The key factor when creating sounds with synthesizers is choosing the right tool for the job and then using that tool properly. These three new books each focus on different approaches to synthesizer sound creation so the musician can choose the right tool for the job.
Since the publication of Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User, second edition, Z3TA+ has undergone a major upgrade becoming Z3TA+2.
Z3TA+2 is a significant and worthy update to an old favorite and an update to the book is now available, detailing the changes introduced by the new synthesizer.
The update to Cakewalk Synthesizers: from Presets to Power User, second edition is available for download from: noisesculpture.com/cakewalk. It is available for free to anyone, and while it will be of most use to people with the book, please feel free to download the update and take a look if you don't own the book (yet).
Jumpstart Your Music Career is for every musician who wants to earn a living—and to sustain a long-term career—making music. It offers the musician a path to proactively manage and develop their own career, by focusing on:
The book looks at how to create and control sounds using iPad synthesizers. It introduces sound creation from first principles focusing in turn on each element: sound sources, filters, envelopes, low frequency oscillators and other modulation sources, FX, and frequency modulation synthesis, and then brings the pieces together as you begin to create and control your own sounds. At each step, the principles are illustrated using five synthesizers available for the iPad: BassLine, ReBirth, iELECTRIBE, iMS-20, and NLogSynth Pro.
How to Make a Noise: iPad Synthesizers Edition is only available in electronic format and has been optimized for book readers such as the Kindle, iPad (and other tablet devices), nook, Reader, and smartphones, as well as the online and desktop book readers. It makes extensive use of (color) graphics designed for this form of reading device and the internal links make it a breeze to find the detail you are looking for.
This new book covers: Triangle II, PSYN II, Pentagon I, Z3TA+, Session Drummer 2 and Session Drummer 3, Dimension LE and Dimension Pro, Rapture LE and Rapture, and Beatscape.
Since Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User was published in 2006 there have been a number of changes to the featured synthesizers and the Cakewalk line. As a result, I’m pleased to announce that a new edition of the book (to be called Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User, second edition) will be published in early 2010.
Since the first edition four new synthesizers have been released which are featured in the new edition:
Session Drummer 3
Beatscape
Dimension LE, and
Rapture LE.
This new book also reflects the significant updates (since the first edition was published) which have been made to:
Z3TA+
Dimension Pro, and
Rapture.
In addition, the materials covering the SFZ format have been revised and expanded.
There are, of course, other changes and some chapters will be moved around. Further details will be posted nearer to the publication date.
The SFZ format is the file format underlying Cakewalk’s Expression Engine synthesizers. It defines how a group of samples are structured: the samples can then be loaded and deployed in any compatible player (such as Dimension Pro, Rapture, the Session Drummers, and Beatscape). The SFZ format has also been adopted by several other non-Cakewalk synthesizers.
Beyond grouping and arranging source waves, the SFZ format allows access to a range of additional functionality in compatible synthesizers, turning them into something closer to a modular synthesizer while keeping the user-friendly interfaces.
The SFZ Tools are a group of tools based on UltraEdit which make it easier for musicians to edit SFZ definition files and to see what’s going on while they are doing this. In particular, the tools:
Highlight SFZ syntax. Cakewalk and (all known) non-Cakewalk opcodes are highlighted by the tools.
Provide a group of tags so that SFZ opcodes can be dropped into SFZ definition files at the click of a mouse.
Offer some guidance about how UltraEdit can be configured to handle SFZ files in a way that suits how a musician works.
The principles of synthesis and sound design, focusing on how to create the sound you want and the sound that is right for your music. These principles can be applied to any synthesizer.
The building blocks of synthesis, looking at the elements of synthesis, the function of each element and its effect on the sound, and how each element interacts with the other elements.
Synthesizer construction principles, focusing on the choices that are available from different oscillator and filter types, through to the audio path construction, the modulation that can be applied, and the implications of those choices in terms of flexibility, control, and sound.
Making music is only half the story if you want to earn your living making music: the other half is the business. Rocking Your Music Business:
introduces the business of music, and
tells you how to set up and run that business–both in terms of what you need to do, and the tools you need to run your business at home and on the road. As part of this, the book also looks at how you can use your existing tools, such as a desktop computer, a laptop, or a Smartphone/iPhone, to carry your office in your pocket.
You don’t need a major record label to have a career–especially with all of the changes that the industry has been undergoing in the last few years–but you do need a successful business and business infrastructure, and Rocking Your Music Business is the handbook that should be on the bookshelf of every musician who wants to take their business as seriously as they take their music.
Since the publication of Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User, second edition, Z3TA+ has undergone a major upgrade becoming Z3TA+2.
Jumpstart Your Music Career is for every musician who wants to earn a living—and to sustain a long-term career—making music. It offers the musician a path to proactively manage and develop their own career, by focusing on:
Since Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User was published in 2006 there have been a number of changes to the featured synthesizers and the Cakewalk line. As a result, I’m pleased to announce that a new edition of the book (to be called Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User, second edition) will be published in early 2010.
Making music is only half the story if you want to earn your living making music: the other half is the business. 