As you are about to dive into sound-making with synthesis, a great scroll through the ancient times up until now it is important. Additive Synthesis processes, FM or amplitude modulations can all sound so old fashion, but there is still so much that can be made with them.

In the end, it is the way you think of sound, what you looking for in it, that will make a difference.

Open the Lesson 2 Spotify playlist here.

Here is what you have on the playlist:

Max Mathews, “Bicycle built for two” (1961). I know what you are thinking, but try to do that with these machines:

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Also, Max really liked to have fun with music.

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Check out all his other tracks too.

Karlheinz Stockhausen: “Kontakte” (1958-1960). This work mixes electronic sounds with percussions and piano.

John Chowing, “Turenas” (1988): this is a great example of sound spatialisation too.

These next works give synthesis sound composition a fresh new direction. They seem no more exploring the harmonic and timbrical, but instead the limits of psychophysical perception.

Alva Noto: “Module 2, 3”, the whole  album “Transform” (2001-2005)

Rioiji Ikeda: “Test Pattern” (2006)