Breathe

Pad · Lesson 2 of 4 · PD2

Exercise Stretch the amp envelope into a swell.
Result An evolving swell.

The 2nd step of the pad track in PatchPond's subtractive synthesis curriculum. Width, motion, space — and this lesson is where you meet slow attack/release (amp_env use) for the first time.

What you'll learn

The difference between a hammer hitting a nail and a sunrise.

A slow attack and slow release on the amplitude envelope turn an oscillator into something that breathes — fading in over hundreds of milliseconds or seconds, holding, then fading back out. It is the same envelope shape used everywhere else, just with the time knobs cranked. Read more →

Built on

A volume fader being moved by a robot every time you play a note — and you are programming the robot.

The amplitude envelope is the volume contour of a note from press to release. Full definition →

First taught in BS2 Shape the note

Build this lesson live in the PatchPond studio. Web MIDI in, on-screen keyboard otherwise. The patch you make here loads back into iOS later on — same patch format.

Open in studio →