A4 presents a 5-part online course on working with modular synthesizers in the VCV Rack programme with Ondřej Spiritz.  VCV Rack is an open source, inexpensive platform that emulates real modular synthesizers. Everyone can start learning to play electronic music at home – for example, with the help of this online course. The online workshop focuses on a brief history of synths and sound generation without “classical instruments”. Ondřej Spiritz shows the ways in which the modules in the system work and interact. Subsequently, by developing the involvement of modules (patches), the workshop gets to generative music and shows how VCV Rack can communicate with the outside world and record what is happening. As Ondřej says: “In the last months there was not much chance to go to live music, socialise and perform all similar pleasurable activities. We all know why. Creating helps. How psychohygiene, how to get emotions out of yourself, how to say something further ďalej I won’t help you much with visual art, but I’ll be quite pleased to pass on x hours of synths. ”

Lessons: 

1. In lesson number one, Ondřej discusses a brief history of modular synthesizers, their operation and ways of connecting modules. He also goes through the basic settings and installation of modules.

2. The second lesson focuses on individual modules, demonstrating their specific operation. Let’s build a simple subtractive synthesizer and explain what this magic word means.

3. In the third part, Ondřej shows the ways to literally “play” something specific, as well as talks about how to create other tools and how to mix and synchronize these outputs together.

4. Armed with the experience of the first three lessons, Ondřej looks at the generativity already mentioned. He shows how to avoid total chaos and how to deal with variations suitable for live playing.

5. In the last part participants can learn how to play the whole live set on a modular synthesizer.