"Introduction To Music Production" at Berklee

College of Music. Lesson 6

The usage of the 5 most important synthesis modules: Oscillator, Filter,
Amplifier, Envelope, and LFO.

Hi, my name is Odayr Baptista, from So Paulo, Brazil,

for the Berklee Introduction to Music Production class.

For assessment 6 for week 6 I will be explain you about

The usage of the 5 most important synthesis modules:
Oscillator, Filter, Amplifier, Envelope, and LFO.

What is a Synthesis
Module?

A synthesizer is an electronic
device that creates these
vibrations in the form of an
electrical signal. The vibrations
can be sped up or slowed
down, giving dierent notes.
They can be manipulated and
modified in many fun and
interesting ways that cant be
done acoustically.

At some point, the electrical

signal must be amplified and
fed through a speaker. This
converts the signal into
vibrations in the air that we can
hear.

Oscillator (VCO)

In the synthesizer, o get any sound, first we

need a source. The most common source is
called a Voltage-Controlled Oscillator, or VCO
for short.

The first synthesizers had totally analog

oscillators (VCO voltage controlled oscillator).
Later, synthesizers won analog oscillators, but
digitally controlled (DCO).

The oscillator generates the basic signal in this

type of synthesizer, namely oscillators without
a subtractive synthesizer produces no sound.

The Voltage Controlled Oscillator is the sound

creator in modular synthesis and is used to
generate sound through geometric wave forms
such as: Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Square,
Pulse, and Noise waves.

Filter (VCF - Voltage Controlled Filter)

The filter is the part of the synthesizer that is most responsible

for shaping the tones you get out of it, and it gives each synth
its own character and unique sound.

A filter is used to remove frequencies from the original

waveform, so as to change the basic signal, and therefore the
pitch, filtering (removing) frequency portions of the spectrum.

Most synthesizers provide a single filter, which is applied to all

the signals supplied by the oscillators. Multioscillator
synthesizers may also exhibit multiple filters, allowing each
oscillator signal are filtered differently.

The original analog models had analog filters (VCF for Voltage
Controlled Filter), and then also appeared the filters controlled
by digital means (DCF, Digitally Controlled Filter)

There are numerous filter types, but we can say that the most
common are:

LOW PASS (LPF), HIGH-PASS (HPF), CUT-OFF,

RESPONSE and RESONANCE

Amplifier (VCA) & Envelope

This component amplifies the signal and is used to adjust the filtered
signal.

The first synthesizers had fully analog amplifiers (VCA-controlled

amplifier for voltage); subsequently were released digitally controlled
amplifiers (DCA, Digitally Controlled Amplifier).

It is the section of the Amplifier which are the envelopes, abbreviated

as EG, ENV or simply ADSR (acronym for: Attack, Decay, Sustain,
Release), used to control the signal level over time, providing level
controls for attack, decay, sustain and rest.

Attack - The beginning of the sound. The attack can be fast or slow
(or something in between);

Decay - when the sound passes from the attack for support;

Sustain - determines the sound level of sustain, while the key is

pressed;

Home - determines the sound support level after the key is released.

Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO)

Besides the oscillator, filter and amplifier, there are also other components working in sound
synthesis and is present almost entirely of existing synthesizers.

There are, for example, a special kind of oscillator that operates at low frequencies (20 Hz to
cercade - below the hearing threshold of a human being) called LFO (low frequency oscillator). It is
used to create vibrato, vibration, etc. The LFO can, e.g., modulate the master oscillator (VCO /
DCO) to create pulses or vibrato, or amplifier (VCA / DCA), to create a tremolo effect.

It is very common that the LFO in operation is controlled by a present modulation wheel near the
keys.

Other typical controls of a synthesizer are called global controls (Global Control), which affect the
general characteristics of the sound, such as monophonic or polyphonic playback, or portamento
glide, pitch bend and more.