EFFECTS
Filter sweep, free online demo
The most used gesture in electronic music, and the one most people apply badly by opening the filter too early and too fast. Sweep a low-pass filter here and watch resonance change what the movement communicates.
Try it
- Set a low-pass filter and close the cutoff until the sound is dull but audible.
- Open the cutoff slowly over about 8 seconds.
- Repeat with resonance raised.
- Repeat once more, opening in two stages with a pause in the middle.
What to listen for
With resonance up, a narrow band of frequencies shouts just before the filter fully opens, the sound of tension. The pause makes the release feel bigger than a continuous sweep.
This tool is one part of the picture. Electronic Music Production for Beginners covers the rest.