Free Sample Search Tool
Search thousands of cleared, royalty-free samples by genre, key, BPM, mood, and instrument. Find the perfect sample for your next beat.
Or jump straight to a popular search
These are the most-asked-for slices of the catalog. Each one opens a curated landing page with samples, stems, and context.
By instrument
About the sample search tool
Selekt's sample search lets you filter our catalog of cleared, royalty-free audio samples by genre, key, BPM, mood, and instrument. Every sample in the library is sourced from public-domain recordings, CC0 contributions, or verified-license source material — no clearance fees, no royalties, no per-use restrictions on samples that are permissively licensed. Combine filters to narrow to exactly what you need: "Jazz piano in C minor at 70-90 BPM" returns the slice of the catalog that matches.
How filtering works
- Genre — pulls samples whose top-level genre matches. Jazz, soul, funk, blues, hip-hop, gospel, R&B, classical, reggae, latin, ambient, rock, EDM, and more.
- Key — narrows to samples in a specific musical key. Pair with genre for harmonic-context searches like "jazz piano in F minor." Use the Camelot Wheel tool if you need help finding harmonically compatible keys for a given track.
- BPM range — sets a tempo window. Use the BPM Tap Tempo tool if you need to detect the tempo of a reference track first.
- Mood — filters by the auto-tagged emotional character of each sample (chill, energetic, dark, uplifting, melancholy, aggressive, smooth, nostalgic, dreamy, intense).
- Instrument — narrows to samples that prominently feature a specific instrument. For pre-separated isolated stems by instrument, use the dedicated stem catalog at /stems/*.
Frequently asked questions
Are these samples really free?
Yes. Browsing and streaming is free. Downloading requires a free Selekt account so we can save the download to your library and ship a license certificate documenting the source and licensing basis. There is no per-download fee.
Can I use these samples in commercial releases?
Almost always — Selekt's catalog is built from CC0, public-domain, and verified-license sources. Each sample ships with a license certificate showing the exact terms. Most permit unrestricted commercial use including beats, songs, films, games, and ad work.
What does "cleared" mean?
A cleared sample is one that's been verified as free of copyright restrictions for the use you intend — either because the copyright has expired (public domain), the rights holder has waived all rights (CC0), or you have explicit permission to use it. Read more in the sample clearance guide.
How big is the catalog?
The catalog spans thousands of samples and continues to grow. Sources include pre-1926 commercial recordings (now in U.S. public domain under the Music Modernization Act), Library of Congress field recordings, and CC0 contributions from modern musicians. Browse all samples by genre or run a filtered search above.
Can I describe what I want in plain language?
Yes — Sound Lab's describe-and-find feature lets you search with natural language like "smoky tenor sax ballad in F minor." Open Sound Lab for the AI-powered search. The structured filter form above is faster when you already know exactly what you want.
Related tools and pages
- Key & BPM Detector — analyze an audio file to find its key and tempo
- BPM Tap Tempo — tap along to find the BPM of any song
- Camelot Wheel — find harmonically-compatible keys for mixing
- Stem Separator — isolate vocals, drums, bass, other from a track
- Sound Lab — natural-language describe-and-find search
- Full Explore page — every filter in one place
Start discovering samples
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