Make Music in the New Year!
Happy New Year! Time to try something new. It won’t cost anything, and you can quit anytime with no guilt, but hopefully some of you will find a new hobby or even a passion. I believe everyone is creative, but some just need a push to let it out, so here’s the push- you are going to make music. You just need to download some free software, and you will be making music in no time. Honest.
Overview
You are going to install VCV Rack 2, a software synthesizer that lets you create and play “patches.” These get their name from the patch cables used on telephone operator switchboards. VCV will work on just about any computer from the last 10 years. A patch is a collection of software modules that run inside VCV and work together to create and process sound. You can play a patch from your computer keyboard and listen over your speakers. Next, you will load some new patches that can play music all by themselves in the ambient electronic music genre. You can change the sound to your taste in real-time by turning virtual knobs and adjusting virtual sliders on the modules in the patch. As you learn more, you will design your own patches.
There is a great online community for getting tips, listening to new music, and learning more about VCV and modular synthesis at https://www.facebook.com/groups/vcvrack.
If you keep going you will grok the ultimate truth of modular synthesis- you are creating your own analog computer designed for music.
Basic Steps
Download the free version of VCV Rack 2 from https://vcvrack.com/Rack
Install and run it. A basic patch will be loaded in your rack, identical or at least similar to below. Notice the instructions on the upper left.
Next, tell the patch how to make sound on your computer. Look for the module named “AUDIO” and click where it says “No Device” just below it, opening a menu.
In the “Audio Device” section choose your speakers. The default values for the other settings will work fine. On a smaller monitor, the text for computer name is hard to see. The view menu has a zoom option to enlarge the modules.
At this point, you should be able to type on your computer keyboard and musical notes will play. The QWERTY and ZXCVB rows are the white keys on a piano. The keyboard rows alternate between the white and black keys on a piano, so not every key makes a sound.
To download additional sound modules, you will need a free vcvrack.com account. Login to the vcvrack.com website to find and add new modules to your VCV application. What you add using the website is synchronized to the application when you login to the application.
Once you have your account, go to the library menu and login. After login, select the library menu again and you will see two important new options:
- Browse VCV Library
- Update All
If you select browse, it will take you to the VCV library website where you can search for and add new modules. There is a good filter for finding the kind you need. When you find something interesting, press the grey “+ Add” link. If you have added modules, the VCV Library link will get a red circle by it, indicating you have an update waiting. Click the Library menu and select the Update All menu item. This adds or updates all the modules in your application that you have added via the website.
To see your available modules, right-click in the dark grey background. This library is also searchable, just like the website, except it only searches what you have installed. Any module you click will be added to your work area where you are building a patch. To leave this library, hit ESC or click in the dark grey background.
Next Steps- Making Music
You need a patch beyond the default one you are currently using to start having fun. You can download a starter patch I made from here:
https://patchstorage.com/happy-krell/
You will have to add the missing modules and set up the audio output like you did before. Restart VCV to ensure everything takes, then open the happy-krell patch (you can click it to start VCV; it will be called something like happy-krell2–6772eeb590889.vcv). Then it will play happy space music, inspired loosely by the classic sci-fi movie Forbidden Planet. It will play all by itself and overtime will randomly change, but you can control that to some extent, and of course, you can change it all you like. You can’t break anything, and you will have fun making your own music. If you get stuck or it stops playing, just open happy-krell (or others) again and start over.
Tweaking the Sound
To change a patch, you just tweak the controls on the modules. Here are some tips to get you started, listed by module. If you right-click a module, you can also access it’s user manual from the menu.
STRANGE
- Change the RATE knob to affect the speed. Going faster makes the sound “bubbly.” It is a stereo patch so you can speed up or slow either the left or right sound independently.
- The MODE and SEED knobs affect the chaos generator output. Higher SEED values increase the variety of the sounds.
TRIP
- Change the octave up or down. You can turn the knob with your mouse or right-click it and select a value.
- Turning the knob in the TIME FIT block will change the playback speed.
- Changing the VOLTS knobs will change the pitch played.
- Right-click the module and choose a new preset to change all the pitches and durations pplayed.
DELAY
- TIME affects the number of echoes.
- MIX controls the wet (delay) and dry (no delay) signal ratio
VCO
- FREQ changes the base frequency of the sound. Middle C is the default. Rotating the knob sweeps the pitch. Double-click to return to Middle C.
- Moving the blue cables to other waveforms will change the tone of the sounds significantly
MOTHER
- Right-click MOTHER and select Scales from the menu and choose a new one. This will dramatically change what notes one of the voices plays.
Now that you have these basic tips go make music! Try out more things with VCV then come back for the next section.
Advanced
When you are ready, check out https://patchstorage.com/ This site is a community and a search engine for software synthesizer patches. You can filter for VCV patches and get new ones. If you don’t have the modules already downloaded, VCV will tell you and offer to launch the library page showing what you are missing. Be sure to do that and then just click ‘add’ for each module. Here is a link to one I made that will play and only uses free modules:
https://patchstorage.com/wavsyn-krell-stereo/
This patch is capable of more expressive tones due to the addition of sound filter modules (VCF) and a Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO). A VCF lets you subtract harmonics from the sound and is the heart of a major sound creation technique called Subtractive Synthesis, made famous by Moog synthesizers. An LFO lets you vary a parameter in another module at a given rate and using a specific waveform.
VCF
- Turn the CUTOFF and RES knobs to filter the sounds. You will hear spacey 70’s sounds.
LFO
- This is connected to a filter and can rapidly vary (modulate) the CUTOFF for a different texture to the sound.
Changing Modules
Many modules are interchangeable. Changing modules with related ones (for example trying a new VCO, VCF, or LFO) will teach you new tricks and lead to new and wonderful sounds. Just be sure to look at how the module is connected so you know how to connect the new one.
Conclusion
I sincerely hope you find pleasure making music with this software. You can get as advanced as you like or not. You can create patches or just tweak those made by others, but it is all fun and creative. There are many very advanced sound modules available — click them to find their user manual. I only started with VCV a few months ago and now I have released songs on Spotify using it and also write software modules under the Wavsyn Modular brand.
About The Picture
This is a public domain photo of a telephone switchboard operator that I colorized. The jacks and cable (patch cords) are the same used in early modular synthesis hardware for routing electrical signals used for making sounds and controlling hardware parameters. Today smaller cables are used but it is the same idea. VCV models the electrical signaling of hardware synthesizers, so it also uses virtual cables.
