Module 08 Introduction
Module 08 Introduction
MODULE08:SYNTHESISANDSAMPLING
Itwouldbeinterestingtoworkoutstatisticsonhowmuchmusicthatisreleasedcommerciallyis
performedonconventionalinstruments,andhowmuchissynthesizedorsampled.
Iwouldhazardaguessthat,takingintoaccountTVsoundtracks,welloverthreequartersisproduced
electronicallyordigitally.Thatdoesn'tmeanthatconventionalinstrumentsarenolongerimportant.Butit
doesstresshowvitalitistounderstandsynthesisandsamplinginthecontextofmoderndayrecording
techniques.
Soevenifyoudon'twanttodabblebeyondthepresetsavailableonyourMIDIkeyboardorsoftware
instrument,itisimportanttohaveanunderstandingofhowthesesystemswork.
Therearemanymethodsofsynthesis.Inthismodulewecovertheonethathasbeenthemostimportant
andinfluentialsubtractivesynthesis.Thiswasthefirstmethodoftruesynthesistobemadepractical.Itis
stillpopularindigitalsoftwareinstruments,anditssoundsareeasilyrecognized.
Manypeopleusesamplereplaysoftwareandsimplyloadinbanksofpresetsounds.Makingsamplesfrom
scratchseemstohavegoneoutoffashionatthemoment.
Buttheageoldlawappliesthatwheneveryoneisdoingsomethingacertainway,theboldand
adventurousshouldseekoutnewterraintooccupy.Thereisavastuntappedscopeinmakingsamples
yourself.Gooduseofthefullrangeofsamplingtechniquesisanimportantfeatureofrecording.
Bytheway,youarenowinthefinalthirdofyourcourse!Onceagain,justtakethecourseatyourown
pace,andifittakeslongerthanthenormalweeklyscheduletocompletethismoduleandyourpractical
assignment,don'tworry.Itisbettertodoeverythingtothebestofyourabilityratherthanrush,evenin
theslightest.
Goodluck!
DavidMellor
CourseDirector,AudioMasterclass
AudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourseModule08Introduction