Interpolation

How many of you actually do this?
Do you do it often?
Do you think it's ethically wrong?
What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of usin' it?


Please no beef.I just wanted to know where some of you stand on this.

I guess you are meaning re-creating part of an old record rather than sampling it. This is where I first heard the word "interpolate", but looking at any dictionary definitions of the word it doesn't seem to be used quite right in this musical context.

I think it is really for pretty mainstream acts on major labels as it can get them out of copyright issues if someone won't let them use a sample, but it can be expensive getting all the musicians & the right vintage gear just to record a couple of bars.

I guess I'm kind of interpolating when I do things like use a specific combination of Roland TR707 & 727 drum machine sounds that I like on early Chicago house tracks, or using old Linn Drum or Oberheim DX sounds with tunings & reverb like certain mid-'80s records, even if I'm not directly copying the beats or doing a totally retro-sounding track.

This is Why U Don't only Listen 2 Records 2 Sample..................

and Interpolation is Very old But Still A Useful tool even IF U Can Get A Copyright clearence................................




BASS Etc...Can Be Transcribed into Rythm Guitar or Cello ETC..............


VERY KOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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Dr.Dre and swiss beats do it all the time

I do it alot with classical music, since its over 70 years old u dont have to worry about a copyright.

I will play a riff from bach... or chopin then compose my own melody over it.
You can go to my soundclick page for an example(bach riff)


class...

I think replaying is the best route to go rather than sampling I found that chopping the samples into pieces listen to them piece by piece note by note it makes it easier to know and compare what's being played.

featherboy wrote:I guess you are meaning re-creating part of an old record rather than sampling it. This is where I first heard the word "interpolate", but looking at any dictionary definitions of the word it doesn't seem to be used quite right in this musical context.

You are right, that is not the word. I have seen this on the board a few times and it's finally gotten to me, so here's the free vocab lesson:

It's not interpolation, it's interpretation.

"A performer's distinctive personal version of a song, dance, piece of music, or role; a rendering."

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When I hear a track interpolating a really famous song that I recognize, it sounds cheesy to my ears. I would much rather hear the orignal sampled. That's just me.

here a definition of interpolation from the Reason 2.5 manual (theres a 'high quality interpolation' button on the NN-XT sampler)

High Quality Interpolation
This switch turns High Quality Interpolation on and off. When it is activated, the sample pitch is calculated using a more advanced interpolation algorithm. This results in better audio quality, especially for samples with a lot of high frequency content.

High Quality Interpolation uses more computer power however - so if you don't need it, it's a good idea to turn it off! Listen to the sounds in a context and determine whether you think this setting makes any difference.


-I also read that its basically the act of estimating a mid point between two known points

stryke wrote:How many of you actually do this?
Do you do it often?
Do you think it's ethically wrong?
What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of usin' it?


Please no beef.I just wanted to know where some of you stand on this.

interpolation, interpolation... i swear i heared that word once in class during a lesson of geography..

I love it when cats say they don't sample they play everything, then you see pictures of them in the studio and you don't see a band that plays all the ukeleyles and shii....
Swizz Beats is a good exaple... "I don't sample"
Styles P... I get high... hmmmm that vocal sounds an awful lot like a sample... doesn't it?
I'm not hating on the dude, I love most of his work, but keep it real. It originates from the crates.

Unless you are playing the instrument live, once it is recorded and used again it becomes a sample.
My thinking is (especially why copyright law are sooooo f**king stupid);
That on (e.g)Reason, all the instruments they have (Piano, Grand Piano, Strings, Guitar, Bass Guitar, etc etc) are all multisampled instruments. They are all played through an emulated sampler [nn19 or nn-xt]. Now, the piano sounds pretty similiar to the piano at my house.. infact it sounds (w/the exception of natural reverb) goddamn identical. So does that mean i am legally 'sampling' or not? I am using samples to recreate the sound of the piano. But i could record the piano into the computer (using the right equip) and have exactly the same sounds. So one was played on the piano and recorded, and one was played on the midi keyboard and recorded, and, they both sound the same. Whats the **** difference?

Also does copyright law imply that I can't have a certain likeness to a certain sound or melody? Does this mean that I cant use my synth in a specific way and that I should block certain combinations of settings off so i dont bite someones expression? I payed to be able to alter the settings of the synth to whatever I like when I bought it, so why should some1 tell I cant do this and that. I think this kinda thing is especially relevant with things like the Mo Phatt Module, as its used by many artists and has a familiar sound.

i gaurentee alot more people interprelate more than you think they do.

Do it.

you will increase your skills. I mean, if you learn how to hear a bassline or riff then be able to replay it, youll learn how to get the type of style or sound you are looking for. Just because you interpolate doesnt mean youre not being unoriginal-you dont have to copy it exactly........you can put it in a differant context, add your own shit to it, basically, It can be a good starting point for an original track.

It trains your ears....you get closer to: "i want it to sound like this" then being able to actually do it. If you can play what you hear from a sample.......youll be better at playing what you hear in your head.

Sometimes there are samples that are deemed unusable because things like percussion or vocals or whatever-you can get around that.

But i mean, the most important thing is that you can play differant styles. Like if you want a funk sounding track. But you learn more about how certain styles put together the pieces of music, this will help you influence yours the way you want.

cyrus I totally agree.

The fact is, there are only some many combination of notes. (especially with minor and major scales etc and shit like that) so no melody or bassline, or part of a song will be original. What makes it original is the combination of the parts used.

For me any kind of art is about expression (visual, musical, performance, etc), so you've got to be able to get good enough to express yourselves. Completely.

If you want to compare visual art to music, (there are a lot of similarities, believe) then you could imagine colours as instruments.
So red is a piano, pretty much all reds are the same, but you can get different shades (ie. grand piano, bright piano, etc), yellow is a guitar (you could include other 'stringed' instruments, banjo, strings, violin,etc), again there are different shades, blue=blown instruments, black and white are the drums/rhythm (they pull everything together and are able to alter the feeling of other parts). The other colours are combinations of these elements.
The point is that an artist turns these basic elements into something entirely different, by the way they layer and compose the elements.

In a way, sampling is beautiful art because it enables people to take carefully selected premixed colours and place them together to create something that would be very time consuming and possibly expensive (the right equipment would be needed), to recreate themselves. Do you hear people slate the great masters because when they used purple they didnt mix it from red and blue themselves? do you ****.