The Creative Development of Sampling Composers

Abstract

Using qualitative interview data, this chapter will explore the development of creative practice amongst dance music producers who use samples in their work (hereafter sampling composers), and consider a range of factors that have helped them to become successful (short biographies of the interviewees appear at the end of the chapter). It will be argued that while deliberate practice, or immersion in a domain, is fundamental to an individual’s creative evolution and chances of success, it is difficult for that individual to reach their creative potential without the opportunity to put in the hours to develop expertise. In addition, the importance of opportunity, or being in the right place at the right time, cannot be ignored in an individual’s creative journey. As Csikszentmihalyi asserts:

The Romantic idealisation of the solitary genius is so solidly lodged in our minds that to state the opposite — that even the greatest genius will not accomplish anything without the support of society and culture — borders on blasphemy. But the reality appears to be different. Favorable convergences in time and place open up a brief window of opportunity for the person who, having the proper qualifications, happens to be in the right place at the right time … The point is not that external opportunities determine a person’s creativity. The claim is more modest, but still extremely important: No matter how gifted a person is, he or she has no chance to achieve anything creative unless the right conditions are provided. (1997, p. 94)