Can they hear a difference? Professional digital composition and the ability of music students to discriminate deep-sampled vs. acoustic instrumental performance recordings

Abstract

The majority of popular music is produced utilizing deep-sampled instruments. This may be important for music educators to understand as the ability to expertly manipulate deep-samples to sound like live performance is an expected industry standard. The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the ability of music students (n=96) and professors (n=9) to discriminate between deep-sampled and acoustic recordings and to explore why they believed recordings were composed with deep-samples or were live acoustic performances. Results indicate weak ability of participants to discriminate between deep-sampled and acoustic recordings. Essay responses indicate participants doubted such refined and expressive recordings were possible using deep-sampled instruments. Implications for music education include reconsidering skills that students and their teachers need to strive towards industry-standard production.