Soundfly Site Update | DEMYSTIFYING SYNTHS 5 COURSE SERIES

Soundlfy, a sponsor of MATRIXSYNTH, has a new updated website!

"We've changed our platform a bit, you can visit the new look of soundfly here."

Soundfly offers a number of courses for the aspiring musician. For synths they currently offer a Demystifying Synths 5 Course Series.

Chiptunes II - "Arranging in Four Channels" is Now Live

via Soundfly:

"Ready to turn your beginner chip loops into intricate chip masterpieces? Well, Part Two of our Chiptune Crash Course will help you do just that. This micro-course will expand on what you've already learned about making music with old video game hardware using Little Sound Dj (LSDJ), a tracking software for the original Nintendo Game Boy that we introduced in Part One.

In this section we're going to learn how to use all four channels to make a more complex piece of music using multiple instruments and loops. We'll explore some of the different instruments you can access in LSDJ, learn how to tweak the sounds in each channel, and build our first drumbeat using the pulse and noise channels. Ready to take your chip loops to the next level? Dive in to start learning."

New Course on Soundfly: Live Clicks & Backing Tracks

This one in via MATRIXSYNTH sponsor, Soundfly. Their new course, Live Clicks & Backing Tracks, teaches you how to sync your DAW with hardware and on-stage gear to trigger clicks and backing tracks in performance. It's not super synthy but it hits the same buttons, with both in and out-of the box solutions to the same problems synth players come across.

Details:

"NEW FREE COURSE TEACHES HOW TO INCLUDE LIVE CLICK TRACKS AND BACKING TRACKS INTO YOUR PERFORMANCE

Creativity can strike at any moment, and if it strikes in the studio, make sure you're prepared to take your new sound to the stage! Soundfly's new course is a must for touring bands looking to up their game and professionalize their on-stage performance rig. Live Clicks and Backing Tracks takes students through the process of preparing their studio tracks for playback in a live setting using Ableton Live, setting up in-ear systems, the gear that is both necessary and encouraged for a full band to make use of their clicks and tons of helpful tips from the experts themselves!

This is the first-ever course of its kind, it is free and it's one of Soundfly's most comprehensive, and user-engaging courses to date. Taught by Alex Wilson, a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer from Sydney, Australia and the founder of the hugely popular post-rock band Sleepmakeswaves, the course can be accessed at any time, from anywhere, and students are welcomed to go through it at their own pace. Resource materials include videos, screenshot tutorials, MIDI click and backing samples and some simple prompts to get you started tracking for Live today!"

https://soundfly.com/courses/live-clicks-backing-tracks

Soundfly Introduces Chiptune Crash Course

MATRIXSYNTH sponsor Soundfly has introduced a new course on creating Chiptune music.

"Online music school Soundfly has just launched a new free one-of-a-kind course to teach DIY musicians how to make music using the sound chips of old video game systems, such as the Game Boy. It's taught by critically acclaimed chiptune artist Chipocrite. He has performed nationally at major events, such as Vans Warped Tour; provided soundtracks for video games, online videos, and commercials, including a nationally-run GameStop ad; recorded numerous albums, including the award-winning 2011 release "Hit and Run"; and appeared on talk shows, among other accolades.

By the end of part one, students will be able to program their own version of the C major scale — a key first step in creating more elaborate songs. Part two, which is launching soon after, will dive into more complicated arrangements using four channels. The course is mobile-compatible and can be accessed for free by anyone anywhere in the world at the following link: https://soundfly.com/courses/getting-started-with-chip-music. Students don't need anything but a computer and an internet connection."

Music Theory For Bedroom Producers, Parts I & II - NEW Free Course on Soundfly

This one in via Soundfly, a supporting member of MATRIXSYNTH!:

"We made this course because we think that how theory is currently taught is dry, academic, and difficult to apply to the way producers are making tracks in the year 2016. Yet the same rules apply, and can be used in electronic music to create fantastic new possibilities!"

It's a two part course available online:

Theory For Bedroom Producers I : The Black Keys
Exploring the Pentatonic Scale's impact on electronic music and production.

Theory for Bedroom Producers II : The White Keys
Exploring Mixolydian, Lydian and Major Scale grooves for applications in MIDI and beyond!

Details:

"This course series was developed in partnership with New York University's Music Experience Design Lab (MusEDLab). It incorporates years of user research about what makes learning engaging and effective. One key innovation is a new in-browser tool called the aQWERTYon that turns an ordinary computer keyboard into an intuitive musical instrument, enabling students to play examples for themselves right in the course tab. The course is taught primarily by Ethan Hein, research fellow at the MusEDLab and adjunct professor at New York University, and created in collaboration with online music school Soundfly.

These resources are accessible to anyone curious about how music works, but we've targeted them specifically to producers of electronic music. We present examples in the MIDI piano roll familiar to users of Ableton Live or Logic, so no music reading is required. We also offer downloadable MIDI files that can be used in those programs, or any other digital audio workstation. Users go at their own pace, watching videos, taking on activities, playing with the MusEDLab's online keyboard, and learning whenever they want. Students can also share their work using the hashtag #theoryforproducers."

Demystifying Synths: LFOs and Modulation on Soundfly

Soundfly has a new course on LFOs and Modulation here. Click through for details.

Introducing Soundfly Synth Courses & More

Soundfly wrote in to let us know they are offering free synth courses online. Currently they have two courses available, Demystifying Oscillators and Demystifying Filters. Tutorials on Envelope Generators, LFOs and Modulators will follow. Be sure to see their site for other tutorials as well.

Soundfly has also signed up for a banner here on MATRIXSYNTH. You'll find them on the bottom right of the site in a new Training & Tutorials section.

Manufacturers and More

The following is a repository of banners that have been featured on the site. Note the date of this post is 2009, so some of these banners are old and some sites may be gone. This page exists more for historical purposes.

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