How to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wk2o2tqb8qg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL Frequency Hertz Threshold of Hearing Sine Wave Saw Tooth Wave Square Wave Pulse Wave Triangle Wave Synthesis details: http://www.samplecraze.com/tutorial.php Quick skip through this (harmonics): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsZKvLnf7wU&feature=related his this is Craig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNgzUDA7eow&feature=related www.samplecraze.com http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may99/articles/synthsec.htm 1. basic demo of subtractor, Basics oscillators etc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJ7_piUfok&feature=related 2. noise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AfHTH6H6B0&feature=related 3. envelopes etc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUQE4Xex72o&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL 4. filters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWnYv5L1IGk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL 5. http://www.youtube.com/user/Samplecraze#p/u/17/xmTIz88bTCw Logic Studio Tutorial: The ES1 Synthesizer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klHMh438cL0 Logic Pro, ES E Synth Tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpRbx_64IdU This guy is dull, but basically takes us through it (again) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjtP5ApLFvE Go on then: Dirty Dubstep Basslines with Logic's ES2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3bH5o7mDg8

synth tutorials/demos. useful stuff, yes we might have seen then in class, but for revision/follow up work, well, I rate these as rather good: wave forms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk2o2tqb8qg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL demo of the moog by a moogman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY2AeD0Tn4Y Bob Moog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z0cbMkOvY0 subtractive synth demo in reason (how to pages - there are 42 other pages here from the series - some very useful) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZiGVSJm88U additive synths - how the hammond works. stick with this one.... it tells you about the tone wheels, eventually http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hopUp1qBbJ4 harmonics and sine/saw/square waves explained very well by an articulate european http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsZKvLnf7wU FM synthesis demo-ed on thr Yamaha DX7. you can hear the ADDITIVE synth ideas - combining waves rather than starting off with a raw wave form. METALLIC, HARD sounds (not so stringy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WCPLZyk3XA this is a walk through many examples of songs from the 1980s that use the DX7: http://bobbyblues.recup.ch/yamaha_dx7/dx7_examples.html A music tech timeline: http://image.freecy.tk/images/254_Music_Timeline_v01.jpg enjoy

The Synthesiser
A synthesizer (often abbreviated "synth") is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones. Synthesizers can usually produce a wide range of sounds, which may either imitate other instruments ("imitative synthesis") or generate new timbres.

The first electric synthesizer was invented in 1876 by Elisha Gray, who is best known for his development of a telephone prototype. The Hammond Novachord was an early but unsuccessful harbinger of synth technology in the 1930s-40s. Robert Moog introduced the first commercially available modern synthesizer in 1964. In the 1970s the development of miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self-contained, portable instruments. By the early 1980s companies were selling compact, modestly priced synthesizers to the public. This, along with the development of Musical Instrument Digital Interface(MIDI), made it easier to integrate and synchronize synthesizers and other electronic instruments for use in musical composition. In the 1990s synthesizers began to appear as computer software, known as software synthesizers, such as the ES1 and EVB3 found in Logic Pro software.

Types of synthesis: additive synths Additive synthesis builds sounds by adding together waveforms (which
are usually harmonically related). An early analog example of an additive synthesizer is the Hammond organ.

How a B3 hammond works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hopUp1qBbJ4
inside the organ: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=7Qqmr6IiFLE and.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLbKlyz4Hbo&feature=related

Demo of Roland SH3A vintage synthesizer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNzikNXtQmU

Samplecrazy.com: Does what it says on the tin. By adding one or more basic and simple waveforms together and their harmonics you create a complex waveform. However, you need to add an enormous amount of harmonics to create the simplest of sounds and this type of synthesis can be complicated to create in the form of a synthesizer but the Kawai K5000 does exactly that. You can create extremely rich textures or wild and crazy sounds on this beast.

Types of synthesis: subtractive synths Subtractive synthesis is based on filtering harmonically rich waveforms.
Due to its simplicity, it is the basis of early synthesizers such as the Moog synthesizer. Subtractive synthesizers use a simple acoustic model that assumes an instrument can be approximated by a simple signal generator (producing sawtooth waves, square waves, etc.) followed by a filter. The combination of simple modulation routings (such as pulse width modulation and oscillator sync), along with the physically unrealistic lowpass filters, is responsible for the "classic synthesizer" sound commonly associated with "analog synthesis" and often mistakenly used when referring to software synthesizers using subtractive synthesis.

Voltage-controlled filter (VCF) "shape" the sound generated by the oscillators in the frequency domain, often under the control of an envelope or LFO. These are essential to subtractive synthesis.

Types of synthesis: FM synths

FM synthesis (frequency modulation synthesis) is a process that usually involves the use of at least two signal generators (commonly referred to as "oscillators") to create and modify a voice. Often, this is done through the analog or digital generation of a signal that modulates the tonal and amplitude characteristics of a base carrier signal. More sophisticated FM synths can use up to 4 or 6 oscillators per voice and also often use filters and variable amplifier types to alter the signal's characteristics into a sonic voice that either roughly imitates acoustic instruments or creates sounds that are unique.

Because we dont have one.: This site really gives a good idea of the percussive, metallic sounds: http://bobbyblues.recup.ch/yamaha_dx7/dx7_examples.html The Yamaha DX7 is an FM Digital Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially Pop music from the 1980s. The DX7 was the moderately priced model of the DX series of FM keyboards that included DX9, the smaller DX100, DX11, and DX21 and the larger DX1 and DX5. Over 160,000 DX7s were made. Tone generation in the DX7 is based on linear Frequency Modulation Synthesis (FM) based on research by John Chowning at Stanford University. The DX7 was known for precision and flexibility of its bright, digital sounds, which were much clearer than those of the analog synthesizers that preceded it. The DX7 is wellknown for its electric piano, bells, and other "struck" and "plucked" sounds which emphasize complex attack transients. It is capable of 16-note polyphony. While the instrument is monotimbral, the manner in which the sound of a single DX7 patch can change either subtly or wildly along the length of the keyboard or when played with different velocities can make it sound multitimbral. The DX7 features 32 algorithms, each being a different arrangement of its six sine wave Operators, allowing for a great deal of programming flexibility.

Following this, in 1987 Roland brought out the D-50: combined real samples for the attack of the sound, with synthesis for the remainder. IMAGINE the memory needed! As memory became cheaper and processors improved, synths now have lots of samples on board.

We are now is a world of virtual synthesis. These remodel analogue synths such as B3 organ (EVB3)

Components of many synthesisers

Electronic oscillators create raw sounds with a timbre that depends upon the waveform generated. Voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) and digital oscillators may be used.

Additive synthesis models sounds directly from pure sine waves, somewhat in the manner of an organ. Frequency modulation and Phase distortion synthesis use one oscillator to modulate another. Subtractive synthesis depends upon filtering a harmonically rich oscillator waveform.

ADSR envelopes: provide envelope modulation to "shape" the volume or

harmonic content of the produced note in the time domain with the principle parameters being attack, decay, sustain and release. These are used in most forms of synthesis. ADSR control is provided by Envelope Generators.

What is the ADSR envelope all about? When an acoustic musical instrument produces sound, the loudness and spectral content of the sound change over time in ways that vary from instrument to instrument. The "attack" and "decay" of a sound have a great effect on the instrument's sonic character. Sound synthesis techniques often employ an

envelope generator that controls a sound's parameters at any point in its duration. Most often this is an "ADSR" (Attack Decay Sustain Release) envelope, which may be applied to overall amplitude control, filter frequency, etc. The envelope may be a discrete circuit or module, or implemented in software. The contour of an ADSR envelope is specified using four parameters:

Attack time is the time taken for initial run-up of level from nil to peak, beginning when the key is first pressed.

Decay time is the time taken for the subsequent run down from the attack level to the designated sustain level.

Sustain level is the level during the main sequence of the sound's duration, until the key is released.

Release time is the time taken for the level to decay from the sustain level to zero after the key is released.

Voltage-controlled filter (VCF) "shape" the sound generated by the oscillators in the frequency domain, often under the control of an envelope or LFO. These are essential to subtractive synthesis.

Electronic filters are particularly important in subtractive synthesis, being designed to pass some frequency regions through unattenuated while significantly attenuating ("subtracting") others. The low-pass filter is most frequently used, but band-pass filters, band-reject filters and high-pass filters are also sometimes available. The filter may be controlled with a second ADSR envelope. An "envelope modulation" ("env mod") parameter on many synthesizers with filter envelopes determines how much the envelope affects the filter. If turned all the way down, the filter will produce a flat sound with no envelope. When turned up the envelope becomes more noticeable, expanding the minimum and maximum range of the filter.

Low frequency oscillation (LFO) an oscillator of adjustable frequency that can be used to modulate the sound rhythmically, for example to create tremolo or vibrato or to control a filter's operating frequency. LFOs are used in most forms of synthesis. Low-frequency oscillation(LFO) is an electronic signal, usually below 20 Hz, that creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep, often used to create vibrato, tremolo and other effects. The abbreviation is also often used to refer to low-frequency oscillators themselves. In certain genres of electronic music, the LFO filter's cutoff is used to create a wider range of, often darker, sound.

Other sound processing effects such as ring modulators may be encountered.

Voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) After the signal generated by one (or a mix of more Voltage-controlled oscillators), modified by filters and LFOs, and the signal's waveform is shaped (contoured) by an ADSR Envelope Generator, it then passes on to one or more voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCA) where. The VCA is a preamp that boosts (amplifies) the electronic signal before passing on to an external or built-in power amplifier, as well as a means to control its volume using an attenuator that affects a control voltage (coming from the keyboard or other trigger source), which affects the gain of the VCA.

Control interfaces

Modern synthesizers often look like small pianos, though with many additional knob and button controls. These are integrated controllers, where the sound synthesis electronics are integrated into the same package as the controller. However many early synthesizers were modular and keyboardless, while most modern synthesizers may be controlled via MIDI, allowing other means of playing such as; Fingerboards and touchpads Wind controllers Guitar-style interfaces Drum pads Music sequencers Non-contact interfaces akin to Theremins

MIDI control

Synthesizers became easier to integrate and synchronize with other electronic instruments and controllers with the introduction of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) in 1983. First proposed in 1981 by engineer Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits, the MIDI standard was developed by a consortium now known as the MIDI Manufacturers Association. MIDI is an opto-isolated serial interface and communication protocol. It provides for the transmission from one device or instrument to another of real-time performance data. This data includes note events, commands for the selection of instrument presets (i.e. sounds, or programs or patches, previously stored in the instrument's memory), the control of performance-related parameters such as volume, effects levels and the like, as well as synchronization, transport control and other types of data. MIDI interfaces are now almost ubiquitous on music equipment and are commonly available on personal computers.

The General MIDI (GM) software standard was devised in 1991 to serve as a consistent way of describing a set of over 200 tones (including percussion) available to a PC for playback of musical scores. For the first time, a given MIDI preset would consistently produce an instrumental sound on any GM-conforming device. The Standard MIDI File (SMF) format (extension .mid) combined MIDI events with delta times - a form of time-stamping - and became a popular standard for exchange of music scores between computers. In the case of SMF playback using integrated synthesizers (as in computers and cell phones), the hardware component of the MIDI interface design is often unneeded.

Feature/Term

Definition

Description, Discussion, Examples

Synths

Oscillators

Filters

ADSR

LFO

VCO

VCF

Additive synthesis

Subtractive synthesis

FM synthesis

Virtual synthesis

White Noise

Pink Noise Synth controls and triggers