“An important tool in writing and producing modern music is
the ability to record and manipulate sound samples. Many
genres (including hip-hop and drum and bass) demonstrate artists’
virtuosity with sound sampling: creating original music with
inherent depth and texture, derived from the methods used to create
the music. Since most computers with a soundcard have a line-in,
they can be used to record sounds from live sources which can be
used within a composition. This article explores currently
available sample editing software for Linux.”
“A sampler consists of many tools to facilitate sound processing
and manipulation. The fundamental tools are cut, copy, paste and
undo. To create colour and depth with the sounds you record, you
need to be able to manipulate the samples with effects and filters,
analogous to a graphics package like Photoshop or The Gimp. For
example, the source may have high treble which results in hiss. By
using filters, you can take away some of the higher frequencies to
make the hiss less noticeable. You could also use an envelope to
control the amount of filtering on different parts of the
recording. You may even want to change the speed of the sample
without altering the pitch, or add delay, flange or phaser
effects.”