An ongoing trend for sample libraries throughout the years is that they are always getting larger! Musicians demand better quality samples, more articulations, finer control, and overall more realism in their virtual instruments. The two prominent methods of synthesis for instruments are wavetable-based libraries and physically modeled ones. While the first option offers more attainable realism, the latter ultimately has more flexibility.
Sample libraries have become more extensive, including more and more articulations, usually accessible by keyswitches. New technology has emerged to improve realism, such as release samples and round-robin alternating samples. Physical modeling has become more elaborate, reproducing more detailed sound models and accounting for more aspects of physics. However, both sampled instruments and physically modeled instruments face the same dilemma: the performer itself must be modeled.