Courses on sound design?

[roman.i]

Can anyone suggest courses on sound design?
Not the basic ones, but how to create complex sounds.
Most of them explain what is what, not that type of course.

[yellowmix]

If you are past the basics, it's time to start deconstructing presets you cannot, in your mind, immediately know how to begin to recreate. Like most learning experiences, taking notes can help.

[roman.i]

It feels a bit awkward to start "reverse-engineering" all presets.
Isn't there a straight forward way to learn this?

[vulpes777]

Pick a bunch of artists in a music genre you like, and see if they do regular livestreams on Twitch/Youtube.

Just watching them building a track can be very inspiring on its own, hopefully some of them will also go into deeper detail on how they come up with the sounds they use.

First thing I have learned from people like Chris Bryant and Martin Stürtzer is that, while there are hundreds of beautifully complex soundbanks you can buy (I swear by Luftrum and The Unfinished), most of the times you start from very basic patches, and then layer them in a creative way, as opposed to directly go for the one-key-cinematic-wonder.

Regards,

-
Marco

[morelia]

Syntorial
https://www.syntorial.com/
Welshs Synthesizer Cookbook
https://www.standalone-music.com/2018/0 ... ign-books/

[Srae]

Bazille and The Bazille Cookbook.. I think there's a hidden Easter egg somewhere between page 118 and the VST, where Howard emerges from your screen with a Ph.D. and a custom made Stackcable crafted from his wizardly locks of hair turned into a bracelet.

[Michael L]

Can anyone suggest courses on sound design?
Not the basic ones, but how to create complex sounds.

The most direct way by far is to pick a synth with lots of presets you consider "complex sounds" and take them apart systematically to see what each parameter contributes.
You could first watch Groove3 videos to learn the synth architecture.
There are also textbooks:
Designing Sound by Andy Farnell,
Machine Musicianship by Robert Rowe,
The Theory and Techniques of Electronic Music by Miller Puckette,
The Computer Music Tutorial by Curtis Roads,
Handmade Electronic Music: The art of Hardware Hacking by Nicolas Collins

[CinningBao]

If your curiosity has got you this far, and you think you have a good understanding of the basics, deconstructing presets really _is_ the best way to absorb the knowledge of the pro-sound designers.

You really have to dig into one synth to get the best from that process.. pick one you like and maybe know a bit already, if it doesn't already have presets you like perhaps buy a pack in the style you like for that synth to keep your interest piqued.

If you're unsure about the deconstruction process, I've done a few vids deconstructing other peoples presets (Gladiator, Diva, some CV2 patches)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ltvJA1 ... p=gAQBiAQB

[roman.i]

Can anyone suggest courses on sound design?
Not the basic ones, but how to create complex sounds.

The most direct way by far is to pick a synth with lots of presets you consider "complex sounds" and take them apart systematically to see what each parameter contributes.
You could first watch Groove3 videos to learn the synth architecture.
There are also textbooks:
Designing Sound by Andy Farnell,
Machine Musicianship by Robert Rowe,
The Theory and Techniques of Electronic Music by Miller Puckette,
The Computer Music Tutorial by Curtis Roads,
Handmade Electronic Music: The art of Hardware Hacking by Nicolas Collins

Hm, those books are too technical and distract from the main goal of making useful sounds.
I don't want to design my own synth with Puredata, or get into details how to write a filter in C++.

Few examples of things I want to read about:
How many and which layers are needed to create a crash sounds.
How to add movement to pads.
Why most FM is usually done with sine waves.
Most used PWM techniques.
How to synthesize sounds that resemble a certain instrument, ex. pulse => flute.

[IvyBirds]

Can anyone suggest courses on sound design?
Not the basic ones, but how to create complex sounds.

The most direct way by far is to pick a synth with lots of presets you consider "complex sounds" and take them apart systematically to see what each parameter contributes.
You could first watch Groove3 videos to learn the synth architecture.
There are also textbooks:
Designing Sound by Andy Farnell,
Machine Musicianship by Robert Rowe,
The Theory and Techniques of Electronic Music by Miller Puckette,
The Computer Music Tutorial by Curtis Roads,
Handmade Electronic Music: The art of Hardware Hacking by Nicolas Collins

Few examples of things I want to read about......
Why most FM is usually done with sine waves.

If you are at all interested in FM and want to really learn FM programming

There is a book called "The Complete DX7" by Howard Massey. It was first published 40 years ago and it's long out of print. Used copies go for $100-$200 depending on condition, but there are PDF copies floating around including on Archive Dot Org

The book was actually written as a companion to a course that was taught by Massey. It's a very detailed work book

It will not only give you the history and theory behind Yamaha Style FM which used sine waves, but then has hands on homework and practice on how to actually start making patches and taking a deep dive

The book was written to be used with the original DX7 hardware but in 2024 you can use the free Dexed VST or my favorite OPS7 by Plogue. It's pretty easy to adapt to those plugins

It's actually written in lesson format. In the first few lessons you will be making very simple patches, by the end you will be making deep complex evolving patches and pads which can evolve over 30 seconds or more

I have had the actual book for many years. About once a year I read through it and do all the exercises. I still learn stuff every time

Also note the book originally came with a weird floppy record that you could play on your turntable and listen to examples. You really are not missing anything by not having that record.

[kenny saunders]

It feels a bit awkward to start "reverse-engineering" all presets.
Isn't there a straight forward way to learn this?

There is literally no better or indeed more 'straight-forward' way to learn how to make a sound than literally seeing bit by bit how it is literally made, via a preset!

[himalaya]

Try some Sound On Sound articles:

https://www.soundonsound.com/series/syn ... ound-sound

I remember enjoying this FM series by Martin Russ, way back from 1988 ( I still have some SOS mags from that time):

https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/practically-fm/3527

[Ah_Dziz]

If you have an understanding of how different synthesis techniques effect the sounds you hear, then it's really just a matter of knowing what you want to achieve and then familiarity with the tools available. "sound design"covers a ton of ground. Patch design is slightly different as it's (usually) about making playable patches for midi controlled synths. The short answer is "no" outside of sound design for video games or film. The technical info in the above referenced books are how one understands the things you said you wish to understand.

[ozonepaul]

ROB PAPEN's book (with video) called The secrets of subtractive synthesis "The 4 Element Synth" is extremely well put together for someone trying to learn and internalize the basics. I highly recommend it. Than after learning the material in this book you can move on to deconstruct any preset, learn all the other synthesis methods etc. This book gives you a great foundation.

https://www.robpapen.com/RP_Book_and_Video.html

[DCrown]

Manuel Schleiss is a skilled sound designer, just by watching his Avengee tutorials you could learn a lot, would of course make even more sense if you had Avenger, but it's not a must imo