Walk on and on/Story/Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Sampling Lesson!
サンプリング講座！ (? (edit))

Character appearances:

Translator(s):

lozy bug (Youtube)

Source(s):

Youtube Playlist

A Few Days Later
Hospital

Toya

Souma-san, I'll be in your care from today on.

Souma

Haha. I'm only teaching you how to sample, so you don't need to be so formal. You're so serious~

Toya

No, as long as you are taking time out of your day for me, I feel that it is best to show my gratitude.

Souma

I get how you feel, but you can loosen up a bit. C'mon, let's get started!

— Some time later —

Souma

By the way, Aoyagi-kun, you do know what sampling is, right?

Toya

Ah, yes. In a manner of speaking.

Toya

It's a production technique that involves cutting out certain parts or phrases from a song, and making use of it in your own music.

Souma

Yep. You got it. To be a little more specific, it's not just taking sounds from pre-existing songs, but sounds from nature, people's voices, the sounds of machinery... You can sample all kinds of sounds in the world, and use it.

Souma

But, as far as street music culture goes, the definition you gave is more relevant, Aoyagi-kun.

Toya

Souma-san, have you made music like that from the beginning?

Souma

Yup. Street music was my introduction to composing, after all.

Souma

The street culture here is really unique, so I was really enthusiastic when it came to learning more about sampling.

Souma

...Ah. Speaking of culture, Aoyagi-kun, you said something a bit interesting the other day, didn't you?

Toya

Is there something that concerned you?

Souma

Yeah. I remember you said "I have a background in classical music, so I don't understand the sampling used in street culture".

Souma

Why does a classical background mean you don't understand sampling?

Toya

...I see. This is a bit of a personal story, but.

Toya

When I was learning classical music, my father taught me that above all else, it was most important to respect the score——

Toya

He wanted me to accurately identify the composer's intentions, and reproduce them as faithfully as possible.

Toya

But sampling takes a part of a song and reprocesses it. To me, that seemingly destroys the composer's original intent...so rather than not understanding, it's more like I feel a sense of a resistance to the idea.

Toya

What my father taught me before——if you were to repeat motifs from other movements, as Chopin did, I would at least understand that.

Souma

I get it. You're right, if you were raised like that, the process of taking a part of a song and modifying it to fit your own would be difficult.

Souma

But, if you ask me, sampling isn't that different from what you just said.

Toya

Eh? What do you mean by that?

Souma

At the root of sampling as a whole, there's a feeling of respect.

Souma

You borrow the sound because you think the song is good. After all, if you can't bring out the best parts of the original sound, there's no point in borrowing it.

Souma

Instead of hiding away a good song that's influenced you, you expose it for everyone to see, and you create new music in your own style.

Toya

...I see. I hadn't thought of it that way before.

Souma

Yep. There's all sorts of thought processes behind sampling. It's pretty interesting!

Souma

——But, Aoyagi-kun, you were pretty serious about classical, weren't you!

Toya

Ah...yes. My parents are classical pianists. We're a family of composers, so...

Souma

Wait, really!? That's amazing!

Toya

It was rather difficult, as their instructional methods were quite strict...

Toya

But, I'm glad to have been able to find a link connecting classical music and street music thanks to you, Souma-san.

Souma

...Alright then, with your preconceptions out of the way, why don't I just show you how it's done?

Rustling

Toya

Did you compose on that laptop?

Souma

Yeah, yeah! When I was partnered with Arata, I would always use this guy.

Souma

It's only got stuff from up until about 4 years ago, but all of my audio data from sampling is in this folder.

Mouse clicking

Toya

! That's quite a lot of data. The title of this one is..."crowd"? And this one is "under the overpass"?

Souma

Yeah. In my case, like I told you before, I don't just sample things from other songs, I sample sounds from nature, too.

Toya

I see...and it seems like you have other things as well. Like the sound of an egg cracking, or the sound of a slipper. Sounds that you would find in everyday life...

Souma

Ahaha. I mean, in my case, I end up hearing all sorts of sounds and thinking about how I could use them for music.

Souma

And when I take sounds from things that're within reach, I feel like there's a link between my personal life and my music, and I like that.

Toya

...Haha. That's a very wonderful way of thinking.

Souma

Right? Then, while I've got this, why don't you actually watch me work on something!

— Some time later —

Mouse clicking

Souma

——Is what I said in the heat of the moment, but...

Souma

Since I can only use one hand, using a computer is kinda difficult... Sorry for asking you to navigate everything for me.

Toya

No, you're going out of your way to teach me all of this, so please let me do this for you.

Souma

Then, let's start by deciding on the beat.

Toya

Yes. A fundamental of track-making.

Souma

What sound...should we use as a base?

Souma

Ah, I know. There was a song I used to listen to a lot on my way to school. We can just loop the intro of that and use it as a beat.

Souma

This one's pretty optimistic, one of those "No matter how far your feelings sink, tomorrow's gonna be brighter!" type of songs. It always cheered me up whenever I listened to it.

Toya

This song must hold a very special place in your heart, then.

Souma

That's right! When I would listen to it early in the morning, it made me think, "I'm gonna do my best today, too!" y'know?

Souma

So, if I use a brighter sound to capture the vibe of those mornings...and I put drums and a bass loop over that, we can move on to the melodic phrases.

— Some time later —

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