Free sound samples
Dear site visitors, thanks to tremendous interest in these files, we are currently moving them to more dedicated servers. We transmitted 5TB of sound sample a day for two days last week... In the meantime, v.1 of the 44kHz samples (with 80% of the files) can be downloaded via this BitTorrent tracker. You can also download the collections from their creator's pages on the Internet Archive (below).
Over 8.5GB of FREE Samples – Sound Effects, Loops, Grooves, Drums, Voices and Instruments – for The Children of the World. This huge and continuously expanding collection of new and original samples have been donated to Dr. Richard Boulanger @ cSounds.com specifically to support the OLPC developers, students and XO users. They are free and will be available under a CC-BY license for downloading and use in your music and activities. Each of the 6500+ samples is 16-bit, WAV, Mono, normalized to -3dB, and provided at 3 sample rates - 44.1K, 22.5K and 16K.
Internet Archive links
file sets by creator
- from The Berklee College of Music
Selections from The Berklee College of Music Sampling Archive (1999-2007)
(OVER 2400 SAMPLES! - 1.5 gigabytes)
A collection of sounds that have been selected, organized and prepared for OLPC by Dr. Richard Boulanger (a.k.a. Dr.B.). From 1999 - 2007, these samples were recorded in The Berklee Studios and on location in and around Boston under the supervision of Associate Professor Michael Brigida by over 250 Music Synthesis majors taking his Advanced Sampling Class at The Berklee College of Music. Editing and trimming these original, long, and often meandering recordings into usable individual samples was done by Music Synthesis students - Diane Douglas and Colman O'Reilly.
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 1 - instruments - ethnic (169 samples) tabla, conga, didgeridoo, sitar, rattles, shakers, kalimba, khaen, gong, and more
- 44.1K v1a, v1b, v1c, v1d, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 2 - instruments - extended techniques (63 samples) bowing, blowing, tweeking, glisses, scrapes, etc.
- 44.1K v2a, v2b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 3 - instruments - guitar (28 samples) feedback, scrapes
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 4 - instruments - piano (50 samples) traditional and prepared piano
- 44.1K v4a, v4b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 5 - instruments - voice (113 samples) singing, synthetic, screams, vocal fx, mouth pops and noises, bubbles, and wolf whistles
- 44.1K v5a, v5b, v5c, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 6 - noises - animals (51 samples) real and human vocal imitations
- 44.1K v6a, v6b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 7 - noises - mechanical and industrial (150 samples) fans, motors, machines, mechanical noises, sirens, subway trains, engines, blenders, buzzers, sprinkler, wind-up toys
- 44.1K v7a, v7b, v7c, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 8 - noises - rolling, rattling, squeeking and granular textures (563 samples) crumpling, dropping, grinding, squeeking, rolling, rain, beads, ball bearings, rattles
- 44.1K v8a, v8b, v8c, v8d, v8e, v8f, v8g, v8h, v8i, v8j, v8k, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 9 - noises - ruberbands and balloons (47 samples) bass, drum, blown, fx
- 44.1K v9a, v9b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 10 - noises – foley, natural ambiences and sound effects (361 samples) wrenches, background noise, rain, swimming, opening and pouring beer, cheering and laughing crowd, old telephone ringers, swords, walking
- 44.1K v10a, v10b, v10c, v10d, v10e, v10f, v10g, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 11 - percussion - bells and cymbals (154 samples) alarms, metal plates, struck and bowed cymbals and glass
- v11a, v11b, v11c, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 12 - percussion - slams, strikes and smashed (319 samples) metal, wood, glass, rubber, hits, bounces and doorslams
- 44.1K v12a, v12b, v12c, v12d, v12e, v12f, v12g, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 13 - synthesizer - fx (126 samples) spaceships, lasers, explosions, machineguns, glisses
- 44.1K v13a, v13b, v13c, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 14 - synthesizer - loops (56 samples) ostinatos and arpeggios
- 44.1K v14a, v14b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 15 - synthesizer - pads (58 samples) animated drones and ambient textures
- 44.1K v15a, v15b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Berklee Sampling Archive - Volume 16 - synthesizer - waves (84 samples) pedals, analog timbres, filtersweeps, stabs
- 44.1K v16a, v16b, 22.5K, 16K
OLPC Samples from 31 Music Synthesis Alumni from Berklee
(OVER 1450 SAMPLES! - 2.39 gigabytes)
A collection of original samples and synthetic sounds recorded and created by current Music Synthesis Majors and Music Synthesis Alumni from The Berklee College of Music.
- BT (a.k.a. Brian Transeau) (25 samples) – from Breaks from the NU Skool at 100, 105, 110, 112, 120, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132 and 136 BPM
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Jonathan Bailey (67 samples) – upright bass
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 22.5K, 16K
- Lee Barkovich (32 samples) – synthetic robots, acoustic gunshots, synthetic explosions
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Jean-Luc Cohen (79 samples) – acoustic drumkit and organic textures – rainstick, didgeridoo, bubbles
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 22.5K, 16K
- Matthew Davidson (33 samples) – synth, techno and electro loops at 100, 104, 112, 120 and 132 BPM
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Michael DiMattia (42 samples) – loops, pads, bass, percussion, ethnic, techno and more at 77 and 88 BPM
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Mark Dorflinger (31 samples) – drumloops, trombone, knives, scissors, bottles, fx
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Flavio Gaete (405 samples) – viola, string orchestra, guitarloops, bassloops, vibeloops, synthloops, drumloops, complete tracks from original songs – BNGA, HLC1-4, SIK and TFS1-2
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 44.1K v4, 44.1K v5, 44.1K v6, 44.1K v7, 44.1K v8, 22.5K, 16K
- Flavio Gaete & Tony Diodore (121 samples) – drum, bass, guitars, vibes, synthpads, synth and percussion loops from original songs – Better and No Escape
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 22.5K, 16K
- Jonathan Hakakian (16 samples) – drumloops, cellphone, printers, microwave oven, and other textures
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Jacob Joaquin (88 samples) – baby talk plus eurorack, serge and csound synth sounds
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 22.5K, 16K
- Adam Keshen (78 samples) – beatbox, bucket street percussion, synth fx
- 44.1K-v1, 44.1K-v2, 22.5K, 16K
- Matt Lange (38 samples) – glitchy drum kit, synthetic laser sounds
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Lisa Lim (29 samples) – didgeridoo, tabla, koto, harp, oud, shakuhachi, framedrum, shekerra, hammered dulcimer
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Colman O'Reilly (85 samples) – squeeky dog toys, csound processed guitars, stutter edits, swells, assorted noises, distorted guitar progressions at 80 BPM
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Joo Won Park (22 samples) – fly, cricket, frogs, footstep, storm, mouthsounds, vocal drum
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Gabriel Pulido (14 samples) – beach, cat, celloloop, goovyseeds, windloop, piano and vibes
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Chen Sokolovsky (47 samples) – female background singing voice, vocal drum, beat box, assorted sound fx
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Andrew Sorkin (47 samples) – skateboarding, bubbles, speech, kickdrums, drones and synth fx
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Gregory Tripi (41 samples) – atmospheres, pads, cello loops, processed cello, harmonics
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Nils de Mol van Otterloo (63 samples) – bass clarinet, tabla, gamelan, musical glasses, gongs, world percussion loops, frogs, birds, oceanwaves, and synth textures
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 22.5K, 16K
- Elaine Walker (1 samples) – desert rain
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Jeremy Zuckerman (9 samples) – funky guitar licks, loops, comping at 100 BPM
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
Sounds from 2 Music Synthesis Faculty at Berklee
An acoustic soundscape and a special collection of samples and synthetic transformations featuring the vocal talent of Oral Moses.
- Michael Bierylo (106 samples) – Gamelon, Electric Sitar, Bass-Baritone "Oral Moses" Vocal Samples, assorted SFX
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 22.5K, 16K
- Stephen MacLean (2 samples) – An Acoustic Soundscape - Frogs on a California Coast
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
Berklee Shares lessons come from Berklee Press books and DVDs, online music courses and online college-level accredited certificate programs at Berkleemusic.com, the online extension school of Berklee College of Music. Here you will find free music lessons that you can download, share and trade with your friends and fellow musicians.
- from Csounders Around the World
Samples From the Worldwide Community of Csound Developers, Teachers and Users
(OVER 1200 SAMPLES! - 1.64 gigabyte)
- Oeyvind Brandtsegg (56 samples) - vibes, piano, processed vocals, synths, and fx
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Lou Cohen (90 samples) – clavichord, marimba, assorted instruments and noises
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 22.5K, 16K
- John ffitch (37 samples) – selected soundscapes from India, Cuba, France, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, England
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 44.1K v4, 44.1K v5, 44.1K v6, 44.1K v7, 44.1K v8, 22.5K, 16K
- Risto Holopainen (18 samples) - seagull, moped, prepared piano, teacups, and synth fx
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Eshan Khadaroo (126 samples) – beatkitchen - synthloops, drumloops, drumNsynthloops at 56, 80, 84, 87, 100,110, 111, 120 BPM
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Peiman Khosravi (139 samples) – African string instrument, Venezuelan calling horn, bells, harpsichord, double_bass, kitchen_sounds, and vocal noises
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 44.1K v4, 22.5K, 16K
- Anthony Kozar (28 samples) – speech phonemes, time-stretched vocals, chimes
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Jay Leboeuf (34 samples) – rock and jazz drumkits
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Keith McMillen (282 samples) – Zeta electric bass and violin
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 44.1K v4, 44.1K v5, 44.1K v6, 22.5K, 16K
- Tim Mortimer (143 samples) – guitar, bass, glitch, blips, synth textures, pads, fx, and assorted acoustic and electric noises
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 44.1K v4, 22.5K, 16K
- Dave Phillips (13 samples) – physical models
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- Prent Rodgers (111 samples) – fingerpiano, spring drums, bass, fx
- 44.1K v1, 44.1K v2, 44.1K v3, 22.5K, 16K
- Mihir Sarkar (10 samples) – tabla
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
- from Dr.B. - 258 megabytes
Dr.B.'s Selected Samples from The Csound Book
Dr.B.'s OLPCsound Collection
A collection of synthetic sounds that were created by Dr.B. specifically for the OLPC XO using Csound.
- Dr. Boulanger's Original XO Startup Sound featuring "The OLPC Motive - A B E C# = the letters O L P C" (3 versions)
- 44.1K, 16K
Dr.B.'s Personally Selected and Edited Favorites from The Berklee Collection
A huge collection of sampled and synthetic sounds that were collected, edited, sampled, designed, synthesized as alternative source material for the TamTam activities by Dr.B.
Some of Dr.B.'s Selected Samples from Home
- Philip Boulanger's Solo Cello Sources for Moving Into the Light - themes, arpeggios, harmonics, fx (8 samples)
- 44.1K, 22.5K, 16K
A Few of Dr.B.'s Fun Sounds
- from Tam Tam - 19 megabytes
The Original Samples, Percussion Sounds and Drumkits from TamTam
A huge collection of sampled and synthetic sounds that were specially designed, compressed, EQ'd and edited for the XO Csound Masterpiece - Tam Tam by the activity developers: Eric Lamothe, Jean Piché, Olivier Bélanger and Nathanael Lécaudé
- from Open Path Music
The Open Path Music Custom Sample Library for OLPC
(OVER 350 SAMPLES! - 83 megabytes)
A collection of sounds that were recorded specifically for OLPC by some of San Jose's top studio musicians at Open Path Music for use in Tam Tam and other XO Activities.
- The Open Path Music Collection V1 (113 samples) – drumKits, drums, tablas, congas, timbale, cymbals, shakers
- 44K v1a, 44K v1b, 44K v1c, 22.5K, 16K
- The Open Path Music Collection V2 (54 samples) – flute, altoFlute, clarinet, tenor & bari sax, trumpet, flugelhorn, shenai
- 44K v2a, 44K v2b, 22.5K, 16K
- The Open Path Music Collection V3 (66 samples) – acoustic & electric guitars and bass, banjo, mandolin, ukelele
- 44K v3a, 44K v3b, 22.5K, 16K