music, composition, buchla synthesis
15 01 2014
Welcome to this space which will unfold into my musings, explorations, demos, tricks and tips for the Buchla 200e system and the Buchla Music Easel. Beginning in early February I’ll start posting entries in conjunction with reviving my periodic Buchla Breaks videos. Meanwhile, here is a little attenuation tip from my archives: And for those […]
6 02 2014
Buchla Blog: Musings Welcome! This modest blog will be a free-ranging meandering through my constant musings on all thoughts Buchla. I’m going to try and keep the posts brief (wish me luck) and separate them into: – Conceptual Musings – Buchla Breaks – Easel Expeditions Both the Breaks and Expeditions will focus on specific tips […]
8 02 2014
Buchla Architecture Welcome to my second post. I’ll be expanding on concepts from my first post so you may want to take a moment and check it out. Be sure to download the video. One architectural difference between a Buchla module and all other synthesizer formats is that the Buchla Paradigm separates Audio Signals (carried […]
22 02 2014
Welcome to my third post. I continue to expand on concepts from my first and second posts, so you may want to take a moment and check those out. Inflection is defined as: 1) the act or result of curving or bending 2) change in pitch or loudness of the voice. In spoken languages […]
9 03 2014
Welcome to my fourth post. I am slowly unfolding concepts based on my previous posts so you might what to take a moment and check them out. When I first met Alex at BEMI (Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments) we would spend a lot of time exploring patching philosophy. One comment I made that has stayed […]
18 03 2014
With this fifth post I continue to build on the knowledge and examples of my past posts, you might check them out for background material. Musical/Sonic dynamics embrace the range of audio volume (amplitude) from imperceptibly soft to excruciatingly loud. Like control voltages, you are only as expressive as your dynamic range. What is the […]
27 03 2014
Let’s briefly recap the past few Buchla Blog entries: Buchla Architecture: there are two main types of modules in the system: Sound Producing (oscillators and preamps to bring sound into the system from the outside) – these signals are carried by tinijax audio cables. Sound Modifying (cv processors and function generators) – these voltages are […]
9 04 2014
If you recall, Easel Expedition i — Varied Articulations was tucked into the end of my blog entry 2 — Buchla Architecture. This time out I’m bringing my Easel Expedition to my main blog entry. Let’s get started. . . Today I’d like to explore simple uses of the Easel’s Program Card that can be […]
14 12 2014
Don Buchla: Musical Genius 1937-2016 “Our goal was to create an instrument for performance. One with a vocabulary that was varied, accessible, and not presumptive. We weren’t particularly interestedin imitating any extant instruments, either functionally or acoustically. We did want the potential for expressive, real-time performer-instrument interaction.” Don Buchla, Easel […]
24 09 2016
For me, Don Buchla fundamentally and universally changed the way we hear and listen to electronic music. His genius lives on in his instrument designs, endless . . . Here is the recent NY Times article And here the NAMM oral history site
17 10 2016
With this post I’m resuming my Buchla Blog after a multi-month haitus. Rather than narrative blogs I’ll be offering an ongoing series of video tutorials on the basic functions of the Buchla 296e Spectral Processor. If this module interests you, be sure to subscribe to my rss feed to get update notifications. Enjoy!
17 10 2016
This second episode looks at the morphing functions of the Buchla 296e Spectral Processor
22 10 2016
Looking at the Split Filter functions . . .
23 10 2016
Comb Filter and more Split Filter explorations
28 10 2016
Looking at Spectral Display and Envelope Followers
29 10 2016
This episode I look at using the VCA to control each bandwidth filter.
2 11 2016
Looking at Spectral Transfer function
27 04 2017
I’m really excited and proud of my new Buchla Music Easel course now available at macprovideo.com. Click here for link. Years of exploration and experiential knowledge went into this comprehensive course. My thanks to my friend and musical colleague, Bruce Bayard for his video shooting and editing. His intimate knowledge of the Easel was a […]
22 05 2017
I’ve always been fascinated and drawn to Allen Strange’s 1974 user’s manual for the Buchla Music Easel. It is a delightful, thorough and compelling look at the capabilities of this performance instrument. Over the past few weeks I have methodically gone through the manual in a series of videos as I discover Allen’s approach and […]
11 09 2017
I’m pleased to announce a series of talks and performances over the next few months both here in the US and in Europe! Rome, Italy September 28-30. 2-day workshop featuring Buchla electronic instruments, followed by a concert with my friend Federico Placidi. Details Here. Berlin, Germany October 2. An evening of Serge Modular systems talk, […]
2 08 2018
Tone Blur Concert at the DanceSpace, Saturday, September 8, 7:30pm Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard will be performing to a video of abstract figures that Bruce filmed at the SFMOMA during the Rauschenberg exhibit there. They will be joined by Kay Hilton for a special appearance, adding voice to the electronic soundscape. Tickets […]