Fender Duo

February 7th, 2008 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Fender Duo

How would I learn to play a synthesizer and where would I find a good starter?

I've got tons of questions about synthesizers and such but there's not much info online about how to learn how to play them, where I should start, etc.,. I'm dedicating my summer to learning my Fender Stratocaster and I'm going to do that full time. However, next summer I'd really like to start playing a synthesizer so I could be a more multifaceted music player.

So... Where would I start? Where would I learn? What would I get to start with? I looked up all the Moog synths and those are all $1,200+. I just want to know everything, you know?

Thanks in advance.

PS. If I was to say I wanted to play a certain kind of music, I'd say I'd like to emulate the sounds of the French duo Justice and play music like the band MGMT.

Okay, bro here goes. Playing a synth is just like playing a piano as far as where the notes are. So any book on learning Piano, or a piano chord chart, or piano tutorials on youtube can help you. Playing a keyboard is easier than playing a guitar (I play both), for mainly one reason. You just press the button to hear the sound. You don't have to time your plucking hand with your fretting hand, you dont have to do a complicated chord with one hand and a complicated strum with the other. You just press down. Since you are a musician, I assume you can tell when you play a wrong note. So, it is not that difficult to figure out a melody on the piano one note at a time. Then you just need to know a few chords and you are ready to go. It takes some practice before you can play one part with your left hand and one with your right. As far as buying a synth, here is what I suggest. Just buy a midi controller. A midi controller is like a synth with no pre-programmed sounds. It is just a triggering mechanism. I have an M-Audio Axiom 61. I use it in conjunction with a music software called Reason 4. Reason has a few different virtual synthesizers. They all have tons of preset patches (sounds, like a horn, or mystical wind, or a bass) and can be used to synthesize Your Own sounds. That is where it really gets fun. Reason also has samplers, loop players, effects, a Drum Machine and lots lots more. Check out some youtube videos on Reason 4 to check out the synths and learn a little bit about how they are used to create sounds. Here is a song I made using Reason and my Axiom 61. http://www.zshare.net/audio/592774843a7858e9/
It is great to be able to have full control over your synth sound, if you want it to come in smoother, or fade out after releasing the key, or changing the frequency, resonance, filters. It is much better than having 400 sounds on a synth, 350 of which you don't use, and you are sick of the 50 good ones within a year. Write me an email if you have more questions.