I have never played with Synthesiser creation until this year. For this very reason I started with one of the easier methods of Subtractive Synthesis.
There are 2 common synthesis methods Additive and Subtractive. Additive Synthesis uses the concept of Fourier's Theorem (watch video for more understanding) to build the sound. With the use of sine waves you build one harmonic at a time. These oscillators are tuned to create the final sound meaning the more oscillators the more specific and detailed the final sound.
Subtractive Synthesis on the other hand comes with generally 4 different sound waves (sine, sawtooth, square and triangle) which covers a larger harmonic range. You can then use filters to sculpt the final sound.
With the different sound waves there is a variety of sounds you can create. Sine is smooth in transitions which allows for mellow sound. Sawtooth has sharp increases and drops with regular intervals that gets progressively quieter creating a full sound. Square waves are a happy medium of sine and sawtooth with the harmonics but with less buzz however, they tend to pulse giving a hollow sound. Triangle is the closest to a combination of square and sine with the odd harmonics of square but dropping quicker. The other main decider in the sound is the frequency which tends to be measured in 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 which is the feet of the wave coming from organ pipes.
We then have the filter and envelope that sculpt the final sound. To explain this better I’m going to explore one of the synthesisers in an 8 bar phrase I made. It was to mimic a flute and sounds decent of a first attempt. The synth comprises of 3 oscillators chained through each other labelled ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’.The synth has no LFO and has a set filter for the total sound.
‘A’ uses a Saw8 at -12dB. The attack on the envelope is how long it takes for the sound to reach full volume. For this one it is 51.1ms as the slight length gives a smoother sound to the final sound. The decay is how long it takes to move down to the sustain level. THe decay for this one is 4.87s which allows for the sound to remain strong as a breathe can be before dropping to the sustain level of -17dB. The release is how long it takes for the sound to stop which in this case is 351ms to allow a more ‘natural’ end.
‘B’ is then a saw3 at -31dB and ‘C’ is noise at -29dB. Refer to the images below for the envelope information. By using the inclusion of noise it gives the sound a gritty natural sound. The filter used is a notch at 6.75kHz with a decay of 600ms and a release of 50ms. This clears the sound to get the which gives the sound the airiness of a flute. To give a more natural finish I then sent the sound through a reverb to give the final sound.
This was an interesting project but with more time and effort it will be fun to explore and use for future projects to make something that is uniquely mine in a way. (Is Available in the Music Player saved as 'Synth Past with Flute Ending')
For The Full Session Use the Link Below
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jBo8_5khZVE5DZS-YsbqMdSAno3eruvW
References
3Blue1Brown. (2018). But what is the Fourier Transform? A visual introduction.[Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spUNpyF58BY
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SYNTHESIS: ADDITIVE & SUBTRACTIVE SYNTHESIS. (2017). Four Four Magazine. Retrieved from https://fourfourmag.com/a-beginners-guide-to-synthesis-additive-subtractive-synthesis/
A Beginner’s Guide to Subtractive Synthesis. Retrieved from https://rolandcorp.com.au/blog/beginners-guide-subtractive-synthesis
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