'Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based Instruments' Course Now Available on Soundfly
Lott opens up about how he achieves his "otherworldly" sonic signature by building and altering digital instruments to create music driven by unplaceable sounds.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 27, 2022
Online music school Soundfly has joined forces with Son Lux founder and bandleader, Ryan Lott, to release a new, in-depth course exploring Lott's unique approach to making emotionally compelling music by starting with custom-built digital instruments. "Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based Instruments" is available today as part of Soundly's subscription library of creative music courses.
Fresh off the release of his widely-acclaimed score for the A24 hit "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (composed in collaboration with his Son Lux bandmates), Lott opens up about how he achieves his "otherworldly" sonic signature by building and altering digital instruments to create music driven by unplaceable sounds.
In his first-ever online course, Lott explores the techniques he uses to identify sounds that will make compelling digital instruments, recording and processing those sounds to their fullest effect, and transforming them into a custom virtual instrument using a digital audio workstation, Native Instruments' Kontakt, and a MIDI keyboard.
Lott uses these instruments as creative catalysts - beginning songwriting projects with an intriguing sound, rather than a traditional melody, harmony, riff, or groove. Students will learn not only the technical elements of building instruments, but also how to radically transform their compositional process with a new source of inspiration and approach to writing and arranging.
Lott is a frequently sought-after collaborator, in part for how he uses the interplay of familiar and novel sounds to evoke intense emotion in audiences. He has worked with new music ensembles including Grammy winners Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, and yMusic, as well as with dance companies and choreographers Stephen Petronio, Travis Wall, Gina Gabney, Jodie Gates, Ballet de Lorraine, Ballet X, and the National Dance Company of Wales. His work on feature film scores includes "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" and "Looper," among others. Pitchfork recently called Son Lux's score for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" "a total achievement in ingenuity."
Ryan expressed his enthusiasm for sharing the techniques in the course, saying, "When you can design your own sounds from the ground up, you're unlocking this entirely new potential for a way forward. I hope folks come away with a new set of skills that will continually bring a new creativity to their music."
"Ryan Lott: Designing Sample-Based Instruments" features 40 videos and more than 70 lessons, as well as graphics, demos, activities, downloadable learning materials, samples, and access to Soundfly's Slack community where students can ask questions and get feedback on their work.
The course is available today at https://soundfly.com/courses/ryan-lott-designing-sample-based-instruments
About Soundfly:
Soundfly offers creative courses for curious musicians looking to spark their creativity, expand their skill set, and discover new sounds. Students can subscribe to Soundfly's library of in-depth courses taught by some of the most exciting musicians and artists working today. Or they can take their music learning to the next level with Soundfly's custom mentorship program, which offers one-on-one coaching with an expert to achieve a personal goal.
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