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Breadboarding Modular Synthesizers Part II

Breadboarding Modular Synthesizers Part II

Completion of Part I (Breadboarding Modular Synthesizers Workshop) or equivalent experience is required. Participants should bring their synthesizer and materials from Part I, or an equivalent breadboard synthesizer setup. All additional materials are provided.

In Part II of the DIY Breadboarding Modular Synthesizers Workshop, you’ll expand on the circuits and techniques explored in Part I, learning new ways to synthesize, shape, and sequence sounds using integrated circuits and discrete components.

Over the course of two days, we’ll explore new approaches to sequencing, moving beyond binary counting to create more varied melodic and rhythmic patterns. You’ll learn to integrate different counting circuits into your sequencer, use logic gates to generate new patterns, and experiment with manual and automated filtering to shape the timbre of your sounds.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have refined your own unique, playable instrument capable of generating more complex synth melodies and sequencing patterns in real time.

Diversity Scholarships are available. Apply by October 26, 2026 for a scholarship.

Course Logistics

Dates:
Monday, November 9 & Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Times:
6 – 9 PM PT

Location:
Gray Area / Grand Theater
2665 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

Cost:
$250

Experience Level:
Intermediate to Advanced (Part I or equivalent experience required)

Scholarships:
Diversity Scholarships are available.
Apply by October 26, 2026 for a scholarship.

Prerequisites

Completion of Part I (Breadboarding Modular Synthesizers Workshop) or equivalent experience is required. Contact the instructor with any questions about prerequisites.

What to Bring

Please bring the breadboard synthesizer and materials you used in Part I, or an equivalent breadboard synthesizer setup. This workshop builds directly on those circuits, so you will need your existing setup to participate.

What’s Provided

All additional materials needed to expand on your existing synthesizer are provided for this workshop.

Additional Information

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this workshop, participants will:

  • Expand on existing breadboard synthesizer circuits using integrated circuits and discrete components
  • Explore alternative counting circuits and their applications in sequencing
  • Integrate new counters into a multiplexer sequencer to generate more complex patterns
  • Use logic gates to vary melodic and rhythmic sequencing patterns
  • Shape the timbre of synthesized sounds through RC filtering
  • Experiment with manual and automated filtering techniques
  • Refine a unique, playable instrument capable of generating synth melodies and sequencing patterns in real time

Workshop Outline

Day 1
  • Beyond binary: exploring alternative counting circuits
  • Integrating different counters into the multiplexer sequencer
  • Troubleshooting, circuit explanations, and Q&A
Day 2
  • Varying sequencer patterns with logic gates
  • Shaping timbre through manual and automated filtering
  • Troubleshooting, circuit explanations, and Q&A

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Instructor(s)

Sean Russell Hallowell (aka isorhythmics) is an audiovisual artist from the Bay Area. His performances and installations synthesize compositional techniques developed from hand-built electronic circuitry with a cosmic perspective on music's origins in number and time. In his art, visual and auditory phenomena emerge as dual manifestations of what Medieval European musicians called the “arts of number” – i.e. music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Concert works and multimedia installations of his have been showcased at festivals and galleries across the US as well as in Mexico, Chile, South Korea, the UK, Belgium, Croatia, and Iceland. He holds degrees in music theory from Brown University (AB) and Columbia University (PhD) with a specialization in 15th- and 16th-century Franco-Flemish vocal polyphony.