If you enjoyed this here's A NEW VID that shows a tiny generative modular and a whole host of interesting patches!! ua-cam.com/video/jt8ODLYN7XE/v-deo.html ✨
@Element 115 there's a guy who focuses on software modular synths, specifically VCV Rack. I think your best bet would be to check his backlog: ua-cam.com/users/OmriCohen-Music
***** you raise a good point. however i would say the 'skill' associated with mixing, arranging, etc. is essentially based on judgement. pretty much anyone can, with minimal teaching and a pen, write legible 'music' on paper but what makes a composer 'good' or 'bad' is where they decide to put the notes. conversely, a violinist is judged as 'good' or 'bad' by how accurately they can perform the music given to them. they make no decisions, but to physically play a complex or fast piece requires immense skill. i always consider this in the setting of the rock band or singer-songwriter (Eno worked with many himself), where it meant that often a certain 'sound' might be desired by an artist, but without the means or budget to create that sound for the record (consider the desire for a string section on a ballad, or a high note in a melody that the singer can't reach). thanks to modern technology (synthesis and autotune, respectively) the 'skill' is no longer a limiting factor, and so the quality of the music is down solely to the artist's judgement in whether or not to include it. in the context of generative music, as in the video, it goes further - the 'skill' required in even /writing/ the music is removed, but it can still be 'good' or 'bad': the distinction is by how the artist judges what is a 'good' or 'bad' sound, which dictates how they design their patches and which sounds they keep on the record.
But great disadvantage is that it supports repetitiveness and lazyness. Electronic synthesizers existed before sequencers. When sequencers became mainstream, house music was invented.
how you choose to structure your song, and how varied you choose to make it, are precisely the issues of judgement eno was talking about. you can blame the lazy producer for the terrible music, not the electronic sequencer.
"Watching MylarMelodies making a generative patch is wonderful in that you almost feel like you did something yourself while actually you just sat back and drank beer" - Brian Eno
You're a natural teacher and you do a great job re-emphasizing key points. And you do it with a light touch so you don't sound pedantic. Super useful video. Wish I had seen it years ago. Thank you!
UPDATE: Said band member has literally since gone off the deep end and bought a 18U modular and been whatsapping me his generative jams. Theyyyyy alllllll come rooooound eventually.... ✅
Haha! So funny because I came here as I was discussing this topic with someone the other day, and they had the same reaction. I remembered this video, and wanted to send it to them. We're both math fanatics, and I was trying to explain that setting up a generative patch is an analog to writing a mathematical algorithm. You do such a great job of bringing up amazing examples of this concept. Happy to hear your friend folded. Counting on mine to do the same in the next few months :)
What I find is that generative ambient has always been riding the borderland between live and created music from the beginning. I am clear that it requires creativity and is mostly live. When the music is being created, there is a "watching over" and "tweaking" that happens that is only perfected when all the conflict points, adverse feedback loops, and overload points are removed, and then it can be recorded like regular music or left as an automated sequence that is done by rules rather than recording (which makes it feel more alive). What is possible, though, is that after a generative patch and settings is set into motion, it can be tweaked in present time to introduce more subtleties in a kind of live ongoing improv. Thanks for sharing your process and ideas!
this might be the 5th time i've watch it, some all the way through, sometimes going back for clarification on different module types. i love you for this video and would love you even more if you felt up to doing a part 2... not necessarily covering different modules, but different patch ideas or workflow with different manufacturers. cheers!!!!!!
Why the fuck couldn't I take these kind of classes in high school? In the midst of global catastrophe and dehumanisation, it is indeed wonderful that this exists. Amusing how much humanity and pleasure lies within your nuanced explanation of the capacities of these machines.
Did music for 10 years in school and never got exposed to it - the only time i used a sequencer was pulling a System 100 out of a closet and teaching myself (in final year). btw see also: probablility and conditionals on Elektron sequencers.
great video as always!!! as an advanced user, i knew everything you talked about already, but hearing you say it made me realize i was neglecting my vca's! also, i hadn't thought of quantized cv's to control envelopes, etc, not just pitch! thanks man!!! inspired to make more stuff!!!
19:12!! Man I wish you were my neighbor and you could help me with this stuff. Absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for breaking it down like this. I needed this today!
Loved this. Your defence of generative music being creative, creating the rules, deciding on what's right, etc., reminded me of many things I said in interviews in a former life when I did this sort of thing using software. Great to see the concept continues to evolve! Phil (Thompson, aka Organised Chaos, Gingerbread: The Mandelbrot Music Generator.)
he dont pull any cable at 19:40...you must to pay atention to the time...he pull the cable at minute 19:36, but even if you put at this minute, thats wrong, because i cant see nothing, and i have to rewind the video, cuz you have to put at least at minute 19:33, to make possible to see that...hope you understand how its work...
This is the best approach to doing this that I could even imagine. You recognize that this process is self-generating, yet provide a way for creativity to flourish as a skill and progression. Fuck. I don't even do this and this is my nightmare, as far as production goes, but you did such a great job... for anything, ever.
Brilliant video! I love the approach of explaining functions and methods, versus the usual breakdown videos. I always want to know what and why, rather than being “taught” combinations etc, and this is ideal, explaining what each type of generative source does and how it can work in a big patch. Love it!
The demonstration of the importance of a VCA was illuminating. As a noob trawling through forums, you see people saying you need more VCAs all the time, but this video made it clear why
current favorite source of random is the Two Drunks mode in Tides Parasite. love it because it's two sources of random with two kind of outputs (triggers and cv) that are related. it's usually the starting point of a lot of my patches. also one function that I think is great for generative patches is envelope following. I use the 4MS SMR in the middle of a patch, taking the output of one or two modules and then using the envelopes it generates from the sound to influence those same or other modules. gets really interesting with the rotate function so that the envelopes are being generated based of different parts of the input. just got a Cold Mac and I love the Follow and Location outputs, which are both envelope followers which behave in a sort of abnormal way, so you can have a CV modulation (like the Two Drunks) which can also generate two more related, but different modulation slopes.
This is the best video out there explaining this process! You are extremely detailed on the modules and how to patch them! Keep making videos like this...fantastic!
I've watched close to one hundred UA-cam-videos about modular synths this week trying to promote myself from Newbie to Newbie second level. This video helped me the most of them all to understand the modular mystery. Thanks!
Okay, two things: First: Thank you for FINALLY making me understand how modular synthesis works. I've been going digital for a few years and, for me, modular was like "Whooooa, too many patches for me, baby!", but now I finally get it... And I love it. Two: Curse you! You made me want to end my degree ASAP, get a job and earn some cash to buy some of these toys! :P Oh, and finally, you got yourself a new subscriber. Thanks for the great content, and keep it up!
This vid ties together so much knowledge! Best 30min of all-round modular basics I´ve seen on YT. Could literally hear the puzzle pieces falling in to place in my head. Getting the Disting to try out some of this stuff.
Several days ago, I got the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms System 201. I know nothing about modular, but this video is an incredibly lucid and logical tutorial. You are an extremely good teacher. Thanks.
This is the first video of this kind that actually helped me make sense of the signal path in a modular system. Thank you for that. As a visual artist, I couldn't help but draw parallels to conceptual art and your distinction/definition of generative music as a worthy pursuit is apt. I see parallels with the ideas of Sol LeWitt in this definition.
I had a Hugh Hopper album in the 70s, the weirdist record I had, it went around and around. I kind of knew that 40 years later I would be playing a couple of Moog Mother 32s, but I also knew there was a convoluted route to that.
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that this video clarified a lot of things about the functionalities of different modules for me and got me on my way towards a more systematic approach towards building my modular set-up. Also very inspiring. Thank you for the awesome video!
Great video! Very much what I am into. Want to mention that in logic modules, an OR function acts as a two channel mixer, combining both inputs. Useful, with a regular beat plus a random element. Excellent videos from you consistently, so Thanks!
Boss videos dude.. I have actually brought modules based off the media in your great reviews and demos. Much respect. Best presented and my favorite modular vids . Cheers eh!
This has to be about the most helpful and educational video I've seen on modular synthesis. No exaggeration. I have pages of notes to read through after watching this. Thank you! One thing though, and I do apologise if I come across like I haven't been paying attention here, but with all these many outputs from clocks, sequential switches, random generators and clock dividers don't you have to have a lot of sound generators to plug them into. This is where I have to admit my modular naivety. I get the sample bays and oscillators, but there must be so much more to the actual 'making a noise' in modular synthesis. I noticed in this video the Korgasmatron was being used to generate a noise, but with nothing being input. I know this is not a forum, but it would so so helpful to me, and I am sure multitudes of others, to understand more about the source of noise modules than the obvious oscillators and sample bays. Apologies once again if this is an not really the place for a post like this. And Mr. M, if I had another five, they would be yours.
Heck - I was genuinely a bit unsure if people would like this one, so this is kinda bonkers and great. Thanks!! Yeah well a trigger doesn't have to just fire a sound, it could be doing all sorts of things - clocking things, opening envelopes, resetting LFOs, advancing sequencers, changing sequencer directions, feeding logic modules - and all this could be triggering and modulating just one VCO and filter maybe, but in a hugely complex way. And there are things like Braids where a complex voice is packed into a small space, so you have a lot more room for interesting things like the modulation sources and sequencers - and you literally could plug the output of the Braids (ideally via an attenuator) into a soundcard or mixer, and you've got a complete sound.
Oh and with the korgasmatron yes, any self-resonant filter can usually make a very accurate sine wave, and the Korgasmatron can make two, with 1V/Oct tuning, so it's kind of an oscillator too - such are the joys of modular...strange things can become sound generators. Here's a whole other vid on that subject: ua-cam.com/video/Fs8kcjdnp6g/v-deo.html
Thank you. Really. I was a bit alarmed because I thought I was gonna have to buy banks of oscillators. I think I need to do a lot more learning. This is why I love videos like this. These are like the Open University for Eurorack.
The modular synth is a musical instrument, it is just asynchronous to the player. If you give it the parameters, it is the same as using the Nashville numnbering system in a recording session with human players. The patch is its chart. You could also think of it as a robot guitar, instead of using a pick to play it, you use cables. Current technology means we have a new process for creating music, it's just a different way to play. It also gives us deeper insight into what music is, people have loved electronic sounds for decades. In fact, we have greatly expanded the range of sounds we consider to be musical and emotionally impactful. The 12 tones of the Western scale are just a subset of what a synth can produce. When I look at the DAW, I actually have control of a full orchestra in my laptop. It will perfectly play whatever I tell it and I can humanize it too.
This is very helpful to newbies like myself looking to get started on modular gear- my Eurorack friend told me you can never have enough VCAs. You also can run out of LFOs and Envelopes quickly as well from what I hear. I also have folks recommend a mixer, sequencer and sampler module as part of the setup besides VCO/VCA/LFO/VLF for a base setup.
1:49 CORRECT! Your making a robot dance. You're not doing the dancing but your programming the robot to dance. This is a skill. A true artist never worries about how the art is made he or she just makes it.
This is so incredibly helpful. I was hoping to find the exact video. I have my first case on its way right now. This is really helping me figure out which pieces I would need. A Turing machine looks like a fun affordable way to start with generative cv stuff paired with a quantizer and I guess some envelopes like the video says.
Love your demonstrations and so must Google's algorithm as I keep being directed to your stuff, that or we have very similar interests in modules. What's especially funny about this is the fact you've only made about 40 videos. Seeing I've not made a New Years resolution, it'll now be a wish to see you create more of these fantastic vids.
each time i watch your vids and see your amazement to awesome sounds I can't help but being drawn to modular. one day i'll be out of college and hopefully can afford some gear.
As far as your bandmate insinuating that the machine is responsible for the product, it reminds me that when I've dealt with this concept in the past, I remind others that they (most likely) didn't invent, perfect, and build their instrument of choice. Operating machinery is a bonafide skill, and the results are yours. Wonder what they'd say about an excavator bucket through the side of a house. 🤘
I got goosebumps over and over by the Sounds as he explained point 2 ( the lfo ) ... Sounds from outer Space coming and going .... I Love it! Also point 5 ( the clock dividers ) 😍
awesome stuff! ... thanks for sharing your experiences. i am just at the beginning to enter the modular world with my mother32 and now building a clockdivider and router device and such... and your video is really informative to me.
how about creating a degenerative patch.. going from massive modular sound mayhem which eventually ends up in a simple sine in a440 ?.. now thats a challenge :D ... jokes aside, fun tutorial / demo, im not yet into modulars but stuff like this makes me want to buy a white lab coat and dive into the eurocrack domain .. inspiring, thanks !
I have actually done that when in a dark space in my life. I love the degenerative name, I called it simply destruction. Didn't go to 440, but filtered noise.
Thank you for this excellent video! I found it because I wanted to know what generative music is and I got a new understanding of electronic music in general! Also a weird mental model of the brain.
I'll just add to all the glowing comments. I used to have a home studio in the 90s, but lately just goof around with GarageBand. I have a growing interest in modular, which I'm trying to fight off ;-). Anyway, I'm also interested in the idea of generative music, and this video taught me a lot about both modular/analog concepts AND generative music. I really enjoyed it. Thanks, and damn you and UA-cam for feeding my interest -- I can't afford yet another expensive hobby! :-D
Wow, I'm hyped lv 99999 for building my own modular :D. Never really looked into it, but now that I have I'm in love! Always loved synths, so I guess this is my love amplified :D
Hi there ... many thanks for the video: very good explained...practical! I would suggest Iannis Xenakis (one example is the book he wrote "Formalized Music"), which spent a lot of his effort in developing Stochastic / Random / Random Walk strategy for composing Computer Music ... ok it is not Modular but the main idea is Algorithms where (as mylarmelodies said) you define rules, and amount of randomness or predictability
I absolutely love that sound at 10:25. Sounds like some discordant strings being bowed for a moment. Is that Maths modulating Radio Music, or is that an oscillator of some sort?
Good to hear the band member came around. Music isn't just about saying "I made that look how amazing I am", it's also about actually discovering things that sounds good. I don't care if I stumble upon something that sounds good by dropping tennis balls on a piano or if it comes to me in a fever dream - I'm not trying show off my musical genius, I'm trying to resonate with people. Besides, if you're a musician who doesn't experiment and play around with different instruments and sounds, you're just limiting yourself (although I'm pretty sure most musicians try to find inspiration by strumming random notes and chords until something sounds good anyways...)
I was searching for an understandable and enjoyable explanation to generative patching techniques for months now, and all I got was headaches. And finally this happens! You are awesome! (Question: would this be also the way of starting a so called krell patch?)
I have watched the meaning of Krell Patch morph over time. As you have surmised, it has generally become a synonym for Generative Patch. In some circles, it is called a Noodle. A rose by any other name...
If you enjoyed this here's A NEW VID that shows a tiny generative modular and a whole host of interesting patches!! ua-cam.com/video/jt8ODLYN7XE/v-deo.html ✨
@Element 115 there's a guy who focuses on software modular synths, specifically VCV Rack. I think your best bet would be to check his backlog: ua-cam.com/users/OmriCohen-Music
"Generative music is a lot like gardening , you set up the parameters but the garden grows by itself" - Brian Eno
exactly
Happy modular gardening during journey in the universe
:)
"The great benefit of computer sequencers is that they remove the issue of skill, and replace it with the issue of judgement."
- Brian Eno
Nicely put. Yes, that!
***** you raise a good point. however i would say the 'skill' associated with mixing, arranging, etc. is essentially based on judgement. pretty much anyone can, with minimal teaching and a pen, write legible 'music' on paper but what makes a composer 'good' or 'bad' is where they decide to put the notes.
conversely, a violinist is judged as 'good' or 'bad' by how accurately they can perform the music given to them. they make no decisions, but to physically play a complex or fast piece requires immense skill.
i always consider this in the setting of the rock band or singer-songwriter (Eno worked with many himself), where it meant that often a certain 'sound' might be desired by an artist, but without the means or budget to create that sound for the record (consider the desire for a string section on a ballad, or a high note in a melody that the singer can't reach). thanks to modern technology (synthesis and autotune, respectively) the 'skill' is no longer a limiting factor, and so the quality of the music is down solely to the artist's judgement in whether or not to include it.
in the context of generative music, as in the video, it goes further - the 'skill' required in even /writing/ the music is removed, but it can still be 'good' or 'bad': the distinction is by how the artist judges what is a 'good' or 'bad' sound, which dictates how they design their patches and which sounds they keep on the record.
But great disadvantage is that it supports repetitiveness and lazyness. Electronic synthesizers existed before sequencers. When sequencers became mainstream, house music was invented.
how you choose to structure your song, and how varied you choose to make it, are precisely the issues of judgement eno was talking about. you can blame the lazy producer for the terrible music, not the electronic sequencer.
Simple Trax House music is a wonderful thing. As is generative modular music. As is Shostakovich's 8th. As is Thelonius Monk. As is Kendrick Lamar.
"Watching MylarMelodies making a generative patch is wonderful in that you almost feel like you did something yourself while actually you just sat back and drank beer"
- Brian Eno
You're a natural teacher and you do a great job re-emphasizing key points. And you do it with a light touch so you don't sound pedantic. Super useful video. Wish I had seen it years ago. Thank you!
UPDATE: Said band member has literally since gone off the deep end and bought a 18U modular and been whatsapping me his generative jams. Theyyyyy alllllll come rooooound eventually.... ✅
Haha! So funny because I came here as I was discussing this topic with someone the other day, and they had the same reaction. I remembered this video, and wanted to send it to them. We're both math fanatics, and I was trying to explain that setting up a generative patch is an analog to writing a mathematical algorithm. You do such a great job of bringing up amazing examples of this concept.
Happy to hear your friend folded. Counting on mine to do the same in the next few months :)
What I find is that generative ambient has always been riding the borderland between live and created music from the beginning. I am clear that it requires creativity and is mostly live. When the music is being created, there is a "watching over" and "tweaking" that happens that is only perfected when all the conflict points, adverse feedback loops, and overload points are removed, and then it can be recorded like regular music or left as an automated sequence that is done by rules rather than recording (which makes it feel more alive). What is possible, though, is that after a generative patch and settings is set into motion, it can be tweaked in present time to introduce more subtleties in a kind of live ongoing improv. Thanks for sharing your process and ideas!
Yep, it was HIM talking bollocks from the start. 😂🤣
wow that cost as much as a house and car!
You're doing such a fantastic job with this videos. Congrats on being the first person I've supported on Patreon - can't wait to see what comes next!
Thanks so much Oliver, that means a lot! People are awesome. x
The patch from 8:35 is amazing!
jesus christ the dark ambient in the "LFOS - To Enact Changes Over Time" part are absolutely stunning!
That ambient soundscape setup was such quality. Then the sound at 10:24 changed my life.
this might be the 5th time i've watch it, some all the way through, sometimes going back for clarification on different module types. i love you for this video and would love you even more if you felt up to doing a part 2... not necessarily covering different modules, but different patch ideas or workflow with different manufacturers. cheers!!!!!!
I think I'm on my 5th run too. Really helpful as I've got a case now but no modules!
I've come back to this again. Now that i'm a full 2 years deep into my Modular system. It's like revision. Excellent stuff.
I absolutely love how you lay down philosophy behind generative music :)
Why the fuck couldn't I take these kind of classes in high school? In the midst of global catastrophe and dehumanisation, it is indeed wonderful that this exists. Amusing how much humanity and pleasure lies within your nuanced explanation of the capacities of these machines.
Did music for 10 years in school and never got exposed to it - the only time i used a sequencer was pulling a System 100 out of a closet and teaching myself (in final year).
btw see also: probablility and conditionals on Elektron sequencers.
I'm a music teacher in a school. You've inspired me to step up my game. We already use quite a bit of modern gear, but nothing as wonderful as this.
@@stephenjoseph5265 that's so great to hear dude. Lucky students, lucky you.
great video as always!!! as an advanced user, i knew everything you talked about already, but hearing you say it made me realize i was neglecting my vca's! also, i hadn't thought of quantized cv's to control envelopes, etc, not just pitch! thanks man!!! inspired to make more stuff!!!
how do you personally quantize your CV's??
UA-cam keeps recommending this to me every couple of months, and I watch it every time 😁
Mind........blown. What a simply fuss free explanation of the subject. Thank you.
19:12!! Man I wish you were my neighbor and you could help me with this stuff. Absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for breaking it down like this. I needed this today!
Yeah i agree!!
I love the way theres awsome dark abient sound and then this very interresting and calm rambling. I can watch this for entertainment only.
Loved this. Your defence of generative music being creative, creating the rules, deciding on what's right, etc., reminded me of many things I said in interviews in a former life when I did this sort of thing using software. Great to see the concept continues to evolve!
Phil (Thompson, aka Organised Chaos, Gingerbread: The Mandelbrot Music Generator.)
what happens at ~19:40 when you pull that cable is totally amazing
amazing video all in all!
Mindblowing
he dont pull any cable at 19:40...you must to pay atention to the time...he pull the cable at minute 19:36, but even if you put at this minute, thats wrong, because i cant see nothing, and i have to rewind the video, cuz you have to put at least at minute 19:33, to make possible to see that...hope you understand how its work...
Yeaaah but what is even happening here?! Sounds like some orchestra samples :O Amazing!!!
I'd imagine its the sames on the Radio Music
This is the best approach to doing this that I could even imagine. You recognize that this process is self-generating, yet provide a way for creativity to flourish as a skill and progression. Fuck. I don't even do this and this is my nightmare, as far as production goes, but you did such a great job... for anything, ever.
Brilliant video! I love the approach of explaining functions and methods, versus the usual breakdown videos. I always want to know what and why, rather than being “taught” combinations etc, and this is ideal, explaining what each type of generative source does and how it can work in a big patch. Love it!
The demonstration of the importance of a VCA was illuminating. As a noob trawling through forums, you see people saying you need more VCAs all the time, but this video made it clear why
current favorite source of random is the Two Drunks mode in Tides Parasite. love it because it's two sources of random with two kind of outputs (triggers and cv) that are related. it's usually the starting point of a lot of my patches.
also one function that I think is great for generative patches is envelope following. I use the 4MS SMR in the middle of a patch, taking the output of one or two modules and then using the envelopes it generates from the sound to influence those same or other modules. gets really interesting with the rotate function so that the envelopes are being generated based of different parts of the input.
just got a Cold Mac and I love the Follow and Location outputs, which are both envelope followers which behave in a sort of abnormal way, so you can have a CV modulation (like the Two Drunks) which can also generate two more related, but different modulation slopes.
"And they don't have to be audio--" *BLEEEWUUUUAAAOOOUUUUUUU* "It's VCA as well." I'm sold.
This is one of the clearest explanations of a very difficult concept! Beginner modular dude here and this is giving me a ton of inspiration.
This is the best video out there explaining this process! You are extremely detailed on the modules and how to patch them! Keep making videos like this...fantastic!
This video is one of the most insightful description of how to approach generative music on modular. Thank you for sharing.
for a starter this is probably the best vid i could find. always been heavily into sampling, now i grab bits from my own tracks, its brilliant
Such a great overview and inspiring. I love how you obsessively tighten the nuts on module jacks :)
I've watched close to one hundred UA-cam-videos about modular synths this week trying to promote myself from Newbie to Newbie second level. This video helped me the most of them all to understand the modular mystery. Thanks!
Okay, two things:
First: Thank you for FINALLY making me understand how modular synthesis works. I've been going digital for a few years and, for me, modular was like "Whooooa, too many patches for me, baby!", but now I finally get it... And I love it.
Two: Curse you! You made me want to end my degree ASAP, get a job and earn some cash to buy some of these toys! :P
Oh, and finally, you got yourself a new subscriber. Thanks for the great content, and keep it up!
This vid ties together so much knowledge! Best 30min of all-round modular basics I´ve seen on YT. Could literally hear the puzzle pieces falling in to place in my head. Getting the Disting to try out some of this stuff.
okay, this is incredibly lucid explanation. very rare & very necessary for folks like me. thanks so much for all this!!
This video changed my life. Thank you for being so clear and direct
Several days ago, I got the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms System 201. I know nothing about modular, but this video is an incredibly lucid and logical tutorial. You are an extremely good teacher. Thanks.
This is the first video of this kind that actually helped me make sense of the signal path in a modular system. Thank you for that. As a visual artist, I couldn't help but draw parallels to conceptual art and your distinction/definition of generative music as a worthy pursuit is apt. I see parallels with the ideas of Sol LeWitt in this definition.
I had a Hugh Hopper album in the 70s, the weirdist record I had, it went around and around. I kind of knew that 40 years later I would be playing a couple of Moog Mother 32s, but I also knew there was a convoluted route to that.
Hi!
Just wanted to let you know that this video clarified a lot of things about the functionalities of different modules for me and got me on my way towards a more systematic approach towards building my modular set-up. Also very inspiring. Thank you for the awesome video!
Great video! Very much what I am into. Want to mention that in logic modules, an OR function acts as a two channel mixer, combining both inputs. Useful, with a regular beat plus a random element. Excellent videos from you consistently, so Thanks!
Man I keep on watching your tutorials and everytime you give me a new idea! Please keep on doing stuff like this!
Thanks for this crystal clear explanation of not only generative patches but also basic usage of modules. I needed that :)
First video I've seen that explains what a logic module does. Thanks!
Boss videos dude.. I have actually brought modules based off the media in your great reviews and demos. Much respect. Best presented and my favorite modular vids . Cheers eh!
you are an excellent teacher - i really love watching your videos and learning - keep up the great work
Thanks mate
This has to be about the most helpful and educational video I've seen on modular synthesis. No exaggeration. I have pages of notes to read through after watching this. Thank you!
One thing though, and I do apologise if I come across like I haven't been paying attention here, but with all these many outputs from clocks, sequential switches, random generators and clock dividers don't you have to have a lot of sound generators to plug them into. This is where I have to admit my modular naivety. I get the sample bays and oscillators, but there must be so much more to the actual 'making a noise' in modular synthesis. I noticed in this video the Korgasmatron was being used to generate a noise, but with nothing being input. I know this is not a forum, but it would so so helpful to me, and I am sure multitudes of others, to understand more about the source of noise modules than the obvious oscillators and sample bays. Apologies once again if this is an not really the place for a post like this.
And Mr. M, if I had another five, they would be yours.
Heck - I was genuinely a bit unsure if people would like this one, so this is kinda bonkers and great. Thanks!! Yeah well a trigger doesn't have to just fire a sound, it could be doing all sorts of things - clocking things, opening envelopes, resetting LFOs, advancing sequencers, changing sequencer directions, feeding logic modules - and all this could be triggering and modulating just one VCO and filter maybe, but in a hugely complex way. And there are things like Braids where a complex voice is packed into a small space, so you have a lot more room for interesting things like the modulation sources and sequencers - and you literally could plug the output of the Braids (ideally via an attenuator) into a soundcard or mixer, and you've got a complete sound.
Oh and with the korgasmatron yes, any self-resonant filter can usually make a very accurate sine wave, and the Korgasmatron can make two, with 1V/Oct tuning, so it's kind of an oscillator too - such are the joys of modular...strange things can become sound generators. Here's a whole other vid on that subject: ua-cam.com/video/Fs8kcjdnp6g/v-deo.html
Thank you. Really. I was a bit alarmed because I thought I was gonna have to buy banks of oscillators. I think I need to do a lot more learning. This is why I love videos like this. These are like the Open University for Eurorack.
would love to see a tutorial on MI Marbles from you! You're definitely my favorite modular tutorial go-to right now : )
This video is going to bankrupt me, give me scurvy, and end my marriage. Incredibly helpful.
This is one of the best explanations of modular synthesis I've seen on UA-cam. Wow.
This is definitely one of the most useful eurorack videos I’ve seen. Thanks so much!
The modular synth is a musical instrument, it is just asynchronous to the player. If you give it the parameters, it is the same as using the Nashville numnbering system in a recording session with human players. The patch is its chart. You could also think of it as a robot guitar, instead of using a pick to play it, you use cables. Current technology means we have a new process for creating music, it's just a different way to play. It also gives us deeper insight into what music is, people have loved electronic sounds for decades. In fact, we have greatly expanded the range of sounds we consider to be musical and emotionally impactful. The 12 tones of the Western scale are just a subset of what a synth can produce. When I look at the DAW, I actually have control of a full orchestra in my laptop. It will perfectly play whatever I tell it and I can humanize it too.
This is very helpful to newbies like myself looking to get started on modular gear- my Eurorack friend told me you can never have enough VCAs. You also can run out of LFOs and Envelopes quickly as well from what I hear. I also have folks recommend a mixer, sequencer and sampler module as part of the setup besides VCO/VCA/LFO/VLF for a base setup.
1:49 CORRECT! Your making a robot dance. You're not doing the dancing but your programming the robot to dance. This is a skill. A true artist never worries about how the art is made he or she just makes it.
Very nice video, with fundamentals of making Generative Music with Eurorack modules. All is very clear and informative. Great job!!!
19:00 onwards and pulling out that cable is what got me into modular.
another simply put great video. thanks mate for all your work on these. they have really helped me.
I keep coming back to this video. One of your best.
This is so incredibly helpful. I was hoping to find the exact video. I have my first case on its way right now. This is really helping me figure out which pieces I would need. A Turing machine looks like a fun affordable way to start with generative cv stuff paired with a quantizer and I guess some envelopes like the video says.
2:25 the qoute i suspect youre looking for is
"All art is knowing when to stop" - Toni Morisson
This is the fourth time I watch this video. Simply love your channel man, big up!
/NaturligFunktion
who is really gettin hooked on that modular shit
Love your demonstrations and so must Google's algorithm as I keep being directed to your stuff, that or we have very similar interests in modules. What's especially funny about this is the fact you've only made about 40 videos. Seeing I've not made a New Years resolution, it'll now be a wish to see you create more of these fantastic vids.
Best modular lesson on the internet.
One of the best and most informative wiggling video's I've seen. Excellent work dude.
each time i watch your vids and see your amazement to awesome sounds I can't help but being drawn to modular. one day i'll be out of college and hopefully can afford some gear.
Thanks - in the meantime get a student price license for Reaktor - you can do everything in this video with Reaktor Blocks!!
i'll look into it!
That's why I'm thinking about combining Blocks with some modules to start out. It's really powerful isn't it?
As far as your bandmate insinuating that the machine is responsible for the product, it reminds me that when I've dealt with this concept in the past, I remind others that they (most likely) didn't invent, perfect, and build their instrument of choice.
Operating machinery is a bonafide skill, and the results are yours.
Wonder what they'd say about an excavator bucket through the side of a house.
🤘
I live in the Buchla universe, but this well-founded lesson translates across quite well!
Very helpful, thank you. As a beginner, with beginning gear, I think a VCA would be an excellent addition.
I got goosebumps over and over by the Sounds as he explained point 2 ( the lfo ) ... Sounds from outer Space coming and going .... I Love it! Also point 5 ( the clock dividers ) 😍
The VCA tips alone are priceless. Thank you, sir!
This is a wonderful video - thanks so much for putting in the time to share your knowledge in such a digestable inspiring way.
Fucking awesome! I’m just getting into modulars and this laid out the whole spectrum to a much more comprehensive scale. Thank you Sir 🙏🏽
Man I love your energy, I can tell you live modular ;) learning a great deal, massive respect, cheers
awesome stuff! ... thanks for sharing your experiences. i am just at the beginning to enter the modular world with my mother32 and now building a clockdivider and router device and such... and your video is really informative to me.
Love your your videos, always calmly and clearly presented in a creatively and inspiring way. Thank you! 😃
how about creating a degenerative patch.. going from massive modular sound mayhem which eventually ends up in a simple sine in a440 ?.. now thats a challenge :D ... jokes aside, fun tutorial / demo, im not yet into modulars but stuff like this makes me want to buy a white lab coat and dive into the eurocrack domain .. inspiring, thanks !
I'm gonna try this in vcv
I have actually done that when in a dark space in my life.
I love the degenerative name, I called it simply destruction. Didn't go to 440, but filtered noise.
Excellent -- really really useful. Serious SAW Vol 2 vibe going on there in the first segment. \keeps staring into the modular rabbit hole
Jannakar Don't do it! (Do it)
Thank you for this excellent video! I found it because I wanted to know what generative music is and I got a new understanding of electronic music in general! Also a weird mental model of the brain.
Thank you so much for this amazing content! Your explanations are really inspiring and easy to understand. THANK YOU!🤗😁👊
This is a very nice and new idea to me ... will def. test some of this, Thanks a lot
Great video explaining the types of modules and not just your specific module. 👏🏾
Great video, simple clear explanations.
I'm just building a modular system and my main interest is control structures :-).
1:44 This kind of analysis right here is why this channel is good. Also, hand gestures and utterances ;)
PS: Music has the right to children.
You are truly amazing ...
I'll just add to all the glowing comments. I used to have a home studio in the 90s, but lately just goof around with GarageBand. I have a growing interest in modular, which I'm trying to fight off ;-). Anyway, I'm also interested in the idea of generative music, and this video taught me a lot about both modular/analog concepts AND generative music. I really enjoyed it. Thanks, and damn you and UA-cam for feeding my interest -- I can't afford yet another expensive hobby! :-D
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
You are correct! I have a Pittsburgh Lifeforms 301 system coming tomorrow, and have been very busy on modulargrid.com deciding what to add next.
And now, only one month on, I have filled 2x104hp, and am working on another 104hp. They don't call it "eurocrack" for nothing!
Here’s the point!
And points.....
Yup, there it is.
Great hand work as always.
(& the content is ok too! ;)
Wow, I'm hyped lv 99999 for building my own modular :D.
Never really looked into it, but now that I have I'm in love!
Always loved synths, so I guess this is my love amplified :D
This is the most helpful synth video I’ve ever seen
love love loved this. super helpful thanks!
Fascinating, broken down nicely and sounds flipbpbping bonkers. Cheers.
Probably the best introductory to modular on YT - thank you! Subbed
Very structured and clear explanation. Resulted in another boost of inspiration and (unavoidable): more modules ;-)
Hi there ... many thanks for the video: very good explained...practical! I would suggest Iannis Xenakis (one example is the book he wrote "Formalized Music"), which spent a lot of his effort in developing Stochastic / Random / Random Walk strategy for composing Computer Music ... ok it is not Modular but the main idea is Algorithms where (as mylarmelodies said) you define rules, and amount of randomness or predictability
I love your videos - great work, thanks! Has helped me a lot in picking the modules for my first modular :-)
I absolutely love that sound at 10:25. Sounds like some discordant strings being bowed for a moment. Is that Maths modulating Radio Music, or is that an oscillator of some sort?
Good to hear the band member came around. Music isn't just about saying "I made that look how amazing I am", it's also about actually discovering things that sounds good. I don't care if I stumble upon something that sounds good by dropping tennis balls on a piano or if it comes to me in a fever dream - I'm not trying show off my musical genius, I'm trying to resonate with people. Besides, if you're a musician who doesn't experiment and play around with different instruments and sounds, you're just limiting yourself (although I'm pretty sure most musicians try to find inspiration by strumming random notes and chords until something sounds good anyways...)
I was searching for an understandable and enjoyable explanation to generative patching techniques for months now, and all I got was headaches. And finally this happens! You are awesome! (Question: would this be also the way of starting a so called krell patch?)
I have watched the meaning of Krell Patch morph over time. As you have surmised, it has generally become a synonym for Generative Patch. In some circles, it is called a Noodle. A rose by any other name...
Brilliant! This gives me so much to think about and tinker about with. Thank you.
Thank you helping me 'jumble up my shit'! This video is next-level modular knowledge. VERY HELPFUL.
Beautiful and inspirational video, thank you.