@ -9,17 +9,33 @@ Access to music technology is universal for anyone with a computer, but educatio
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Many sound design tools aren’t difficult technically—they become approachable once you understand the mechanics at a bare minimum. The real challenge is knowing what to do with them. Most tutorials cover the “how,” but rarely the “why” or “what next.” This book aims to fill that gap by offering compositional strategies and aesthetic direction that make these tools composable. We’ll explore how to select source material, set meaningful constraints, and create signal paths that lead to expressive, intentional outcomes. You’ll also learn to handle techniques that evolve beyond conventional use—like clustering wavesets or reshaping impulse responses—so that you’re not just applying synthesis, you’re inventing it.
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IDM doesn’t just make experimental sound design accessible — it also pushes complex, meaningful music into the mainstream, raising the bar for what listeners expect and appreciate. When artists like Aphex Twin released landmark albums like *Selected Ambient Works Volume II*, it was an immediate success that shifted the musical landscape of its time. Suddenly, mainstream culture started paying attention to texture, timbre, and sonic detail in ways it hadn’t before. That kind of impact is rare, and it’s something I want to reclaim. IDM’s potential lies not only in innovation but in its ability to challenge and engage a broad audience, encouraging deeper listening and new ways of thinking about sound.
While the chapters can be read in any order, they are structured to build a listening practice: from how pitch systems reshape your perception of timbre, to how granulation and vocoding reframe time, to how convolution embeds context into every sound.
\" make ordered
.LIST
The four main chapters cover:
.ITEM
Alternative Tunings - <why?>
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Microsound - <why?>
.ITEM
Phase Vocoding - <why?>
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Convolution - <why?>
.LISTEND
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IDM has a unique role in pushing experimental sound design into the mainstream, raising the bar for what listeners expect and appreciate. Landmark albums like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II shifted cultural attention toward texture, timbre, and sonic detail in unprecedented ways. I hope to reclaim and continue that legacy. IDM’s potential lies not only in innovation but in its ability to challenge and engage a broad audience, encouraging deeper listening and fresh perspectives on sound.
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This book is aimed at intermediate electronic music composers working within the IDM tradition, which generally does not rely on formal music theory—and often for good reasons. Personally, I don’t use music theory in my compositions, and IDM rarely develops complexity through theory itself. Instead, the complexity comes from experimental sound design and texture. However, if you find yourself struggling with basic compositional skills like melody, harmony, or rhythm, and you’d prefer explicit tools to develop those, then traditional music theory can be a useful foundation. Just keep in mind that IDM typically stays simple on the theory side while exploring rich complexity in sound.
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This book aims to give intermediate electronic music producers advice on how to think more critically about their sound design choices. For true beginners without any music or technology background, this book might be too advanced — you might benefit more from starting with foundational music theory, especially if you struggle to create melodic or harmonic content. Although IDM compositions tend to be simple theory-wise, they're still strong compositions. You need a stable structural base to build the complex sound design.
If I eventually work professionally in sound design beyond electronic music — in film, animation, or games — this book could expand to explore how sound design functions across those mediums. In IDM, sound design is foreground: it carries the structure and invites focused listening. In visual media, sound design supports narrative, mood, and environment without drawing attention away. While the techniques overlap, the intent shifts: IDM prioritizes sonic innovation for its own sake, whereas film and animation sound serve timing, emotion, and story. In both cases, understanding how to shape, place, and transform sound is a core compositional skill.
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If I end up working professionally in sound design — not just for electronic music, but for film, animation, or games — this book could eventually expand to explore how sound design functions across those mediums. In IDM, sound design is the foreground; it carries the structure and invites deep, focused listening. In film and animation, sound design supports another medium — it sets the mood, enhances the world, and reinforces narrative without drawing too much attention to itself. The techniques often overlap, but the intent shifts: where IDM prioritizes sonic innovation for its own sake, film sound must serve timing, emotion, and story. In both cases, though, sound design is applied sound art — and understanding how to shape, place, and transform sound remains a core compositional skill.
I used to wish I didn’t take so long to compose. But now I realize the time spent is due to constant experimentation — and that’s not a flaw in the process, it is the process. Each piece grows through trial and discovery. I’m not just composing; I’m conducting research. This book maps that ongoing research: a record of tools tested, techniques uncovered, and paths that led to unexpected places.
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I used to wish I didn’t take so long to compose. But I’ve come to realize the reason it takes so long is because I’m constantly experimenting — and that’s not a flaw in the process, it is the process. Each piece is built through trial and discovery. I’m not just composing, I’m conducting research. This book is a map of that ongoing research: a record of the tools I’ve tested, the techniques I’ve uncovered, and the paths that led somewhere unexpected.
This book does not include companion code, and that’s intentional. The ideas and techniques here aren’t meant to be copied line-for-line; they’re meant to be interpreted, reshaped, and reimagined within your own workflow. Whether you work in SuperCollider, Max/MSP, a DAW, or elsewhere, implementing these concepts yourself is a vital part of the creative process. Writing your own patches and building your own signal chains will teach you more than any prewritten example ever could. Along the way, you’ll discover your own tricks and pathways — insights that only emerge through doing, not downloading. I want this book to guide your thinking, not limit your results.
.PP
This book doesn’t include companion code, and that’s intentional. The techniques and ideas here aren’t meant to be copied line-for-line — they’re meant to be interpreted, reshaped, and reimagined in your own workflow. Whether you work in SuperCollider, Max/MSP, a DAW, or something else entirely, the act of implementing these ideas yourself is part of the creative process. Writing your own patches or building your own signal chains will teach you more than any prewritten example ever could. Along the way, you’ll uncover your own tricks and pathways — discoveries that only emerge through doing, not downloading. I want this book to guide your thinking, not limit your results.
These tools don’t succeed because they’re inherently powerful—they succeed because they change how you listen. Most start simple or limited, but with intention, they open new worlds. If this book helps you hear differently, it has succeeded.
\" Dad: maybe provide a paragraph overview of all the different sections before getting into micro sounds? It might help people to consider how the different processes work together to create the whole composition before they start navigating the details of one.
\" Me: yes, once I've written the chapters, that'd be a good idea.
