YouTube isn't great for learning synthesis

Hey music producers,

Let's it get it out in the open. I think YouTube is a terrible platform for learning synthesis - and I say this as a YouTuber.

At least half of the people subscribed to this newsletter found me through my YouTube channel. I work immensely hard to make sure I'm uploading valuable and useful content to that channel every week. I have learned so much myself from YouTube.

Despite all of that - well, honestly because all of that - I still think YouTube is a terrible platform for learning synthesis.

Here's why.

YouTube is continuing education

If you’ve ever tried to learn synthesis on YouTube, you’ve probably had this experience:

1️⃣ You start watching a tutorial that looks promising for beginners...
2️⃣ But it jumps into advanced concepts way too fast...
3️⃣ And instead of actually learning, you just end up copying what they do—without understanding why.

This is a pretty common phenomena and there's a reason for it.

In tutorial culture, YouTubers have to assume their audience has a certain degree of familiarity with the subject.

This generally means that a good tutorial focuses on teaching you one specific thing while making the assumption that you know everything else.

I've experienced this firsthand as a YouTuber. If I took the time to make sure that every viewer is up to speed on the fundamentals before I get to the meat of a tutorial, each upload would be an hour long.

It comes down to context. YouTube is continuing education. Once you know the foundations of synthesis, YouTube is a powerful tool for growth. But, without the fundamentals, watching YouTube tutorials is like attempting to read the encyclopedia before you learn sentence structure.

Put another way, you're going to have a much harder time than you need to.

You need to look elsewhere to learn the foundations of synthesis

YouTube isn’t designed to teach the foundations of synthesis in a clear, structured way. Culturally and algorithmically, your favorite YouTubers aren't rewarded for teaching the fundamentals at a beginner level - so they don't.

That’s exactly why I created Beginner Synthesis in Ableton Live—a step-by-step course that makes synthesis simple, hands-on, and fun.

In this course, I take the time to explain how synthesis works and help you understand the connections between the concepts you're learning and the sounds you're hearing.

No more feeling overwhelmed. No more random knob-turning. Just a clear path to understanding synthesis inside Ableton Live.

Grab an exclusive launch discount

The course is launching at the end of the month for $124.99 but if you join the waitlist you'll be able to pick it up for $99 for a limited time. Waitlist members will also get early access and the first volume of my upcoming Ableton Live synth recipe cookbook for free.

⬇️ Join the waitlist here ⬇️

Til next time,
ZW