Noob Q Of Course... Triggering Samples/sequences Options

[Turner]

Hi all-

Ok, I'm certain this has been covered but way too many hits come up with the keywords, so I'll have to ask.

Basically, I'd like to be able to have a MIDI track or audio recording playing to which I am playing along.

Then, I'd like to be able to hit a trigger of some sort (say, a drum trigger) that can be assigned to play either a MIDI part or a sample, or perhaps jump to a new section in a composition.

There are probably a zillion ways to do this but as I'm just getting going here I don't know where to start, or, more importantly, what I need to look for in my equipment.

FYI I have a few macs and some rudimentary MIDI equipment but plan to get a pretty decent electronic drum kit pretty soon.

Thanks in advance,
Andrew