Soundfly wrote in to let us know they are offering a Writing Lab w/ Com Truise featuring music production including synths and drum machines. You can find a few Soundfly videos featuring Com Truise in previous posts here.
Details on the new writing lab follow:
"Soundfly has teamed up with synthwave artist Com Truise to host his first ever month-long learning cohort, with weekly Zoom calls, projects, discussions, feedback and more, in an intimate group environment.
It’s like a small, in-depth, graduate-level college seminar — you’ll get nerdy about warbling synths, retro-sounding drum machines, and how to mix them together to create songs that transport listeners to other worlds — guided and led by Seth Haley.
This writing lab runs from May 29 to June 30, 2023.
Are you ready? Sign up before May 12 to benefit from a pre-sale discount of $200 off using the promo code: PRESALE"
The above features instrument builing with Native Instrument Kontakt.
"Learn to invent your own digital instruments and use them to compose more evocative, surprising music in Soundfly's premium course, Ryan Lott: Designing Virtual Instruments. Preview the course for free at: http://soundfly.com/ryanlott -- About the Video:
In this excerpt from our new course, Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based instruments, Son Lux composer, songwriter, and producer, Ryan Lott, shares how learning to create his own virtual instruments has become a key element in his creative process. Building instruments from scratch allows Ryan to write music that he can imbue with intentional, emotional meaning, without the associations and expectations that come along with more traditional instrumentation. 'Making your own instruments can be empowering in all the places where working with existing instruments can feel very limiting,' says Ryan of the skills he walks students through in the course.
Watch how Ryan creates and records sounds, processes them, and turns them into playable virtual instruments using Native Instruments' Kontakt and a MIDI keyboard, and then uses those surprising, unfamiliar sounds to inspire a whole approach to making music. -- About the Course:
Inject a new dose of creativity into your music by composing with your own custom-made digital instruments. In this course, Ryan Lott, composer and bandleader of Son Lux, will show you how to find and construct inspiring, unpredictable sounds, and turn those sounds into playable instruments. Learn to write music in response to instruments that emerge through experimentation, rich with contour and variation. And see what kind of music you can create when you move beyond the limits of traditional instrumentation.
Ryan will walk students through the techniques he uses in his own music and in scores for films including 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Looper' to catalyze new creative ideas and build music that evokes complex emotions.
This course was designed for producers looking for more control in their sound design, composers who want to add evocative and otherworldly qualities to their music, and anyone in search of an inspiring new tool to drive their songwriting forward.
Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based Instruments is available now as part of Soundfly's subscription library of creative music courses. Preview the course for free and sign up today at: https://soundfly.com/ryanlott – This course is exclusively available as part of Soundfly's course subscription, where you can access dozens of in-depth, high-quality courses on topics ranging from songwriting to producing, mixing to beatmaking, and so much more. Subscribe today to get learning: https://soundfly.com/subscription"
"Learn to invent your own digital instruments and use them to compose more evocative, otherworldly music in Soundfly's premium course, Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based Instruments. Preview the course for free at: https://soundfly.com/ryanlott
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Inject a new dose of creativity into your music by composing with your own custom-made digital instruments. In this course, Ryan Lott, composer and bandleader of Son Lux, will show you how to find and construct inspiring, unpredictable sounds, and turn those sounds into playable instruments. Learn to write music in response to instruments that emerge through experimentation, rich with contour and variation. And see what kind of music you can create when you move beyond the limits of traditional instrumentation.
Ryan will walk students through the techniques he uses in his own music and in scores for films including 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Looper' to catalyze new creative ideas and build music that evokes complex emotions.
This course was designed for producers looking for more control in their sound design, composers who want to add evocative and otherworldly qualities to their music, and anyone in search of an inspiring new tool to drive their songwriting forward.
Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based Instruments is available now as part of Soundfly's subscription library of creative music courses. Preview the course for free and sign up today at: https://soundfly.com/ryanlott
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This course is exclusively available as part of Soundfly's course subscription, where you can access dozens of in-depth, high-quality courses on topics ranging from songwriting to producing, mixing to beatmaking, and so much more. Subscribe today to get learning: https://soundfly.com/subscription"
Note: MATRIXSYNTH readers can use the MATRIXSYNTH20 code for 20% off Soundfly courses.
"Watch producer Seth Haley, aka Com Truise, break down the inspiration and production behind his 2019 hit 'Ultrafiche of You.' Keep learning in his full-length course, exclusively available on Soundfly at https://soundfly.com/comtruise.
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About the Video:
In 'Ultrafiche of You,' Com Truise took inspiration from an Italian polyphonic analog synth, the Crumar Bit One. He used the Crumar for almost every part of the song — including the main melody, counter melodies, and as samples — adding effects, tweaking the patch, and chopping and reversing sounds to get as much variation as he could from it. The result is a deep exploration and meditation on a single instrument and sound source.
Here, Com Truise opens up the track in Ableton Live and plays each section of the song to show how he processed the sounds and used the synth to create the song's "flowing atmosphere."
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About the Course:
Combining a nostalgic reverence for ‘80s drum machines and production techniques with a futuristic sensibility, Com Truise has been building intricate musical worlds that are hypermodern and yet emotionally familiar for over a decade.
In this course, you’ll discover how Com Truise produces music that is both textural and driving, awash in retro drum sounds and thick clouds of synthesizers. You’ll follow along as he creates a brand new track from scratch, and opens up the sessions to some of his most popular songs, giving you a unique look at how he approaches synthesis, drum machine programming, production, gear, and more.
Whether you’re an aspiring synthwave artist or simply someone in need of inspiration and constraints for your next musical project, this in-depth course will help you add an otherworldly quality to your music. Sign up here: https://soundfly.com/courses/com-trui...
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This course is exclusively available as part of Soundfly's course subscription, where you can access dozens of in-depth, high-quality courses on topics ranging from songwriting to producing, mixing to beatmaking, and so much more. Subscribe today to get learning: https://soundfly.com/subscription"
Note Soundfly is a new sponsor of the site. You'll find their banner on the right. They offer various courses on music production. You can find them at https://soundfly.com, and the Com Truise course here. Details on the course and video above follow.
"In this excerpt from his new Soundfly course, Com Truise: Mid-Fi Synthwave Slow-Motion Funk, producer Seth Haley shares the story of how he got into music, what inspires him, and how the music he makes as Com Truise first took off. Keep learning at http://soundfly.com/comtruise
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Seth Haley shares the stories behind how he first got into music as a kid, banging on pots and pans, through his breakout success as Com Truise.
Seth first began sharing music under the moniker "Com Truise" on MySpace in 2010. Before that, he'd made music under different names (Sarin Sunday, Airliner, SYSTM), but it was the Com Truise project that started to generate buzz. His is the rare story of labels and artists reaching out to him for opportunities. He got asked to do remixes by artists like Neon Indian and Daft Punk and eventually hooked up with the famed electronic label Ghostly International.
Since joining Ghostly, Seth has released three full-length albums, numerous EPs, two compilation albums, and countless remixes for artists like Tycho, deadmau5, Deftones, and more.
Throughout all of this, Com Truise has been exploring alternate dimensions through sound. A number of his albums follow the fictional tale of the world's first android astronaut, who launches into space to encounter other civilizations, falling in love and fleeing for his life in the process. Seth's interest lies in world-building: Defining exciting and detailed sonic spaces and soundtracking the emotions of the characters within them. He's trying to tap into something emotional and nostalgic, but also futuristic and fresh.
Nowadays, Com Truise continues to make music while also exploring new areas, from soundtracking cryptic Super Bowl commercials to working on feature film scores. And he performs live and DJ, often with elaborate visual displays to accompany his music.
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About the Course:
Combining a nostalgic reverence for ‘80s drum machines and production techniques with a futuristic sensibility, Com Truise has been building intricate musical worlds that are hypermodern and yet emotionally familiar for over a decade.
In this course, you’ll discover how Com Truise produces music that is both textural and driving, awash in retro drum sounds and thick clouds of synthesizers. You’ll follow along as he creates a brand new track from scratch, and opens up the sessions to some of his most popular songs, giving you a unique look at how he approaches synthesis, drum machine programming, production, gear, and more.
Whether you’re an aspiring synthwave artist or simply someone in need of inspiration and constraints for your next musical project, this in-depth course will help you add an otherworldly quality to your music. Sign up here: https://soundfly.com/courses/com-trui...
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This course is exclusively available as part of Soundfly's course subscription, where you can access dozens of in-depth, high-quality courses on topics ranging from songwriting to producing, mixing to beatmaking, and so much more. Subscribe today to get learning: https://soundfly.com/subscription"
"Learn to blend nostalgic synths with driving beats and retro production techniques to create sci-fi-inspired electronic music with our newest course, Com Truise: Mid-Fi Synthwave Slow-Motion Funk, available now at http://soundfly.com/comtruise
Combining a nostalgic reverence for ‘80s drum machines and production techniques with a futuristic sensibility, Com Truise has been building intricate musical worlds that are hypermodern and yet emotionally familiar for over a decade.
In his new course with Soundfly, you’ll discover how Com Truise produces music that is both textural and driving, awash in retro drum sounds and thick clouds of synthesizers. You’ll follow along as he creates a brand new track from scratch, and opens up the sessions to some of his most popular songs, giving you a unique look at how he approaches making music. The unreleased song he builds in the course, "Dynetics," is available exclusively to Soundfly subscribers.
Over more than 30 videos, as well as readings, downloads, stems, and more, Com Truise demonstrates the techniques he uses to pull a track together, building synth patches, sampling retro drum machine sounds, and leveraging ‘80s production techniques to create music that feels both nostalgic and novel. He digs into his sources of inspiration like the sweeping retrofuturistic android astronaut narrative that’s driven many of his albums, as well as visual art, 3D renderings, and more.
Whether you’re an aspiring synthwave artist, a gearhead, or simply someone in need of inspiration and constraints for your next musical project, this in-depth course will help you add an otherworldly quality to your music. Sign up here: https://soundfly.com/courses/com-trui...
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This course is exclusively available as part of Soundfly's course subscription, where you can access dozens of in-depth, high-quality courses on topics ranging from songwriting to producing, mixing to beatmaking, and so much more. Subscribe today to get learning: https://soundfly.com/subscription"
"Soundfly helps curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Start learning on the ’Fly today: https://soundfly.com/subscription."
Note, Soundfly is a new sponsor of MATRIXSYNTH. You can find their banner on the right. Along with general music procution courses they offer synth tutorials, some of which have been posted here on MATRIXSYNTH.
See their online Synth Courses here. They also offer a 10% discount to supporting members of the site. The following is an interesting press release from them on artists using their extra time during the pandemic to either learn something new or to refine their existing skills. There are links to some interesting artist experiences below.
About Soundfly
Soundfly helps curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it — subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly: https://soundfly.com/subscription
About the Course
Tired of presets? Need more complex and interesting-sounding patches in your productions? Or maybe you want to be able to figure out the sounds from other artists' tracks? Whether you're a producer looking to level up your sound design chops or just want to have some fun diving down a synth-fueled rabbit hole, this course is designed to help you craft better synth sounds.
Throughout this course, we’ll look at popular synths, sounds, and post-processing techniques to help you develop strategies for creating better sounds 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, and make better sounds than you ever thought you could.
"Soundfly helps curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it — subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. https://soundfly.com/subscription
Tired of presets? Need more complex and interesting-sounding patches in your productions? Or maybe you want to be able to figure out the sounds from other artists' tracks? Whether you're a producer looking to level up your sound design chops or just want to have some fun diving down a synth-fueled rabbit hole, this course is designed to help you craft better synth sounds.
Throughout this course, we’ll look at popular synths, sounds, and post-processing techniques to help you develop strategies for creating better sounds 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, and make better sounds than you ever thought you could.
For those interested, Soundfly has a post up explaining granular synthesis here. Click through for the full post and be sure to check out their other tutorials.
"When it comes to sampling and Ableton, there are an overwhelming number of methods for turning almost any recorded sound into a functional musical tabula rasa. From simply dragging and dropping a recording into a track and splicing manually, to warping, distorting, reversing, transposing, and making use of plugin-based tricks of processing, one can explore the parameters of a single piece of audio for months at a time. A slightly lesser known, yet highly rewarding method to add to the bevy of sampling workflows in your tracks is granular synthesis."
"This contest will be judged by none other than glomag, Chipocrite and Bias ONE (fka minus baby). So, what is the challenge? To create and submit the best version of Devo's classic 'Whip It' using LSDJ or any other Chiptune/8-bit hacked software to create it."
Full details:
"The Chip It Challenge: Join the Chip It Challenge! Sign up to find more information on the competition and download a starting track at https://soundfly.com
What's the Prize?
Grand Prize: Modded Game Boy and flash cartridge, and personal feedback from Chipocrite on your track!
2nd place: Flash cartridge and personal feedback from Chipocrite on your track
3rd place: Flash cartridge
What are the judging criteria?
The overall originality of your version of 'Whip It,' while still being recognizable as "Whip It," as decided by our esteemed panel of judges
Make this YOUR version of "Whip It!"
Who are the judges?
Chipocrite, our fearless host, instructor and humble
Glomag emerged from the NYC chip music scene around the dawn of the 21st century, writing music on Game Boys and performing local shows. His has two releases on 8bitpeoples, DaMaGe and Roland and The Lamprey, and with the 8 Bit Operators on Astralwerks Records as well as on various compilations. He has performed in and around the U.S. and Europe.
BIAS ONE (formerly known as minusbaby), Richard Alexander Caraballo began his minusbaby project in 1999 to explore the diversity of a lo-fi, compositional aesthetic and has since progressed experimentally in its scope to include elements guided by those roots and a sonic language representative of his influences, namely, the art of bass and how it moves butts. Also, he has covered "Whip It.
How is it going to work?
In short, make your own version of "Chip It." You can use Chipocrite's version as a guide, and we have even provided you with a .sav file of Chipocrite's verison. So, get into the nitty-gritty of Chipocrite's decisions, understand his choices, and then create your own piece! (Or skip the .sav file and create your own version from scratch.)
Your piece should have the same structure as Chipocrite's. It should include the intro (the first 12 bars of the song, or the first 18 seconds of Chipocrite's version), the verse (bars 13-29, or from :19 to :41 of Chipocrite's version) and a chorus (bars 30-46, or :42 to :57 of Chipocrite's version)
When are submissions due?
February 15th, so get moving!
What can’t you do?
You can’t just re-submit the .sav file we give to you with little tweaks. Make it your own!
You shouldn't use just a sprinkling of LSDJ (or chip-based sounds) and then beef the track up with a whole bunch of other synths and drum machines and stuff. Keep it chip. All submissions will be accepted and reviewed, but you probably won't get too far if you don't keep it chip!
Additionally, if you post your track on Soundcloud, Facebook, or Twitter and tag @learntosoundfly and use the hashtag #chipit, we'll share your work with all our followers.
I am happy to announce Soundfly is offering a 20% discount on courses for supporting members of MATRIXSYNTH! If you are a member of the site and are interested, send me an email I will forward you the discount code. Be sure to check out Soundfly even if you are not a member of the site as many of their courses are currently free, including all of their synth courses.
"Soundfly launches new free course with YouTube star Andrew Huang on making music with found sounds in Ableton Live
Andrew Huang has gotten millions of views on YouTube for making creative songs using only balloons, glasses of water, dental equipment, pairs of jeans, and much more. Soundfly's brand new series Any Sound Will Do, launching today, will pull back the curtain on how he does it — and teach you how to turn everyday objects into musical instruments using a microphone and Ableton Live.
Pretty much anything can be a musical instrument, with the right knowledge and a copy of Ableton Live. In this series, some of the world's best at using found sounds in their music take you through their approaches to capturing, manipulating, and shaping everyday items to make more interesting music. The free series includes two micro-courses: "Capturing and Warping Samples in Ableton Live" with Ableton Certified Trainer, Brian Jackson, and "Making Music From Everyday Items" with YouTube star Andrew Huang. Both courses are completely free and take only an hour of your time!
This one in via MATRIXSYNTH supporter, Soundfly. You'll find the full tutorial and track on Soundfly here. BTW, Soundfly has quite a few courses online, so if this particulary tutorial does not interest you, be sure to check out the rest.
"Step 1 — Oscillators
This is a thick dual-oscillator tone that, to my ear, sounds like that of the classic Minimoog (I have yet to confirm what synth was actually used, so feel free to hip us to any insider knowledge you may have in the comments!). To get this tone, we’ll need to set both our oscillators to a sawtooth waveform, with one tuned an octave below the other."
Soundfly just posted an article featuring the classic Roland x0x drum machines, including videos, interesting bits of history, and tons of links. Click through for the full post.
"Ah, that classic beat, marching ever onward, familiar as the beat of our own hearts. But the beats we’re so consumed with, the sounds that so commonly drive our daily lives, are not only not the sound of a beating heart (a robot heart, maybe), they’re not organic sounds at all.
Yes, yes, whether you like it or not, the music we consume is predominantly set in time by that which we call the drum machine.
And while there are an infinite number of analog and digital drum machines on the market, most tend towards the ephemeral, finding favor among a few artists for a few years, before the sound becomes dated and the artists move on. But owing to some mystical fake-drum alchemy, for nearly 40 years, the Roland series of 606s through 909s have managed to find relevance again and again."
"Today, we’re going to take a look at modular synthesis as it’s used in the modern electronic landscape, and highlight its flexibility in studying the way that a wide variety of artists use it in an equally wide variety of genres. While this isn’t really a piece to encourage you to buy a modular… be warned: By the end, you may have accidentally caught the synth bug!"
Featured:
Alessandro Cortini
Floating Points
Surgeon
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
John Chantler
Lichens (pictured left)
Scanner
Richard Devine
