For those who master FM synthesis, what books or video tutorials do you recommend for learning it? I currently have Kilohearts' Phase Plant and NI's FM8 and have tried to make some sounds with those synths but I always reach a point where I don't know what to do or find myself stuck. FM synthesis is quite unpredictable and I don't know how to approach the topic of algorithms.

Most YouTube tutorials only briefly mention FM synthesis and rarely delve into the subject in depth. The other day, I asked the creator of Syntorial if they would ever make a version of their learning software focused on FM synthesis and they said it might happen someday as it is among their options.

 

There is a difference between knowing what it does and actually using it to create timbres. There are in depth articles in academic journals that are way above the level of understanding you will ever need in practice... I suggest deconstructing presets instead. I had interest in it as a method for creating realistic instruments, but it is simply not worth the time investment to get to this level instead of using samples or resynthesis.

 

I know of a few books which is my preferred method of learning but those are easy to find with just Dr. Google. Creating Sounds from Scratch has a decent section on FM.

Check out madFrame's Clips if that's too basic for you look for the book I guess.

https://www.youtube.com/@madFame

 

I guess few people are real FM masters, check you inbox conversation, FM is a dark jungle, good luck!

 

There's this course on Sonic Academy by King Unique on FM synthesis, very well made:

https://www.sonicacademy.com/courses/understanding-fm-synthesis-with-king-unique

 

You also have this course on FM synthesis but this time, specifically applied to Arturia's DX7-V:

https://www.sonicacademy.com/courses/arturia-dx7-v-with-king-unique

 

If you speak french, go there: www.sawup.fr
or https://elearning.sawup.fr/pages/formations-e-learning-synthetiseurs

 

You also have all the tutorials very well made at ADSR:
https://www.adsrsounds.com/category/fm8-tutorials/

And... did you read the FM8's PDF manual? It is a quite comprehensive tutorial on the FM synthesis and on its deep implementation on FM8:
https://www.native-instruments.com/fileadmin/ni_media/producer/fm8/downloads/FM8-book_EN_ebook.pdf

But I prefer the video tutorials from ADSR. On condition that you go all the way!

And if you want to get very deep in the understanding of FM synthesis, the best book is the book from the creator of the FM synthesis himself:
John Chowning & David Bristow, 1986, FM Theory and Applications, by musicians for musicians

And if you want to learn the FM synthesis less technically but very deep as well as the previous one, you have this book:
Howard Massey, 1986, The Complete DX7

If you're serious in your learning efforts, you won't be disappointed by these two books, because they are the worldwide reference for the FM theory and its use in music. These two books have never been surpassed since 1986.

Learn these books with your FM8 if you want, but I very highly suggest you to prefer to use Dexed (without forgetting the cartridge from me in the middle of the page) or any other real DX emulation (for me the best paid-for emulation is Plogue Chipsynth OPS7 and it costs the third of FM8's price!). With Dexed or OPS7 you will be able to follow exactly the courses in these two books! (with Arturia's emulation too, but it is uselessly more expensive)
I recall that FM8 is NOT a DX emulation!

 

Last edited: Dec 20, 2022

^ what this guy said.

There are 3 paths ahead of you:
- if you want to make music, just preview presets, change the one that's the closest to your goal and in time you will make a nice collection and know basic tweaks
- if you want to program FM synths (to sell presets) - preview presets, then deconstruct the ones that get your attention, understand how they are made and why they sound the way they do and then focus on making new similar presets then after you get some experience try to make something completely new
- if you just want to understand FM with little to none practical application, read all the books you can find on the topic and enjoy the rabbit hole as you'd never finish the available litarature

 

Ess, formerly of Elektron and the creator of the Elektron Digitone and the Model:Cycles once did a livestream on Twitch in which he taught some FM.
The VOD is worth a watch.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/573170445

 

Yes...
For me, in French the best book for subtractive synthesis and for FM synthesis (about half the book) is the book from Alain Cassagnau:
https://www.analog-fm-synth.fr/presentation-de-auteur/
It gets very, very deep in the acoustic understanding of the frequency modulation and its effects on the harmonics of the fundamental note. And yet, it is made for musicians, not for engineers.

It is printed on demand, just by an order online on his website. And the potential future updates are free. I was one of Alain's first readers when the book was not yet finished 10 years ago. On its FM part this book is somewhat the equivalent to the book from John Chowning, the creator of the FM synthesis (my post above).

 

Thanks JMOUTTON, ORIGIN OF THE DX7 & FM SYNTHESIS 23-min documentary is very interesting.

 

Salut (in French) je recommande aussi les vidéos suivantes d'Olivier, elles sont très bien expliquées.
French-spoken videos:

Partie 1/2 (44 min).
Partie 2/2 (51 min).

 

Bonsoir - sawup.fr leurs vidéos ne sont pas données, la majorité à plus de 100 € ! synthés FM = 134 €. C'est abusé.

(translation for other users here: Good evening - sawup.fr their videos aren't cheap, most of them cost above 100 euros ! FM synths = 134 euros). Abusive.

 

You don't need books. You just need to know what people mean when they say "operator", "carrier" and "modulator".

Operator = Oscillator with its own amplitude envelope
Carrier = An operator which produces audible output
Modulator = An operator which modulates the phase of another operator (usually a carrier)

And if you find yourself wondering why people say phase or frequency modulation interchangeably: It's actually phase modulation, but if the oscillator is a sine wave, phase modulation and frequency modulation produce similar results.

But you do need a better starting point than FM8 if you actually want to understand things. Start simple. I suggest starting with Plogue PortaFM. It has just two operators, but you get full control over the parameters and can set up modulations - which is a good and quick way to experimentally get used to what FM does. It won't make insanely complex sounds, but it's plenty enough for doing VGM , 80s funk/synthwave, 90s house/techno stuff.

From there you can go into Plogue chipsynth MD (which has a really nice intuitive way of looking at things) which has 4 operators (as seen in old arcade and mega drive), which expands what you can do. Simply adding a third modulator to a typical 2-operator patch allows you to shape the timbre in new ways.

Then Plogue OPS7 is basically a bit-for-bit perfect emulation of the Yamaha DX7, but with the same operator 'block' paradigm of chipsynth MD, so it should be easier to approach at that point.

If somehow you feel limited by the DX7's fixed algorithms - THEN would be a good time to dive into FM8, Sytrus or F'em, which all have 'unlocked' FM matrixes giving you full control, you only need to use as many operators as you need though.

Two free 4-op plugins worth looking into are OctaSine and Exakt Lite (which has tx81z waveforms).

 

Last edited: Dec 20, 2022

Download the Native Instruments FM8 user manual.

Read it - take 1 chapter a day and follow it on the FM8, the rest usually follows by itself.
You do not need videos but learning by doing!

https://www.native-instruments.com/fileadmin/ni_media/producer/fm8/downloads/FM8-book_EN_ebook.pdf

Frequency modulation synthesis or FM synthesis

In audio and music, Frequency Modulation Synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of audio synthesis where the timbre of a simple waveform (such as a square, triangle, or sawtooth) is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator frequency that is also in the audio range, resulting in a more complex waveform and a different-sounding tone that can also be described as "gritty" if it is a thick and dark timbre.

The frequency of an oscillator is altered or distorted, "in accordance with the amplitude of a modulating signal." (Dodge & Jerse 1997, p. 115) FM synthesis can create both harmonic and inharmonic sounds. For synthesizing harmonic sounds, the modulating signal must have a harmonic relationship to the original carrier signal. As the amount of frequency modulation increases, the sound grows progressively more complex. Through the use of modulators with frequencies that are non-integer multiples of the carrier signal (i.e. non harmonic), atonal and tonal bell-like and percussive sounds can easily be created.

FM synthesis using analog oscillators may result in pitch instability, however, FM synthesis can also be implemented digitally, the latter proving to be more 'reliable' and is currently seen as standard practice. As a result, digital FM synthesis (using the more frequency-stable phase modulation variant) was the basis of Yamaha's groundbreaking DX7, which brought FM to the forefront of synthesis in the mid-1980s.

History

The technique of the digital implementation of frequency modulation, which was developed by John Chowning (Chowning 1973, cited in Dodge & Jerse 1997, p. 115) at Stanford University in 1967-68, was patented in 1975 and later licensed to Yamaha.

The implementation commercialized by Yamaha (US Patent 4018121 Apr 1977 or U.S. Patent 4,018,121) is actually based on phase modulation, but the results end up being equivalent mathematically, with phase modulation simply making the implementation resilient against undesirable drift in frequency of carrier waves due to self-modulation or due to DC bias in the modulating wave.[1]

As noted earlier, FM synthesis was the basis of some of the early generations of digital synthesizers from Yamaha, with Yamaha's flagship DX7 synthesizer being ubiquitous throughout the 1980s and several other models by Yamaha providing variations and evolutions of FM synthesis.
Yamaha had patented its hardware implementation of FM in the 1980s, allowing it to nearly monopolize the market for that technology until the mid-1990s. Casio developed a related form of synthesis called phase distortion synthesis, used in its CZ range of synthesizers. It had a similar (but slightly differently derived) sound quality to the DX series.

Don Buchla implemented FM on his instruments in the mid-1960s, prior to Yamaha's patent. His 158, 258 and 259 dual oscillator modules had a specific FM control voltage input,[2] and the model 208 (Music Easel) had a modulation oscillator hard-wired to allow FM as well as AM of the primary oscillator.[3] These early applications used analog oscillators, and this capability was also followed by other modular synthesizers and portable synthesizers including Minimoog and ARP Odyssey.

With the expiration of the Stanford University FM patent in 1995, digital FM synthesis can now be implemented freely by other manufacturers. The FM synthesis patent brought Stanford $20 million before it expired, making it (in 1994) "the second most lucrative licensing agreement in Stanford's history".[4] FM today is mostly found in software-based synths such as FM8 by Native Instruments or Sytrus by Image-Line, but it has also been incorporated into the synthesis repertoire of some modern digital synthesizers, usually coexisting as an option alongside other methods of synthesis such as subtractive, sample-based synthesis, additive synthesis, and other techniques.

The degree of complexity of the FM in such hardware synths may vary from simple 2-operator FM, to the highly flexible 6-operator engines of the Korg Kronos and Alesis Fusion, to creation of FM in extensively modular engines such as those in the latest synthesisers by Kurzweil Music Systems.

New hardware synths specifically marketed for their FM capabilities have not been seen since the Yamaha SY99 and FS1R, and even those marketed their highly powerful FM abilities as counterparts to sample-based synthesis and formant synthesis respectively. However, well-developed FM synthesis options are a feature of Nord Lead synths manufactured by Clavia, the Alesis Fusion range, and the Korg Oasys and Kronos. Various other synthesizers offer limited FM abilities to supplement their main engines.

Source: Unknown

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2022

Well, working with FM compared to subtractive and even additive synthesis it's a real nightmare, moreover if you use 6+ operators and think that each operator can have different waveform and feedback (like SY series or FM8 and the like) it's total mayhem.
There are books and guidelines that help, like the original Yamaha FM Theory & Applications, still, it's a long way down deep.

 

Tried to read this book by John Chowning when the Yamaha DX-7 came out and my studio partner bought one:
https://www.burnkit2600.com/manuals/fm_theory_and_applications.pdf
Good luck.
I've stayed away from FM because I 'm 66 and can't afford to spend the rest of my life learning and programming it.
I'd much rather make music

 

@Jean Selway it looks like you received a lot of answers and information on what you were looking for:

Do you have anything to say / comment at this point?

 

You are welcome, glad to be of use.

Yes, it's a shame that FM books are always seem overly pedantic and overly academic, but I think the process lends itself to that and sometimes there is just no other way to say something than the way it is being said. I've reacted that way many times but for some reason keep coming back to it because I just don't like to leave things open like that.