Help with learning modular
currently I'm using an online modular synth website (called audionodes online) I understand some of the basics: here are all my notes please feel free to tell me how I can improve them and if/where I messed up
Sine - the raw musical sound
Amplitude (amp) - how loud or soft the sound of the synth is
Pitch - how high or low the sound is
Envelopes - how the synth changes the sound over time. Modified by ADSR
ADSR - Attack Decay Sustain Release
- Attack - the time it takes the envelope to get up to its peak
- Decay - An envelope’s decay control determines how long it takes for the envelope to decrease from its peak to the sustain level.
- Sustain - The envelope will then stay at the sustain level as long as the note is held.
- Release - An envelope’s release control determines how long it takes for the envelope to decrease to its minimum level after the note is released.
Envelopes can change the pitch but they can also change other aspects of the sound such as amplitude imagine the above picture is instead changing the pitch think of it changing the amplitude
Imagine you’re facing a spinning playground carousel with a speaker on it.
As the carousel spins, the front of the speaker moves towards you and away from you again, and you hear the sound getting louder and quieter accordingly — the amplitude is being modulated.
This repeating, back-and-forth change is called oscillation. Instead of envelopes, synthesizers use oscillators to create this kind of modulation.
These oscillators are called low-frequency oscillators (LFOs) because they move relatively slowly compared to audio oscillators
LFO - repeating back-and-forth modulation (change) like robots that make a repeating change to some aspect of the sound
Frequency - how many times the oscillator moves from its highest point to its lowest and back in one second (measured in Hertz (abbreviated Hz)) A frequency of one hertz means that a full oscillation (or cycle) happens once per second.
Amount - determines how much influence the LFO’s movements have on the pitch.
Semitones - the difference between one key and the next on a piano (abbreviated st)
Waveform - the LFO’s shape
How does a synth make sound in the first place
Imagine a buzzing bee. The tone we hear is caused by the bee flapping its wings quickly when the flapping is fast enough it will start to produce a low tone. In general, we start to hear a tone when something oscillates faster than around 20 Hz. Most synths generate tones with audio oscillators
audio oscillators - These are similar to the low-frequency oscillators used for modulation, but they move much faster so they can produce tones directly.
Timbre - character of the sound
Square waves - some describe as woody or hollow
Saw waves - some describe as buzzy or bright
The height of the wave corresponds to its amplitude but not its timbre if you drag all the way to the bottom the amplitude is zero and the waveform is silent
Pulse width - the amount of time the oscillator spends in the high and low part of its cycle
The wave has its “fullest” sound at the center where the waveform is symmetrical
You can also modulate the square oscillator’s pulse width with an LFO
There’s a “full” square sound in the middle and a “pinched” pulsed sound at the top and bottom of the modulation curve
We hear interesting changes as oscillators move from lower to higher frequencies.
Similarly, we hear interesting changes as modulators become very fast. In this example, an LFO is modulating pitch.
as the LFO gets faster, the individual cycles of the LFO start to sound like they’re “blurring” together. The changes in pitch start to sound like changes in timbre, resulting in a “harsh” or “metallic” sound.
This is an important sound design discovery: slow modulations are usually perceived as changes to behavior (changes that are applied to the sound), while fast modulations are usually perceived as changes to timbre (changes to the character of the sound itself)
Filter - A filter behaves a bit like a wall or door. It lets some parts of the sound through and makes other parts quieter
Cutoff frequency - the frequency the filter cuts off at
low-pass filter - blocks high frequencies and lets low frequencies through
high-pass filter - opposite of low-pass filter
More high frequencies make a sound brighter
Less high frequencies make a sound darker
As you adjust the cutoff frequency slowly, you’ll probably recognize this effect. The sound of a filter being “swept” open or closed is a classic technique in many kinds of music.
Resonance - increases the amplitude around the cutoff frequency
Legato - smooth connected playing
Glide speed - controls how quickly the notes change when playing legato
Glide - makes the synth play legato (or smoothly)
Cent - a hundredth of a semitone (abbreviated ct)
Coarse detune - adjusts pitch by semitones or octaves
Fine detune - adjusts pitch by cents
Subtractive synth - a filter subtracts frequencies from the rich timbre of the oscillators. Often in all-in-one keyboards
I want to understand the theory, what all the types of modules do and the terminology beyond those
thanks in advance