. Over time, samplers became smaller and cheaper. This made them available to more musicians.
Samplers Today
Today, samplers are often part of computer software. Many music programs have built-in sampler features. This means you don't always need a separate machine. You can use your computer to record, edit, and play samples.
There are also still hardware samplers. These are physical machines with buttons and pads. Many musicians like these for their hands-on feel. Both software and hardware samplers are important tools for making modern music.
Images for kids
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Lichttonorgel (1936), an early sampling organ using analog optical disc
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Fairlight CMI (1979–)
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Fig. 1: This shows how different sound recordings can be placed across a keyboard. Here, four violin sounds are spread over 12 notes. Each sound plays at three different pitches.
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Joaquín Lana using a Yamaha SU10 Sampler
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DEC PDP-8/A (a minicomputer). The Computer Music Melodian (1976) was made using this.
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Renoise, a graphical Tracker music program with a sampler built in.
See also
In Spanish: Sampler para niños
