The term "One Shot" has evolved to be all-encompassing for any sound format that plays a single time.

Commonly an "instrument one shot" is a .wav file of a sound recorded as a single note that can be loaded up into your DAW sampler and played (or clicked in) as an instrument.

"Accents" are often a multi-layered, melodic flourish that can add interest and can be chopped and flipped just as easily as a full melody sample.

Other terms you may see include "chord shot" (being a single chord rather than note) and "texture" (sometimes short, sometimes long piece of audio leaning towards a more tactile tone).

Once the (instrument) One Shot is loaded in your sampler, you can play or click-in MIDI to write your own melodic parts. Chords, lead lines, arpeggios ... literally anything!

Many samplers have built in controls to further sculpt the sound, or you can add external effects such as delay, reverb, chorus, or some of our favorites Portal and Thermal.

Starters come in different formats, but most commonly they are a .wav file of an instrument or vocal loop recorded within 4 or 8 bars. Essentially they are stripped down sample, often composed of a single melodic layer rather than a composition.

Phrases are a hybrid between a loop and one shot, being a single lick or adlib that again adds interest or can be manipulated further.

Nothing is preventing you from dragging in a Starter or Phrase and using 'as-is' to add a specific element to your project (such as a piano or a guitar).

You can also 'flip' a them by reversing it, chopping it, or adding external effects such as delay, reverb, chorus, or some of our favorites Portal and Thermal.