In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one soun recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also possible with tape loops or with vinyl records on a phonograph. It can aslo just be a sample that you play as an example of the piece instead of playing the whole track.