Learn the Basics of Beatmaking With This Open Source Synthesizer App
iOS: One of the best parts of any sci-fi game or movie is the ominous tones that suggest aconversation or discovery is about to head south – a quintessential soundtrack that adds a lot of ambience (and tension ) to the experience. … Now, thanks to the open source iOS app, you can create your own impressive synth sounds and learn the basics of music making.
AudioKit’s Synth One app is completely free to download and use, which is quite remarkable considering how fully functional this virtual synthesizer is. Launch it and you have over 300 customized presets to try out that are fun enough to download and play using the app’s built-in keyboard.
From there, the sky is the proverbial limit. And I’ve found that the best way to understand what many of the buttons, dials, and app options do is through trial and error. How do different effects change the nature of the sound you create? What happens when you change the shape of your synthesizer’s reverb? Add to detuning? Fiddling with attack, delay and sustain sequence? Maybe it’s more fun doing arpeggios? Can you recreate the Interstellar soundtrack? (Try Preset # 12: BB Power Down.)
While Synth One’s interface may seem incredibly impressive at first – and that’s only after you’ve checked out one of the many pages of options you can flip through – don’t let that hold you back. Exercise. Create creepy sci-fi sounds or interesting ringtones. Check out a tutorial (or two) if you need to hold your hand a little more to create the perfect sound loop that sits in your head:
If you want to get creative, you can even sync the app with a MIDI keyboard if you prefer to use physical keys instead of virtual keys. You can also record your synths and put them in other apps like GarageBand so you can use your original creations (or presets you’ve customized) as a component of a larger piece of music.
Even if you don’t know anything about music, sound making, or synthesizers, Synth One is like the music version of a painting app. You might not be the next Picasso, but it’s fun to draw when you’re bored. Who knows, your efforts could lead you to create the next big hit, SoundCloud EDM.