Moog Synthesized Percussion Guide

Moog Music’s Guide To Analog
Synthesized Percussion
Creating tones for reproducing the
family of instruments in which sound
arises from the striking of materials
with sticks, hammers, or the hands.
The First Step
COMMON
VOLUME
ENVELOPES
Th e f irst ste p in synth esizing a sound , pe rcussive
o r o t h e r w i s e , i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g h o w t o v i s u a l i ze
sonic information in terms of the control
p a r a m e t e r s o f y o u r s y n t h e s i ze r.
M o s t s y n t h e s i ze r s e m p l oy a 4 - s t a g e a m p l i f i e r
e n v e l o p e t o c o n t r o l a s o u n d ’s vo l u m e o v e r t i m e .
T h e s e 4 “ s t a g e s ” a r e c o m m o n l y l a b e l e d : AT TAC K ,
D E C AY, S U S TA I N & R E L E A S E .
HORNS
ADSR
UN-MUTED
BASS DRUM
TIGHT SNARE
ATTACK: The amount of time it
takes a sound to rise from zero to
maximum when a key is depressed.
DECAY: The amount of time it takes
a sound to descend from maximum
level to sustained level.
amplitude
release
sustain
d e c ay
attack
SUSTAIN: The level at which a
sound remains while a key is held,
after the Decay stage is complete.
RELEASE: The amount of time it
takes for a sound to descend from
its sustained level to zero.
time
A M P. E N V E L O P E
boom
tight
boom
tight
To synthesize a drum sound, begin by creating a percussive amplifier envelope. When
striking a drum head, the sound does not
“swell” in, nor does it continue to sustain if
you hold the stick against the head. With
this in mind, set the Attack and Sustain
parameters to their minimum position.
Percussive sounds are typically played by quickly
striking and releasing a medium, (think of finger
drumming on an MPC). With this in mind, use the
Amplifier Envelope's Release control to determine
how long or short a sound “rings out” after a note is
release. The Decay control will influence your Release
settings when Sustain is set to zero, so set Decay to
center position until you get a feel for it.
Moog Music’s Guide To Analog
Synthesized Percussion
Creating tones for reproducing the
family of instruments in which sound
arises from the striking of materials
with sticks, hammers, or the hands.
Sound Source
Oscillators
N ow that yo u have a pe rcussive amplif ie r
e nvelope , you n e e d a sound source . K icks , snares ,
toms , & cymbals c an all be create d using a similar
amplifier
e nvelope
with
dif ferent
harmonic
c o n t e n t . Sy n t h e s i ze r s o f f e r m a n y t o o l s w i t h w h i c h
to create harmonic content including oscillators ,
f ilters , noise generators and modulation .
These
are
a
s y n t h e s i z e r ’s
primary
source
of
sound.
Oscillators
create
dif ferent
waveforms that c an be use d to
determine the complexit y of
harmonic content before it is
sent through the filter sec tion .
Wave S h a p e s
TRIANGLE:
Contains
exponentially descending odd harmonics. Use
with noise for pitched
tom drums.
SQUARE: Contains only
odd
harmonics.
Its
hollow sound is good for
low register kick drums.
SAW: C o nt a i n s a ll
i nte g e r h a r m o n i c s .
U s e fo r wa r m , a r ti cu l ate p e rc u s si o n
NOISE: Contains all
frequencies. Noise is
used to create snares,
and to add acoustic
qualities
to
synth
percussion.
F I LT E R S E C T I O N
y
e frequenc
ne
sin
frequency
DON’T FORGET: Experimentation & learning will reward
you with a lifetime of rich synthesizer experiences.
si
FILTER: The filter can be driven into self-oscillation by
setting it's Resonance control to maximum. At this point
the filter becomes a sine wave generator perfect for
creating massive 808-style kicks & toms. The Cutoff
parameter of a self-oscillating filter now controls its
frequency, while the KB AMOUNT knob determines how
the keyboard's pitch effects the Cutoff frequency.
self
oscillation
M O D WH E E L must b e up • LFO R A NG E S E LEC TIO N set to hig h ( M anual pg . 2 8) •
• FILTER SLOPE set to 1 Pole (Manual pg. 28) • LFO GATE RESET set to ON (Manual pg . 25)
Mod Wheel in up position
S PAC E D R U M
Mod Wheel in up position
M O D WH E E L must b e up • LFO R A NG E S E LEC TIO N set to hig h ( M anual pg . 2 8) •
H I H AT/ B LOC K
• FILTER SLOPE set to 1 Pole (Manual pg. 28) • MULTI TRIG set to ON (Editor)