Ice breaker (10 mins)

Name and one thing

Introduction (5 mins)

My experience with synthesizers and DIY electronics. What we’ll be doing in the workshop.

Ask the group:

• Does anyone have any experience with synthesizers?
• Does anyone have experience with electronics?

Note: what we’re doing today is very safe. We’re working with a very low voltage and very low amperage circuit.

Feel free to ask questions at any point!

Some fundamentals for today (10 mins)

What is electricity?

Introduce the water analogy. Electricity flowing through wires is often compared to water flowing through pipes.

• Pressure of water = Voltage, measured in Volts
• Current of water = Current, measured in Amps

What is sound?

Moving air pressure. We hit a drum, the drum membrane resonates forward and back, moving the air, creating peaks and troughs in air pressure. What if we moved the cone of a speaker with electricity? That’s a synthesizer. A speaker works in a similar way, but instead of it needing to be struck with some sort of mallet to move and resonate, it is moved by electricity. Peaks in voltage make the speaker cone move out and troughs in voltage move it back.

Components (15 mins)

Explain the components we’re working with: