Syntorial is a charm, definitely the best resource to develop your ear. There are possibly waay extensive resources like books, but as the nature of the medium it's good for getting information, but for practice and developing the ear, Syntorial is #1.

It's a different thing but I've had some fun with https://tonedear.com/ training my imperfect pitch.

I'm trying to learn guitar in my 30s and I'm really struggling with the ear training parts. Can you point other resources like this one?

The most useful tool I've found is Perfect Ear for Android and iOS. It's not as full-featured as GNU Solfege, but it covers all the important stuff and it's far easier to dip into when you have a spare moment.

https://www.perfectear.app/

If you're a late beginner/early intermediate player and trying to move past the chord shapes and scale patterns rut, I strongly recommend William Leavitt's A Modern Method for Guitar. It's hard - really damned hard - but it's logical, the difficulty curve is fairly linear once you get past the shock of traditional notation, it inculcates good habits from the outset and it provides you with a very broad base of technique that is applicable to all styles of guitar.

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Method-Guitar-Volumes-Complete...

> The most useful tool I've found is Perfect Ear for Android and iOS. It's not as full-featured as GNU Solfege, but it covers all the important stuff and it's far easier to dip into when you have a spare moment.

Oh man, I missed this app when I switched from Android to iOS. So glad it's finally on iOS!

You should check out GNU Solfege.

https://www.gnu.org/software/solfege/solfege.html

I will, thank you.

One technique I use is to noodle in some scale, then whatever note I land on try to play that note's chord by ear. You'll hit a lot of wrong chords at first but over time your ear will get better.

also the app ChordProg on android has great exercises

I'll also vouch for syntorial. Completed the demo years ago and I still use those techniques every day.

+1 to Syntorial. I'd couple it with Serum where it's easy to implement ideas from Syntorial and build on top.

That looks really great, but a little pricey. Any recs for someone who isn’t sure if they want to invest the cash into learning synthesis?

Just fyi, Syntorial is currently on sale at VST Buzz for half price (~$65USD): https://vstbuzz.com/deals/50-off-syntorial-by-audible-genius...

Thanks for the link! Considering that I was about to buy Syntorial at full price, I'd like to donate $30 to a charity on your behalf. Reply here or email me with the name of the charity that you'd like the money to go to.

Hey! I'm not knowledgeable enough to endorse a specific national charity, so I'd suggest that you buy some local artist's merch or donate to your local/regional human or animal shelter!

Okay! I donated $30 to the SF SPCA. Thanks again for the tip! https://www.evernote.com/l/ABLjCal10i5CnYiRvlMhlxj_vGjFWojD2...

That’s a fantastic choice! Glad I could help you save a few (dozen) bucks.

Thanks! I was thinking if Syntorial was worth purchasing after doing the free lessons. At half price, I say it is worth it!

Check out VCV rack. It just hit 1.0. https://vcvrack.com/

VCV rack is free. Also look for the demo Nord Modular software, which has a few modules disabled and is limited to one voice but still insanely powerful. Synth Secrets is probably the best written tutorial on synthesis you'll find anywhere.

https://www.soundonsound.com/search/articles/%22Synth%20Secr...

They have a reasonable trial on their site. I'd recommend taking it for a spin.

This is a good place to start. The demo uses Logic's ES2 as a platform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvRbdIw9KaQ

I learned through YouTube tutorials. Find a popular free virtual synth, I'd recommend Synth1. (Popular because you want lots of content available) and try to understand the very basics of the pieces of it.

Once you've got that down, most popular synthesizers use a very similar "subtractive" architecture, so once you understand the basics of your chosen one, it's simple to follow tutorials using other synthesizers. From there I'd recommend finding a youtuber you like learning from even if they don't use the same synth as you.

I really enjoyed Creating Sounds for Electronic Music https://www.coursera.org/learn/music-synthesizer

... It's only $129.

that's a lot of money for most people

What is easy for you is a months salary for someone else. Keep in mind that HN is read all over the globe and that if $129 is 'pocket change' for you that you are the exception, not the rule, and a lucky one at that.

You and I live in different worlds.

Apparently, if the dishwasher at a fast casual restaurant can afford this yet you cannot.

He's not saying he can't afford it. He's saying it's a lot of money. I'd imagine when you make minimum wage, it's a lot of money even if you can afford it.

I make typical FANG SWE income and I still consider it to be a lot..

Is empathy too much to ask for?

Truly, ignorance is bliss.