Learn Synthesis on a Real Synth — See Every Sound You Make
Synth Academy is a real synthesizer with a teacher built in. Turn a knob and a live oscilloscope shows the wave change while a tutor box explains what that knob actually does — oscillators, filters, envelopes, LFOs, FM, sync and ring modulation. Then there's a narrated course that walks you from your very first note to rebuilding unfamiliar sounds by ear, and it tells you exactly which knobs are off when you miss. Free, in your browser, nothing installs, no sign-up to start.
No account needed · Runs in your browser · Nothing is uploaded
Start learning synthesis
🪙Oscillator A
Oscillator B
More sources
Performance
Mod envelope
Motion & dirt
👋 Welcome to Synth Academy
This is a real synthesizer — everything you hear is built from raw waveforms, filtered, shaped and modulated live in your browser. Hover ANY knob and this box explains what it actually does. Play notes with your mouse or computer keyboard (A-row = white keys, W E T Y U = black keys) and WATCH the scope: every knob changes the wave you're looking at.
💡 Try it: Ready to be tested? Flip to 🎓 Challenges up top and start recreating sounds by ear.
Filter
Filter envelope
Amp envelope
LFO
Effects
🔊 Master volume
Signal journey
Click a station to see what it is doing and light up its controls. LFO is off — nothing is being wobbled.
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What the Synth Academy can do
A real synth, not a slideshow
Two oscillators, a sub and noise, true 2-operator FM, oscillator sync, ring modulation, glide, unison with real stereo spread, drive, a multimode filter with its own envelope, amp and modulation ADSRs, a routable LFO and a rack of effects — every sound is synthesized live in your browser with Web Audio.
See the sound you're making
A big, rock-steady oscilloscope sits front and center with a live spectrum analyzer under it. Swap waveforms, close the filter, add drive — you watch the wave and its harmonics change in real time, and a meter tells you when you're pushing it too hard.
A course that talks you through it
Fifteen tracks take you from your first held note to matching sounds by ear, every step spoken aloud — 705 recordings, around two hours of narration, in one voice. The words are always on screen too, so the audio is optional and nothing is locked behind it.
Hover anything, learn everything
The tutor box explains every control the moment you hover it — what cutoff really is, why resonance squelches, what FM ratios do — in plain English, with a 'try this' experiment and a note on the mistake people usually make.
Ear training that tells you what's wrong
Start with 13 ear-training challenges, then work 146 graded exercises through the course and six themed labs with 96 more targets. Miss one and you get a hint ladder you climb only as far as you need: which area, which section, which control and which way.
The vocabulary, on flashcards
Attack, timbre, resonance, aliasing, ring mod — 110 cards across eight sections, each a plain-English definition you can flip through or search. Because half of learning synthesis is discovering that everyone uses words nobody defined for you.
How it works
Play and explore
Hold a note and turn knobs — the scope, the spectrum and your ears get the lesson at the same time. Hover any control and the tutor box explains it. No account, no setup.
Follow the course
Open Course and let it talk you through, one idea at a time: waveforms, filters, envelopes, movement, effects. Each step ends in something you build yourself and it checks your work.
Match sounds by ear
Play a target, rebuild it, and Check. Pass at 85% — with a hint ladder when you're stuck and a review queue that brings back whatever you have not proved lately.
Frequently asked questions
Is Synth Academy really free?
Yes — the synth, the narrated course and all 13 challenges run in your browser for free. Everyone gets a handful of free sessions; a free ClipCraft account tops you up to 100 tokens a month (a session is 2 tokens) and unlocks the full SoundCraft studio, where the same synthesis skills apply.
I know nothing about synthesizers. Where do I start?
Right here — that's the point. Open the course and start at the beginning: it opens with one held note and the single knob that changes it most, and adds one idea at a time from there. Nothing assumes you have used a synth, read music, or know what any of the words mean.
What does the narration actually add?
Someone talking you through what to listen for, while you have your hands on the controls — which is how synthesis is normally taught in person and almost never online. Every word is also printed on screen, so you can mute it, read instead, or work somewhere quiet and lose nothing.
What is subtractive synthesis?
The classic recipe most synths use: start with a harmonically rich waveform (like a sawtooth), then SUBTRACT frequencies with a filter and shape the volume with envelopes. Synth Academy is built exactly this way, so every knob you learn transfers to Serum, Vital, Massive, analog synths — all of them.
Does it cover FM synthesis?
Yes — oscillator B can frequency-modulate oscillator A like a proper 2-operator FM pair, with the tutor explaining ratios and sidebands, and a whole track on metallic and bell tones to test you. It's the same principle behind the legendary DX7.
How do the challenges score me?
Each one grades the handful of knobs that matter for that sound against the target patch, in audible steps rather than knob travel — so being wrong somewhere you cannot hear does not cost you. You pass at 85%, and below that it names which controls are off and in which direction.
Do I need to read music or play piano?
No. Exercises audition both the target and your patch automatically — you never need to play a melody. The on-screen keyboard, your computer keys and a USB MIDI controller all work if you want to hear your patch across the range.
Can I just use it as a synth?
Yes. Free play is the default mode and nothing is gated behind the course — there are 110 presets to pull apart, a patch link you can share, and a panic button for when an experiment gets away from you.
Do more with a free ClipCraft account
Save your projects and unlock the full image, video and audio editors plus a whole suite of tools — free to start, no card required.
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