Make sounds

Build sounds from scratch with synthesis, or capture a real instrument and turn it into something playable.

Synthesis and sound design

Turn a sound you imagine into choices about its source, shape and movement.

  1. Oscillators and waveformsSine, saw, square and noise, and the character of each
  2. Subtractive synthesisStart bright, carve with a filter: the classic synth recipe
  3. EnvelopesAttack, decay, sustain and release, and how they define a sound's shape
  4. LFOs and modulationMaking sounds move: rate, depth, shape and destinations
  5. FM synthesisHow one oscillator bending another makes bells, basses and metal
  6. Wavetable synthesisScanning through waveforms to make timbres evolve
  7. Additive synthesisBuilding sound one harmonic at a time
  8. Granular synthesisClouds, textures and time-stretching from tiny slices of sound
  9. Physical modelingStrings, bars and membranes simulated from how they vibrate
  10. Drum synthesisKicks, snares and hats from oscillators and noise

Sampling an instrument

Make recorded sound useful as an instrument, preserving the details that make it worth playing.

  1. Planning and recording samplesWhat to capture, how many notes and layers, and how to record consistently
  2. Preparing samplesTrimming, fades, noise and keeping the attack
  3. Key and velocity mappingRoot notes, zones and velocity layers
  4. Loops and releasesMaking sustained notes and note-offs believable
  5. Round robins and articulationsAvoiding the machine-gun effect
  6. Shipping a sample libraryPresets, credits, rights and a first sound that sells it