Modular synth artist
I'm Hiroko. I make long, slow pieces on a modular synth in Kyoto, with water and bells recorded on my walks, and I teach how to patch one from the first cable.
The patch every lesson builds: a clock, one oscillator, then a drone and a rhythm from the same sound.
A clock that runs the whole patch
Clock · 9 min
Oscillator · 12 min
Multiple · 6 min
Drone
Slow: a filter opening over minutes
Branches from Split the signal in two · Rejoins at Mix the two back together
Filter and LFO · 14 min
Rhythm
Fast: envelopes cutting the note into beats
Branches from Split the signal in two · Rejoins at Mix the two back together
Envelope and VCA · 13 min
Field recorder · 8 min
Mixer · 10 min
Record a take, start to finish
Recorder · 11 min
Online course
Video course · 16 lessons
Sixteen video lessons from a single oscillator to a twenty-minute recorded take, with a small case of six modules.
Downloads, a course and merch
Downloads arrive by email. Merch is printed to order and shipped by Printful.
YouTube
A short lesson or a long take most Saturdays, filmed on the tatami floor.
9 min
One clock module, a few cables, and every other module keeping time with it.
12 min
Tuning a single oscillator to a bowl of water and a temple bell, with no tuner.
6 min
A multiple sends one sound to two places: a slow drone on one side and a rhythm on the other.
About
I worked as a sound engineer in Osaka for twenty years before I bought my first six modules. Now I live in Kyoto, play small rooms and galleries, and release a long recording every season.
My lessons follow one patch from a single clock to a recorded take. I keep the case small on purpose: six modules are enough for a lifetime of music, and most of mine are about listening, not buying.
Newsletter
A letter every other Saturday with the new lesson, the patch sheet for it and the next room I'm playing.
