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BOOK: Making Music With Samples
By Daniel Duffell - Large paperback, 208 pages
(Includes 2 CDs filled with samples)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
I've been looking for a book like this. Well, to be honest, I didn't expect ALL this, but I did want a book that would explain exactly how the whole world of the electronic musician rotated. The Sampler Revolution pretty much bowled me over and I never got up and joined the party. I feel much better now, thank you.
Daniel Duffell's book, Making Music With Samples, demystifies most of it quite nicely. The biggest surprise for the average reader will be a new understanding of just how vast the sampler revolution is, and just how many forms of music make good use of samples. Which would be just about all of them, or darned close to. Duffell explains the history, but this is about much more than that. This takes you into the nuts and bolts and tells you how to do just what the title says: make music with samples.
An area of study most important to people who are indeed making music with samples is copyright law, and Duffell gives you some basic rules to live by. And he does it without writing in so much legalese that you begin to tremble, sweat and just look for something to sign so you can move on.
You also learn how to make the samples you'll use, though pro samples are discussed, as well. There's plenty of information about gear, including history, what the cream would be and what works just fine (allowing you to shop with options and maybe come home with a positive balance still showing in your check register). This was a section I was very impressed with, because... as much as it pains me to say so, I'm a bleedin' idiot when it comes to technical things, and I always end up lost in the dust while reading books on this subject. This was very straight forward. I can walk into gear shops without the "sucker" sign lighting up over my head now.
Duffell knows you're not likely to have a library of sounds to start working with, so two CDs are provided, one with a massive assortment of samples and another that gives examples of things discussed in the book. Mighty considerate. And you might want to consider it, too. You'll learn how a lot of your favorite music is made, and if you spend a little time working on it, you'll make some music yourself.
© 2005 - DJ Johnson