What is the difference between remixing/electronic sampling and “composing a song with notes like the Beatles”?
What is the difference between remixing/electronic sampling and “composing a song with notes like the Beatles”? Apparently, as remixing music reuses parts and portions from a collection of already existing sound recordings, some people believe that it cannot be compared with composing music from scratch.
As many of today’s mainstream hit songs are dominating the music industry, remixes and mash-ups have the function to put these familiar tones and melodies into a totally new context for us to re-evaluate.
Think of it this way: the concept of mashing-up songs and combiningvarious left over ingredients in the fridge to make a dish is the same. Isn’t using a limited amount and already existing ingredients to create a decent meal harder than getting whatever one needs from a market? Now, if the meal turn out to be mad and incoherent, do we really blame the chef? ON the other hand, if the “dish” or the mash-up song end up being harmonious and interesting, or even quite awesome, are we not considering the brilliant outcome as art?
I am not saying that sampling/remixing music is the same as composing. In fact, they are fundamentally different. Using computer software, putting together parts of songs with a couple mouse clicks cannot be categorized the same as writing notes, but remixing is definitely a type of art. It creates interaction and generates thinking. It is a new twist on the old, something modified yet so familiar.
