Refining Sound: A Practical Guide to Synthesis and Synthesizers

by Brian K. Shepard

Refining Sound is a practical roadmap to the complexities of creating sounds on modern synthesizers. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of learning to create sounds on a synthesizer is understanding what all the individual synthesizer components contribute to the complex finished sound. Author and veteran synthesizer instructor Brian K. Shepard draws on his years of experience in synthesizer pedagogy in order to peel back the often-mysterious layers of sound synthesis one-by-one. The result is a book that allows readers to familiarize themselves with each individual step in the synthesis process, in turn empowering them in their own creative or experimental work.

Refining Sound follows the stages of synthesis in chronological progression from the "raw materials" of sound waves through the various stages of the refinement process, ultimately bringing readers to the final "polishing" of their sounds with audio effects. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of the synthesis process, and contains easily digestible guided projects (entitled "Your Turn" sections) that focus on the topics of the chapter. Throughout the text, the material is supported by copious examples and illustrations and more than forty interactive synthesis demonstrations on the related companion website that allow the reader to experiment with and understand these concepts without the distraction of other synthesizer controls and modifiers. The final chapter brings everything together as the reader creates several common types of synthesizer sounds with detailed step-by-step instructions and explanations of the concepts behind those steps. With all of the sounds in the
final chapter, readers are given suggestions and tips on ways to modify the sounds, with final outcomes left to the readers' own creativity. Refining Sound is essential for all electronic musicians from amateur to professional levels of accomplishment, students, teachers, libraries, and anyone interested in creating sounds on a synthesizer.

Genres: Music, Reference

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific book for sound engineers, DIY electronica creators and the digital tinkerers amongst us. This is a highly practical book - no great theorization of sonic media here - but as a how to guide through the world of synthesizers, it is without equal.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to sound sysnthesis and design. You have to listen to the examples and do the exercises in order to get the most value out of the book! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how sound design is done on modern synthesizers.

[Gavin Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book if you want to learn the fundamentals of synthesis. The practical element is invaluable – practising the concepts hands-on really helps the reader in developing an understanding of what has been explained in the text. The demos are very helpful too. It stands to reason that to really get to grips with sound synthesis you need to hear and create (and play with) the sounds under discussion. The book, together with the supporting materials, guides the reader through this process.

The book is a few years old now. The practicals rely on an old Max runtime and virtual synth Crystal, which may or may not still be available or simple to get working on a current PC / Mac as time goes on, so be wary of that if considering a purchase any significant amount of time after this review was posted.

While this is fundamentally a text book and is therefore a little dry it’s never dull. Some of the concepts can be tricky to grasp, and the faint of heart should be aware that there are some (whisper it) equations included. But learning this stuff is fun, as well as challenging, and at the end you will come away with your knowledge of synthesis significantly enhanced.

[isaacq · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was the book that finally made synthesis understandable for me back in 2015. i had read umpteen books and dozens of magazine articles to learn the fundamentals of synthesis, and nothing stuck. something about Brian Shepard's writing and his examples just clicked for me. once and for all, i could not only grasp the concepts, but explain them to others. since then i've gone on to learn from many other books and videos, but i wonder if i could have taken them on if not for Refining Sound. whenever the topic of beginners' synthesis comes up, i jump in to recommend this book.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for mostly subtractive synthesis, but with great explanations of all the intricacies of a lot of synthesizers. I definitely appreciate the examples being done using a free soft synth, so you can follow along exactly.

[Paz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books of sound synthesis I ever read!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of sound synthesis and a good introduction to programming synthesizers. Well documented journey of a signal through enveloper generators, filters and effects.

The author uses Max Runtime to provide interactive audio examples as they are described in the book, so you really need to read near a computer and have all of the examples downloaded ahead of time - some of files are large.

A free VST synth called Crystal is used to get the reader trying different filters/modulators to experience how these change the sound. The instructions on how to modify the Crystal synth are clear, however the Crystal synth interface is non-intuitive. Other free VST synths, like u-he TyrellN6, provide fewer controls and a better interface to learn how each control impacts the sound.

Beyond the Crystal synth observation, this is a great resource for learning synthesis.