USING MODULAR SYNTHS TO CREATE AMBIENT MUSIC
A true sound designer’s dream, modular synths are the perfect tool for ambient on several fronts…
>Modular synths are good for many genres of music but possibly none more so than ambient. The nature of modular means there are vast swathes of tools and options for creating everything from subtle evolving soundscapes and drones, to generative melodies. There are sequencers that can be used to build evolving pitched patterns, sound sources for every timbre imaginable and all the utilities to control everything. A lot of ambient music has subtler elements such as drones that can shift and warp over time and for these things, modular really is the best tool, as using modulation sources to control VCAs allows you to set up a near limitless piece of music. Lay melodic lines over this with a more standard sequence but even then they have the ability to adapt the output of pitches and triggers to generate complex and shifting lines. Modular is the way forward for all this and more.
Of course, most modules out there have many uses across many genres, but it feels like some have been designed for ambient production. The surge of granular modules over the last few years has helped ambient artists in the search for new textures, their popularity bringing new artists into this wonderful area of sound design. That sense of adventure is the key. More than any other genre, ambient is a place where sound designers can flourish, scratching that creative itch in exciting new ways.
IDEAS THAT HOLD FOR LENGTHIER PERIODS
Ambient music tends to run for longer and, while there is rarely a hook, generally doesn’t remain static. Modular is perfect here too. As mentioned, there are often slow and subtle evolutions to the music, which might be very difficult to do using a traditional synth. Texture is key here, with that evolution maintaining interest. Many modules allow for this in one way or another. Washes of varying timbre can be achieved using modules like Mutable’s Tides, or simple LFO chains via a module like Maestro, that can be chained for controlled diversity over time.
AN EMPHASIS ON TEXTURED RHYTHM
Then there’s rhythm and beats. Ambient doesn’t have to mean a lack of percussive elements, although there will rarely be any four to the floor in this arena. Look more to euclidean rhythms or other random but timed triggers, again whatever breaks from the norm. Percussive voices are often not the standard 808s/909s heard elsewhere, although they do pop up. Instead you can try samples of found sounds with a wider spread across the soundstage. Sample players are a great tool for introducing nonstandard percussive hits: 1010 Music’s Bitbox, with its 16 samples at a time, is a good example of CV controllable sample playback. Modules like Akemie’s Taiko are more akin to a typical drum voice but have lots of headroom for creating interesting, usable sounds, plus CV controls to humanise hits.
Reverb is often a huge element of ambient but, as with other areas of the genre, modular offers reverbs of all styles to suit all tastes. You can go from huge, lush shimmers to tape delays or even connect a tank for authentic spring reverbs.
SOUND DESIGN IN THE DRIVING SEAT
While the voices and trigger methods may be the showstoppers, what makes modular so perfect for ambient is all the control on tap. Logic modules, sequential switches, matrix mixers, triggers and a slew of other options make modular a sound designer’s dream and sound design is a huge part of the attraction of ambient music. All in all, modular, especially Eurorack, could be the perfect playground for the ambient artist seeking new ideas.