School holds interactive seminar, in collaboration with Erica Synths and Richie Hawtin, featuring Bullfrog technology
The Music School in London recently hosted a workshop featuring the Bullfrog synthesiser, a collaborative creation by Erica Synths and techno pioneer Richie Hawtin. The Bullfrog, designed with a focus on creative exploration and experimentation in electronic music, served as an effective educational tool during the session.
The workshop took place at the Hoxton campus, where students gained hands-on experience with eight Bullfrog units. The session was led by James Malone, the Sound Design module leader for the Music School's Music Production Degrees.
During the workshop, students learned about sound physics fundamentals, subtractive synthesis principles, and creative patching techniques. Jacq, an industry expert, shared her expertise in synthesis with the students, guiding them through the process of creating unique sounds with the Bullfrog.
The Bullfrog is a semi-modular analog synthesizer intended for both beginners and professional users. It features a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), looping envelopes, sample & hold modules, and comes with six swappable voice cards. This setup allows for a versatile and hands-on approach to sound creation, making the instrument both powerful and accessible.
The modular nature of the Bullfrog encourages users to experiment with signal flow and sound design directly on the hardware, fostering a tactile and intuitive understanding of synthesis principles. Its semi-modular design means learners can start patching sounds right away without needing extensive prior knowledge, while still being able to dive deeper into modular synthesis techniques. The swappable voice cards also introduce students to different sound engines or configurations, broadening their practical experience with analog sound synthesis.
The workshop concluded with an improvised jam session where students collaboratively explored the sonic possibilities of the Bullfrog. One student commented that the hands-on experience helped them understand previously abstract synthesis concepts.
The Music School offers Music Production & Sound Engineering and Music Production & Software Engineering degrees. These degrees provide comprehensive training in sound design and synthesis. The school's lecturers are industry experts who have earned a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
In addition to hands-on learning, the school plans to share more behind-the-scenes content and announcements on social platforms. Registering with the school grants access to free sounds, plugins, online course samples, and more.
The Music School is excited about future learning opportunities and looks forward to continuing to provide students with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed in the world of electronic music production. Richie Hawtin, in expressing his thoughts on the popularity of electronic music, stated that its ability to unite people across languages and cultures is what makes it so powerful.
- At the Music School, students participating in the Bullfrog synthesizer workshop, led by James Malone, delved into education and self-development in electronic music as they learned about sound physics fundamentals, subtractive synthesis principles, and creative patching techniques.
- The Bullfrog, a collaborative creation by Erica Synths and techno pioneer Richie Hawtin, serves as an effective educational tool, encouraging experimentation with signal flow and sound design, and fostering a tactile and intuitive understanding of synthesis principles, making it suitable for both beginners and professional users, thus contributing to comprehensive training in sound design and synthesis offered by the Music School's Music Production Degrees.
