Your synthesis journey starts here.

Synthesizers are experiencing a renaissance.

“Player Demand for Greater Musical Expression Fuels Five-Year Growth of Analog Synthesizers”

National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)

Technological advancements have dramatically reduced prices and increased the value of the average synthesizer. The perennial interest in “retro” music and culture is strong, and iconic synth sounds can instantly transport you back to a ’70s roller rink or ‘80s arcade.

Yet, as an instrument, synthesizers aren’t very accessible to learn.

The Beginner’s Dilemma

According to experienced synth players,
the instrument has these challenges:

A Unique Learning Curve

“It’s a crossover instrument: usually people start playing after learning other instruments. It’s harder to get by with limited knowledge unlike guitar, drums, or bass.”

Unwelcoming Perceptions

“Synths are cold and mechanical looking.
A wall of stainless steel knobs, like lab equipment.”

Evaluating User Needs

A Growing Market

In recent years less technical, more experiential synths have emerged, aimed at beginners and pros alike.

Products from left to right:
Little Bits Synth Kit by Little Bits and Korg
Pocket Operator by Teenage Engineering
Pocket Piano by Critter & Guitari

What Do Beginners Say?

Criteria for a New Synth Experience

In order to meet the needs of beginner synth players, the design must incorporate these four qualities.

Glasses

Visual Appeal

The computer-like technical aesthetic of synths strongly deters new players.

Intuitive & Jargon-free

Terms like “envelope” are too abstract to rely on alone: an alternative system is needed.

Balanced Features

Beginners don’t want to invest a lot and don’t need every control possible, but they also don’t want to feel like they’ll easily outgrow this synth.

Strong Sequencer

Being able to loop melodies to create patterns is crucial for an exciting experience.

But First, Some Synth 101

Before we dive deeper, let’s take a second to cover some musical terms and how they relate to the controls on a synthesizer.

Musical Term	Synth Component	Visualization
Pitch How high or low a note sounds, measured in frequency.	Oscillator This part generates the waveform, which produces a pitch. Different waveforms have different characteristics to how they sound.
Timbre (TAM-Ber) Essentially, this is the tone quality: for example, what makes a piano sound different from a guitar or a tuba. Timbre is sometimes referred to with words like "dark" or "bright".	Filter This part shapes the tone by removing and/or boosting a range of frequencies. Two controls on a standard synth filter are cutoff and resonance.
Volume You know this one. :)	Amplifier Envelope Generator (Amp EG) This component controls volume level over time and adds "expression" to a sound; essentially, how it fades in and out.

Concept Development

Sketches, renderings, & sketch models

Usability Testing

In order to establish a baseline comparison for the usability of my synth, I had beginners first try out the Korg Volca Keys—a compact, affordable, traditional analog synth.

Findings

Aesthetic

Styling the synth to look less like lab eqiupment makes it more approachable.

“Much more welcoming than the Volca, which looks like I have to be an expert to use.”

Design Cues

Color, iconographics, space dividers, and texture help signify different parts of the synth.

“Icons are important. Maybe I still don’t know what the control does but now I have an idea.”

Tactile Learning

By using different textures it's possible to differentiate controls by touch. This creates a more accessible experience for players who have visual impairments.

“It’s easier to remember which knob does what”