![]() For our sound we’ve chosen an Oberheim Matrix sound from the freeware U-HE synth Tyrel. As always, check your mod wheel to see if it has any cool effects mapped to it.Īlso a staple in Rhodes’ aural arsenal is the synth stab, illustrated in Ex. These pads have a nice shimmer and ambiance. ![]() Here we have a very simple harmonic motion of two triads, and the attack and decay are both slowly developing so the two chords really blend with each other as they pass. In your synth sound banks, look for something that says “wavetable,” or use a virtual recreation like the Waldorf PPG. The PPG Wave was the very first digital wavetable synthesizer with analog filters. For this pad, I’m using a sound influenced by the famed PPG Wave. 4 is influenced by the pad on the chorus of the Duran Duran megahit Hungry Like The Wolf. Experiment with filters and effects on both sounds to get just the right color for your music.Įx. ![]() The sync sound sits perfectly atop the percolating chord. All the notes come from the A Mixolydian mode (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G, A) and have a simple rhythmic motif that repeats. 3, lets put a simple melody over our arpeggiated A sus chord from the last example. For our purpose, a Hard Sync sound is a shrill, phasing synth sound that got very popular in the early 80's and was a staple on Yamaha synths like the DX-7. Listen to Rio with this knowledge and see how simple chord changes make great arpeggiator parts!Īnother great sound found on Duran Duran songs from the early 1980’s is the sync synth. 2 was influenced by the arpeggiated synth on the Duran Duran classic hit “Rio.” If you look at the music you will see there's not a lot to write because the machine is doing all of the work! I like to use sus chords with an arpeggiator so I get mysterious fourth intervals. (Note that the arpeggiator locks in to the metronome of a track so if you play it live, the drummer will need to have a click track). To get started, hold down some chord voicings and see which pattern work best to fill out the track. Many synths have a few interesting arpeggiator patterns on them. The beauty of using an arpeggiator is that you automatically get incredible sounding synth parts by just pushing a button. One of the key elements to Duran Duran’s sound is a shimmering arpeggiated synth. Experiment with moving the mod wheel and tweaking a few knobs to get just the right vibe. When using your own hardware and software synths, cycle through the Moog oriented patches to look for a sound like this. On the last note in the line, we turn the mod wheel all the way up to get an interesting phasing that adds intensity to the line. The synth has a long sustain and slow release that trails off and adds to the dreaminess of the sound. The groove is in E minor and our fill comes in on the second half of the second bar and the notes all come from the E minor pentatonic scale (E, G, A, B, D, E). ![]() Here we use a mono synth with a filter that gently opens as the sound develops. Rhodes is great at putting a subtle synth lick at the end of a phrase that really accentuates the lyric. 1 is inspired by the song “Pressure Off” from Duran Duran’s new album Paper Gods. Let’s examine some key elements of Rhodes’ style, both classic and current.Įx. On the band’s new album Paper Gods, Rhodes shows us that he's still on the forefront of synth technology and techniques. As a founding member of 1980’s supergroup Duran Duran, Nick Rhodes was a visionary who saw the future of music in shimmering synths and burbling arpeggiators.
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