Sampling as material
One recording can be a note, a rhythm, or a cloud depending on how you cut and replay time.
Sampling turns recorded time into playable material. Replay the whole sound at different speeds for notes, cut it into rhythmic pieces, or overlap tiny windows until time dissolves into texture.
Listen for: One whole sound is replayed at different speeds.
Pitched playback changes two things
A conventional sampler raises pitch by playing the recording faster and lowers it by playing slower. That also shortens or lengthens the sound. The transformation is part of the character: a voice pitched down becomes both deeper and more drawn out.
Grains loosen pitch from time
Granular synthesis repeatedly plays tiny overlapping windows called grains. Density controls how often they begin, size controls each window, and spread distributes them in stereo. Because the grains overlap, a short moment can sustain as a cloud.
Choose sources with internal contrast: a vowel moving into a consonant, a scrape, a chord attack and tail. PlasticSynth processes microphone and file audio in the browser; it is not uploaded unless you deliberately save a session containing it.