Finally got this after years of waiting. I’ve had a couple monosynths but eventually realized I wanted a poly synth. I’ve used VSTs but mostly presets. How should I go about learning to program the synth? Just make tracks? Improvise? Syntorial? I’m interested in modern “IDM” type music like Rival Consoles, Jon Hopkins, Lapalux, floating Points, Four tet, etc. I went to undergrad and grad school for music, classical, jazz studies, lots of theory, piano lessons. Much more green with actually finishing independent electronic music tracks. I have Ableton and Logic. I’ve done a lot more in Logic recording bands and demos. Just recently got Ableton. I’m controlling Peak with Novation SLMKIII. Got a bunch of other instruments but only this one synth. Thanks.
I’d start by reading the manual and experimenting with things as you go. When you read about the oscillator parameters, try them out and listen to what happens. If you stumble upon something interesting, save it, and then experiment with other changes. See if it sounds better with chorus, reverb, maybe some additional modulation, etc.
I learned mostly from experimentation and youtube videos. A lot of synth reviews include tips for interesting things you can do on that synth, and Ricky Tinez in particular has a lot of videos about the Peak.