Before Hip Hop

Jazz Boom, 1920s-1930s

Many believe that the practice of sampling began in the 80s with hip hop. On the contrary, a few musicians have been sampling long before hip hop came into existence. During the jazz boom around the 1920s-1940s, jazz musicians “sampled” sections from other jazz players’ songs while performing live. Doing so was akin to paying homage to the jazz players they sampled the pieces of music from. When a jazz player sampled another jazz player’s piece, it showed that they respected the skill and creativity of said jazz player.

Musique Concrète, 1940s

During the late 1940’s, French composers began experimenting with looping and splicing tapes of recordings to create new music. The technique would become known as musique concrète. Pierre Schaeffer is credited for pioneering musique concrète. Pierre Schaeffer recorded real-world sounds with tape and edited the tape through splicing.

The Chamberlin, 1950s

The late 1940s and 1950s brought the Chamberlin, a keyboard made by a man name Henry Chamberlin. The Chamberlin keyboard contained a library of taped pre-recorded instruments loops. The Chamberlin was a very versatile sampling machine of its time. One was able to switch between an abundance of different sounds as much as they desired.

 

Mellotron, 1960s

After the Chamberlin came the Mellotron. In 1962, the man who would soon make the Mellotron purchased a couple of Chamberlins. Bill Fransen took and in-depth look at the Chamberlins and began constructing the Mellotron. The Mellotron was another keyboard significant to the practice of sampling. The Mellotron used analog tape that could sample new sounds for a new recording. The keyboard allowed recorded loops to be played at different pitches. The keyboard also came with seven-second recordings of orchestral instruments.

Samplers & Drum Breaks, 1970s

In the early 70s, still before the time hip hop came to be, Djs will create drum breaks. Drum breaks were when  DJs would extend drum beats from funk, jazz, and soul records so that people could dance longer. DJs would be able to do this through manipulating the vinyl records. The 70s was also the birth of digital samplers. Samplers are digital devices that record/capture, store, and play portions of the sound samples. The first digital sampler was the Computer Music Melodian. Coming soon after was the Fairlight CMI (Computer Music Instrument). The Fairlight became one of most iconic samplers of all time. Before the Fairlight came out,  the word “sampling” was actually never used. It was only until the creators of the Fairlight coined the term “sampling” that the term was used to describe the action of recording instruments/sounds and reusing them within music productions.

 

Rise of Hip Hop

With the 80s came the rise of hip hop. With hip hop coming onto the scene, new techniques of sampling were being explored. A new tradition of sampling was born. Around the time, DJs were live sampling while doing a show. They would mix records, cut between breakbeats, and borrow and extend drum breaks from soul, funk, and jazz records.

Not only was hip hop on the rise, sampling became more accessible to the masses. It was during the 80s that musicians and producers began using drum machines more, creating loops and beats without a human drummer/band. They began using samplers to take pieces from music and incorporate those pieces within their tracks. Brands like Akai began making standalone samplers. One of those standalone samplers was the game changing Akai MPC (Music Production Center).

The digital sampling machines that preceded the MPC were much more expensive ($15,000-$25,000). In addition to the high price tag, the digital samplers were  either huge and clunky with numerous switches or came with multiple parts (monitor, QWERTY keyboard, synthesizer, etc.). The Akai MPC was cheaper ($5,000) and smaller. The machine was also more user-friendly compared to their predecessors. The older samplers required advanced technical knowledge.

The MPC was a drum machine and sampler combined with editing abilities. With the MPC, a producer was able to directly record samples from vinyl and tape things easily. The machine allowed its user to create loops and chop beats up easily. The MPC came with 16 rubber pads that played captured sound samples when touched as if it were an instrument itself. One was able to compose an entire song with the MPC alone. The MPC was used used by many legendary music producers such as J Dilla. With the machine came an abundance of music made incorporating samples. Below is a video of someone making a beat with a jazz record and an Akai MPC60, Akai’s first MPC model. Learn more about the overall evolution of Akai’s iconic MPC here.