RHYTHMIC SYNTHESIS

Musically, we’re all slaves to a continuous pulse. Rhythm – a predictable, repeating measure of time – is the underlying clock that keeps all the musical parts within a song in sync. Without obvious percussive cues, or even implied rhythms traced out by chords and melodies, our attempts at synchronising musical elements would dissolve into a cacophonous mess.

If you’re a fan of dancefloor-oriented music, you already know the importance of rhythm. Many modern electronic genres rely almost entirely on it, eschewing traditional melodic formulas and pop verse-bridge-chorus arrangements for stripped-back structures. And it’s clear why: allocating the majority of excitement and progression to changes in the rhythm and timbre of both percussive and musical elements is a surefire way to get heads nodding and feet on the dancefloor. And of course, musically-intricate songs regularly combine rhythmic and melodic interplay to tease, satisfy and subvert the listener’s rhythmic expectations.

So to help you on your way to creative inspiration, we’ve prepared you an in-depth masterclass in regimented synth modulation and tempo-synced sound design. We’ll take you on a tour of the many ways you can incorporate clocked manipulation into your synthesis endeavours – from simple step patterns scanning parameters in exciting ways, through to the futuristic fins and curves of custom synth modulators. And we don’t stop at straight-up synth modulation, either – we’ll also show you how to charge up static signals and samples with ingenious timing tactics, manual automation, advanced synth movement and more. It’s time to ramp up your skills and step to it…