In this Lesson
You will be learning some of the basics about the VCO-1 module, which include:
Waveforms
A Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is the most basic type of sound source used in synthesizers. VCO-1 comes with four different different waveforms. They are:
Each of these different waveforms has a different sound because they are made up of different harmonics.
Harmonics
Harmonics are a set of frequencies that combine to give a certain sound. Some sounds are made of as few as one harmonic, while other sounds are made of many harmonics. The harmonics for any given note are different, depending on which note it is, but they always follow a common pattern called the Harmonic Series. Below is a harmonic series for the note C showing the first eight harmonics.
You will be learning some of the basics about the VCO-1 module, which include:
- The four main types of waveforms. What are they called? What do they look like? What do they sound like?
- How to change the frequency of VCO-1 by hand.
- How to change the pulse width of a square wave by hand.
Waveforms
A Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is the most basic type of sound source used in synthesizers. VCO-1 comes with four different different waveforms. They are:
- Sine Wave
- Triangle Wave
- Sawtooth Wave
- Square Wave
Each of these different waveforms has a different sound because they are made up of different harmonics.
Harmonics
Harmonics are a set of frequencies that combine to give a certain sound. Some sounds are made of as few as one harmonic, while other sounds are made of many harmonics. The harmonics for any given note are different, depending on which note it is, but they always follow a common pattern called the Harmonic Series. Below is a harmonic series for the note C showing the first eight harmonics.
The different waveforms from our synthesizer are combinations of different harmonics:
Open the patch file below and answer the questions that follow.
- A sine wave only has the first harmonic, also called the fundamental.
- A triangle wave only has the odd-numbered harmonics. As they get higher, they get significantly more quiet.
- A sawtooth wave has all harmonics. As the get higher they get more quiet.
- A square wave only has the odd-numbered harmonics. As they get higher they get more quiet.
Open the patch file below and answer the questions that follow.