Abstract:

Sound synthesis is a very important part of music production nowadays. Many of the melodies and rhythms that we hear in movies, records, TV shows or video games are made with electronic synthesizers. Learning how to use synthesizers has often been difficult, involving lots of trial and error. If a more systematic approach to learning about sound synthesis is desired, and in order to teach the basic concepts of sound synthesis one would need a tool that is simple to use, yet powerful enough to be able to incorporate various synthesis techniques. Other desirable characteristics of this tool would be low cost, robustness and a large and active community of users. In this paper we give a brief introduction to the history of synthesizers, starting in the 1960’s when two people in the United States, working independently, developed the concept of modular synthesizer: one was Robert Moog, from the East Coast, and the other was Don Buchla from the West Coast. Then we describe the characteristics of modular synthesizers, and how the extreme flexibility of their countless possible configurations makes them an ideal teaching tool if it was not for their steep price. This flexibility of modular synthesizers means that it is possible to set up the combination of modules that more clearly explains the sound synthesis concepts that are being learnt. Afterwards we turn our attention to various software systems that simulate digitally the behavior of analog modular synthesizers and constitute a much more affordable alternative to hardware. Finally, we describe their main components, including oscillators, filters, voltage-controlled amplifiers, envelope generators, and sequencers. Once the function of these basic elements is grasped by the student, it is easier to learn the operation of more complex modules. All this information should help the interested reader in choosing the right tool for teaching sound synthesis in different contexts.

Keywords:

Sound synthesis, modular synthesizer, modular synthesizer emulation.