i think it started as a money making scheme.
lets sell these samples to people who dont know how to play instruments,then anyone can be a musician.
i dont know about you but if your an old time musician like myself,you played your instruments.
 
no lets not get confused with drum software,and software that actualy forces you to write real music and not just press a button and have some samples start playing.
i say drum software becuase its a good example.i write all my drum parts out in midi and taylor make all my own parts.
im talking not about draging a sample in and playing it over and over and over,a sample you didnt write.
 
that guitar in the backround sounds really cool to..id give props to that guy for his guitar playing skillz..o wait...thats a sample too?
with great ideas and new and improved technics comes a price.
everyone and their brother stealing the thunder from great musicians,sweating years and years out to gain popularuty and recognition.
i had one guy listening to my stuff yesterday and said "yo bro..where'd you get these beats from?"
after vigoursly trying to explain i play all these instruments and i even thought i was doing him a favor by sharing some inside advice on how to mic a cab..
it used to be a science you know..
he told me i was wasting my time and i could get samples to do this,they'd probably even sound better.
wow,what an insult.
 
so i guess the 30 years of sweet ive put in to practicing 2 hours a day now amounts to nothing?
this was my responce to him...
"when someone pulls your plug out of the wall..are you still a musician?"
if the answer to this is no,then your not a musician,your a data specialist.
there is nothing wrong with being a data specialist but dont confuse it with being a musician.
 
noone listens to music the same way these days,people think musicians are beat makers.AKA:data specialists.
it may be the total reason alot of people say,music these days suks.
its not like it used to be,when real music ruled,real bands showed up with instruments and not a small box with a bunch of cords.
 
im all for what technology has dropped at my feet,but i will be damed if i take advantage of the shortcuts,easy way outs and samples.
the only good sample should be the one you make.
 
just a theory.

Y'know, this sampling/loop thing has been around for what, 30 years now?

Possibly time to get used to it. Or over it.

The quick and easy way is not the best way. It takes "Work", something that some people do not want to do.

It's called Band In A Box  ++++1

YOU TELL 'EM, CHUCK!!! ;-)

How you been, dude? Haven't seen you around for a while.

 ++++1 
you just pick a note---pick a instrument---pick a style of music --- and instant band.  i hear it used here a lot but it's usually never given credit or told its being used.

--------some kind of secret weapon---- I use it all the time because I can't play a single note

Oh gawd... are we gonna start this war again???   LOL

I love having samples available.  If I'm doing Classic Rock, I like to throw a bunch together so I can have something to play to, then I replace each as I get to them.  It makes the 'ol click track, basic bass, better drum track, better bass, even better drum track, even better bass iteration that much quicker.

That said, even when I use a sample for my electronic music, if I like it I'll recreate it myself.

I've played guitar since I could hold one, yet, one of the most creative periods of my life involved a bunch of projects which had me using nothing but soft synths and samples.

I know people who've played instruments their whole life but can't make an interesting noise unless they're given a specific set of instructions.

So it really depends on where you set the bar. To me the ability to play a song on an instrument doesn't make one a musician, no more than the ability to type words automatically makes you an author.

Also worth remembering that many of us real musicians would probably look like mere dilettantes in the eye of, say, Bach. 

I guess it can be annoying at times, but I don't think of all the time I've spent polishing my skills and studying as long hard hours - I've actually enjoyed it all the way and I still do. Playing an instrument is a reward in itself, and music is the end in itself. 

As Bruce Lee used to say - success is a journey, not a destination.

Rain---+++1