Joy of Synths #3

A non-musician’s guide to creating sounds for podcasts, videos, and sampling for music using analog synthesizers.

Aug 15, 2023

SOL: Summer of Learning 2023

Joy of Synths #3 is about the process of learning, which applies to synths and new modules. July/early August were really about learning about learning. And learning unpleasant truths like Bullet journals are a misfire for motivation. Some things you learn can release you, others come with great resistance and rejection until acceptance is given.

Summary of Joy of Synths #2

Record everything every time you power on your instrument!

Joy of Synths #3: 11 Learning Lessons

I tried to follow that recording advice and succeeded in NOT recording a darn thing in July or early August. Why? Let’s explore…

Lesson 1: No to New Gear and Pay to Play Paralysis

Ain’t it like new gear to throw a wrench in the works? I foolishly took on new items which I have not even opened or assembled. However, this psychic weight kept the Zoom H4N recorder and instruments powered off.

This phenomena and my new understanding of it has helped me to pull back from a long-standing buy first, questions later mentality. This crystalizes an experience from May 2022 & 2023.

I bought a semi-modular synth and a Quad Lopass Gate module. When I finally got around to examining the items, I realized I already owned 3-5 Eurorack modules I didn’t understand, and 3-5 semi-modular synths I wasn’t playing.

Both items went back despite the pricing being more than fair. I discovered the new items duplicated efforts, so they were non-essential to generating new sounds.

So I’m not buying more gear until absolutely necessary because the learning required costs way too much in time, energy, and frustration. New gear has proven to be a distraction from the central project, and again, I haven’t even sorted out how to command the past 12 months of new gear.

Lesson 2: Work with what works on a deadline.

Any time new gear seems like a great deal is a good time to reflect upon what is and isn’t making things happen. New gear? Roadblock. Existing gear? H4N recorders are great enough for synthesizer recording. Maybe not so much for human vocals, but good enough for an analog synth.

Lesson 3: All Hands on the Bad one.

Eurorack modules and synths are learning experiences that represent a process of discovery. Every contact may yield a few great sounds. Or it may be a wash. It's never a waste because it is a process of discovery.

Lesson 4: Reading may be a barrier without baseline knowledge

My attempts to read through synth manuals were thwarted because I didn’t understand key terms and how synths worked. Following the patch guide is frustrating for me because missing one specific knob position may block sound from being generated by a synth.

Back in 2019 I was able to visit Harvard and MIT Music Libraries and scan through their electronic music books. I repeated this in Philadelphia Free Library a few months back. Reading these books from the 1960s and 1970s was helpful in understanding the origins of synthesizers and the problems people were trying to solve with new synth models and modules that are now commonplace to semi-modular synths.

FWIW, this baseline knowledge is the basis of Joy of Synth's newsletter moving forward. I tend to forget so this newsletter is a way of remembering.

Lesson 5: Learning Calms if by Choice

At the end of July I started on a path for Professional End User Certifications . This training comes with structured lessons and exercises. In pursuing this, I’ve discovered learning quiets my mind by hyperfocusing my energies on understanding this new thing.

In contrast to the calming powers of discovery, learning overpowers my mind when I am frustrated having to learn things that take time I don’t want to give. Like new gear in July. A spread of dread befell me. It was a dark manic energy from useless skills learning past.

Lesson 6: Resolve is powerful

So what’s this new thing that causes quiet rather than a riot? DaVinci Resolve video post-production software and its professional end user certifications. Resolve is free if you have a computer that can run it. It’s essentially four applications under one roof- 2 types of video editors, effects, audio workstation, and color correction.

Nodes are used in the Resolve Color page. Nodes are very similar to patching an analog synthesizer. One wire connects one node to another. The information is either video YRGB signal or alpha transparency. It’s a good practice to apply one color adjustment per node, and label the node so you follow the signal flow later.

Lesson 7: Forced Obsolescence & Zero Sums

Don’t let fools tell you all learning has meaning. I’ve invested much time in obsolete technical skills, and not in a vintage renaissance fashion like someone making bespoke horseshoes. This is a lot of time, money, and frustration invested in software, hardware, and processes that have fallen out of favor.

The opportunity cost is very zero sum. Learning Resolve means I'm not discovering sounds on the synth. To add Resolve means I have to subtract synths. This is a temporary hyperfocus on Resolve, though, as the goal is certification. Once earned, you move onto practice until it becomes second nature.

Lesson 9: Resolve Adds Up

To that end, Resolve is not zero sum in my case because I have post-production experience. I'm not starting from zero, yet I have to forget all I know to submit to what the test prep is trying to teach. The past experiences tell me that Resolve is worth learning. It will free up resources, namely time and projects.

Learning Resolve means I'll have a baseline for moving video and audio projects faster through production and post-production. It means access to professional tools and powerful effects with the paid $299 version.

How it adds up depends on the individual. I took up coding DVDs rather than coding databases. The DVD authoring skillset’s value ended when it became easier to share and screen digital files.

Will Resolve fall out of favor and go the way of optical media? Well, AI can certainly be trained to make image adjustments to Y luma and RGB color channels. And as a skill becomes widely available then it runs the risk of being diluted. But then you have to think of lawncare companies. The lawn/weed patch is going to grow whether you like it or not. Somebody has to cut it and there lies the business opportunity for landscaping.

Lesson 10: Spending Resources

A guiding factor for learning software is the freelance marketplace. I've resisted Resolve for a decade because it was not adopted by paid gigs. It was better to focus on Adobe Premiere.

Things change. I'm not freelancing. Resolve allows one to complete projects without paying a subscription fee. And it's so powerful!

I mention databases as a custom solution can allow one person to do the work of many. Same for Resolve. I'm for collaboration and sharing the workload, but perhaps that is a bit oversold. Doing it yourself helps you develop the experience and vocabulary to communicate with others if that skill does not come naturally.

Lesson 11: It's going to be hard before it's easy

There are two certifications I have an interest in: Introduction to Resolve and Colorist. The Introduction to Resolve training and test were fairly straightforward. In high contrast, Colorist guide to Resolve training is quite hard.

I read through the Colorist book and now have to start over and actually do the exercises. As I approach Chapter 3, I calculated an estimate of over 15 hours of sit-down at a laptop learning to prepare for cert. Did I mention it is hard? Of course it is hard. Colorist tools are very sophisticated. As complex as Resolve can be, it makes up for this in ease of use compared to failed attempts in Premiere or After Effects.

There are tools and plugins to make color correction easier. I've tried those. I don't like them because they don't take into account the specifics of the image - like a face- I'm working on. Resolve's face detection and correction is amazing. The tracking is mind-blowing. I see these benefits and how easy they'll become with consistent practice.

Everything is hard before it's easy. Intro to Resolve was easy. Colorist is hard. There you go. That's learned efficacy. I passed Intro cert. I just have to work harder to pass Colorist certifaction. Once that's done, it's back to Joy of Synths.

End Note 8/15/2023

Joy of Synths newsletter is shifting to a twice a month release schedule- 15th and the 1st. AI is not being used to power the word count. It’s a real person typing it out, and revising, revising, and revising revisions.

Joy #4 will arrive on 9/1/23 and focus on Oscillators and Frequencies. Joy #5 will ship on 9/15/23. This issue is sponsored by CoWolves. https://discogs.com/seller/cowolves.