Learn how to move beyond presets and create a wide array of scintillating synth sounds for your productions.
Are you tired of using presets? Looking to use more complex and interesting-sounding patches in your productions? Or do you want to be able to better replicate the sounds you hear on other artists' tracks? We created this course to help you make better synth sounds, whether you're a producer looking to up your sound design chops or just want to have some fun diving down a synth-fueled rabbit hole.
In this course, we'll look at popular synths, sounds, and post-processing techniques to give you strategies for creating better sounds of your own from the ground up. From epic house leads, to snarling dubstep basses, and vintage '80s keyboard sounds, we'll show you how to create patches step by step. Along the way, we'll explain concepts related to subtractive synthesis, wavetable synthesis, FM synthesis, and sampling. In the end, you'll have a better idea of what type of synth to reach for in a particular situation, understand the ins and outs of creating patches, how to program better parts with it, and make better sounds than you ever thought you could.
We'll also hear from four well-known electronic producers, from film composer Ian Hultquist (formerly of the band Passion Pit) to Grammy Winner Enrico de Trizio, and check out their favorite tools and strategies for making their unique sounds that support their tracks.
One half audio nerd, one half guitarist, and one half fisherman... John Hull sometimes talks about synthesizers in his sleep. He enjoys long walks on the beach (as long as fishing is involved) and creating videos and songs.
Learn to recreate sounds from popular records and understand how to use subtractive, FM, wavetable, and sampling in your own projects.
Add a custom mentorship session on top of your course subscription to work through the material one-on-one with an expert mentor. Get a more personalized experience featuring weekly calls, feedback, additional resources, and more. Tell us about your goals below to learn more.
This course is for producers and composers looking to better understand how to design interesting synth patches and create interesting synth parts for their tracks.
We'll explore four types of synthesis — subtractive, wavetable, FM, and sampling — to pad out your toolkit for creating interesting sounds that bring your productions to life. We'll look at these types of synthesis in a few different ways, from technical tutorials to rebuilds of popular songs to interviews with professionals on how they use them in their music.
You're probably going to want a basic understanding of synths before taking this course, as well as an understanding of production and how to make music in a DAW. If you're starting from scratch, check out our free Demystifying Synths series instead.
This course was designed to be completed in roughly six weeks, assuming students would have a few hours a week to spend on it. Each "week" includes a certain section and challenge activity for you to take on. That said, that timeline is just a casual recommendation — you can choose to blow through it all in one sitting or take a year with it, if you'd like.
You can start the course anytime. If you'd like more accountability and guided feedback from a professional, you can request to work through the course and your own goals with a Soundfly Mentor for four or six weeks, and get a more personalized experience for a specific period of time.
Learn more about custom mentorship here.
This course includes 82 lessons, including videos, graphics, text, activities, demos, interviews with outside experts, and much more.
As a subscriber, you'll get unlimited access to all courses on Soundfly.com, including this and all our other premium courses, to go through at your own pace. This includes all the videos, tutorials, demos, quizzes, activities, downloads, and other materials within our full suite of courses.
You're also entitled to a 25% discount on our custom mentorship program, you will be invited to join our exclusive community Discord group, you'll be able join subscriber-only Study Groups, artist Q&As and workshops, annual contests and giveaways, and you'll have access to a growing list of exclusive discount perks courtesy of our partner brands. Cancel anytime.
You can find out more about subscribing here.
Yes, absolutely. If you would like to go through the course with support, accountability, feedback, and guidance from an expert, you can request a mentor by filling out this form. A Soundfly staffperson will reach out within 48 hours to learn more about your goals, your music, and your skills level, and pair you with a mentor who can help you achieve your next musical milestone. Our mentorship program is our science-backed learning model designed to help you learn more efficiently and effectively. Your mentor will tailor the course to your experience and interests, offer detailed weekly feedback on your work, answer any questions you have, help you blow past obstacles, and keep you on track to accomplish your goals.
You can find out more about mentorship and our expert mentors here.
