How to Curate Samples for Your Beats

When inspiration hits, it can be easy to lose motivation once you start browsing through hundreds of sounds trying to find the right one.

To stop that from happening, here are some tips to help you curate your samples and get through the creative process more efficiently.

Organization

Having a good, clearly labeled folder system will help you find what you need more easily and quickly. Separating them into instruments, genre, mood, or however suits you best means you can head to the exact folder you need to straight away, cutting down on lots of random searching.

Favorites

As well as having your samples organized, having favorites will allow you to find that exact sound you’re looking for almost immediately. Your favorites can be built up organically over time, adding them as you come across them in your beat making.

Specify

If you’re going to marketplaces and looking for drum kits or sample packs, get specific about what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a certain sound, for a certain genre, include this in your search terms - e.g. ‘progressive house kicks’, rather than just ‘kicks’

Know Your Taste

Sometimes as producers we can get so caught up in creating that we don’t spend enough time actively listening to music. Take the time to listen to music that you love, and find out what it is that you love about it. Whether it’s chord progressions, certain keys, drums, transitions, etc.

Other Producers

Don’t be afraid to reach out to producers you look up to, and ask where they get their samples from. If they have their own sample packs or and/or drum kits, buy it. Or if you have producer friends that have kits, maybe they can hook you up for free.