“The best part was understanding how everything connects — it completely changed how I think about sound.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

“I came in knowing nothing. By day two I was building patches I didn’t think were possible.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

Three days. One studio. Your first real modular patch.

Early Bird: €449 · Regular: €549 · Fri 18:00–22:00, Sat & Sun 11:00–15:00 · Max 10 participants · English · Berlin

You don’t need to know what a patch cable is. You don’t need to own a single module. You need one weekend, a willingness to experiment, and curiosity about what happens when you stop programming music and start building it with your hands.

This is a hands-on weekend intensive led by Brazilian electronic artist Chang Rodrigues, working directly with a professional modular and analog hardware setup in a group of maximum 10 people. No lecture halls. No YouTube tutorials. Just you, the modules, and someone who performs and teaches this system for a living.

The Program

Day 1 (Friday) — Sound, Signal & the Modular Synthesizer What sound actually is — frequency, amplitude, harmonics and timbre. A brief history of electronic and modular synthesis. Generators vs. processors, audio signals vs. control signals, patch cables and signal routing. Oscillators (VCO), waveforms, and noise. Listening to and comparing waveforms, understanding signal flow, and building your first patches from scratch.

Day 2 (Saturday) — Voltage Control, Sound Shaping & Modulation How voltage control lets you shape and transform sound over time. Control Voltage (CV), VCAs and VCFs, filter types, cutoff and resonance. Envelope generators and ADSR, gate vs. trigger, LFOs and modulation. Building complete synthesizer voices from scratch, with close attention to how each stage of the patch shapes the resulting sound.

Day 3 (Sunday) — Clock, Sequencing & Sample & Hold Time, repetition, synchronization and variation through analog sequencing. Clock, gate and trigger signals, analog sequencing, pitch control with CV. Tempo, synchronization, and using a sequencer to control VCOs, VCFs and VCAs. Sample & Hold, noise as a control source, and an introduction to random and generative approaches — building sequences and patches that change and develop over time.

What’s included

→ 12 hours of hands-on instruction across 3 days
→ Full access to a professional hardware setup — Doepfer modular system, Moog Mother-32, Moog DFAM, Doepfer Dark Time, ARP Sequencer, Arturia MiniBrute 2S, Arturia MiniFreak, and Ableton Live
→ Maximum 10 participants — guaranteed hands-on time every session
→ Private studio environment — not a classroom
→ Certificate of completion

Your instructor

Chang Rodrigues is a Brazilian electronic music artist, live performer and educator based in Berlin, active in the electronic music scene since 2009. She holds a Master’s degree in Music, and her practice explores synthesis through modular and analog systems, alongside hardware-based production, drum machines, live performance, and immersive sound.

Her work has been featured by FACT Magazine and Electronic Beats, including a recent Tech Talk filmed at her Berlin home studio. In 2026 she was invited by Arturia to perform at Superbooth Berlin, alongside performances at Rock in Rio, Inhotim, and Modular Society Berlin.

Alongside her artistic practice, Chang teaches electronic music production, synthesis and live performance — leading workshops at Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) and teaching through platforms such as Echio. She combines technical knowledge with a hands-on, creative approach, helping students build their own workflow and find their own musical language.

She doesn’t teach from a textbook. She teaches from the studio.

Who is this for?

Complete beginners are welcome — no prior knowledge of modular synthesis required. If you already patch, this workshop will push you into more complex territory. What matters is curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

What people say

“The best part was understanding how everything connects — it completely changed how I think about sound.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

“I came in knowing nothing. By day two I was building patches I didn’t think were possible.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

Details

📅 Fri 23 – Sun 25 October 2026 · Fri 18:00–22:00, Sat & Sun 11:00–15:00 (12 hours total)
📍 Berlin — full address shared after booking
👥 Max 10 participants
🌍 English
🎓 All levels welcome — complete beginners to intermediate

Early Bird: €449 · Regular: €549

The post Synth Basics with Modular Systems Workshops — 3-DAYS-FULL WEEKEND / 23.10-25.10 2026 appeared first on Berlin School of Sound.

“The best part was understanding how everything connects — it completely changed how I think about sound.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

“I came in knowing nothing. By day two I was building patches I didn’t think were possible.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

Four days. One studio. Your first real modular patch.

Early Bird: €549 · Regular: €649 · 14:00–18:00 daily · Max 10 participants · English · Berlin

You don’t need to know what a patch cable is. You don’t need to own a single module. You need four days, a willingness to experiment, and curiosity about what happens when you stop programming music and start building it with your hands.

This is a hands-on intensive in Stéphane Lefrançois’s private Berlin studio — a fully equipped professional space where you work directly with Eurorack systems in a group of maximum 10 people. No lecture halls. No YouTube tutorials. Just you, the modules, and someone who’s been doing this for years.

The Program

Day 1 — Introduction to Modular Synthesis Modular fundamentals. Patch cables and signal routing. Oscillators, filters, envelope generators. Understanding voltage control. Your first ambient and drone compositions. Introduction to VCV Rack — setting up, downloading modules, basics of patching.

Day 2 — Sound Design & Exploration Deep dive into oscillator behaviour, filter types and envelope shaping. Building expressive patches from scratch. Learning to trust your ears over your eyes. Drum patching, FM synthesis, self-evolving patches.

Day 3 — Complex Patching & Generative Systems Cross-modulation and feedback loops. Sequencers and randomisation for generative patches. Creating evolving textures and self-playing systems that surprise even you.

Day 4 — Modular in Performance Modular in a live context. Building sets, managing complexity, improvisation strategies. Final session: each participant presents a live patch to the group.

What’s included

→ 16 hours of hands-on instruction across 4 days
→ Full access to Stéphane’s professional Eurorack system
→ Maximum 10 participants — guaranteed hands-on time every session
→ Private studio environment — not a classroom
→ Certificate of completion

Your instructor

Stéphane Lefrançois is a drummer, recording engineer, performing artist, DJ and teacher based in Berlin. He has run studios in London, Ibiza and Berlin, and founded Secret Music — a label releasing electronic music with soul. At Berlin School of Sound he leads the modular synthesis curriculum, bringing years of professional studio and live performance experience directly to students.

He doesn’t teach from a textbook. He teaches from the studio.

Who is this for?

Complete beginners are welcome — no prior knowledge of modular synthesis required. If you already patch, this workshop will push you into more complex territory. What matters is curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

What people say

“The best part was understanding how everything connects — it completely changed how I think about sound.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

“I came in knowing nothing. By day two I was building patches I didn’t think were possible.” — Workshop participant, Berlin School of Sound

Details

📅 Mon 14 – Thu 17 July 2026 · 14:00–18:00 daily (16 hours total)
📍 Stéphane’s private studio, Berlin — full address shared after booking
👥 Max 10 participants
🌍 English
🎓 All levels welcome — complete beginners to intermediate

Early Bird: €549 · Regular: €649

The post Modular Synths Workshop — 4-Day Intensive / Edition 1: Jul 14–17 appeared first on Berlin School of Sound.