Tutorials

Create a soundfont from scratch

Learn the basics to create a new soundfont.

How to prepare a sample

An instrument built in a soundfont is made of samples, coming for example from the recordings of a real instrument. This tutorial describes how to add and prepare a sample in a soundfont.

Custom releases

The purpose of this tutorial is to create expressive instruments using looped samples whose releases have been recorded. You will learn how to fully use the capabilities of such a sample, by using the attack and sustain of the sample but also its release.

Realistic instruments with multiple velocity layers

A real instrument doesn't only sound louder when it is played harder: its timbre changes too. Taking the piano as an example, this tutorial shows how to stack several recordings of each note in velocity layers, how to balance them, and which other details can make an instrument more realistic.

Edit soundfonts with Claude

Thanks to its MCP server, Polyphone can be driven by an AI assistant such as Claude: describe what you want in plain language, and the assistant edits the soundfonts, uses the tools and measures the result. This tutorial explains how to connect Claude to Polyphone and shows, with audio examples, how to check and fix an instrument or create one from scratch.

Use Polyphone as a synthesizer

Polyphone isn't just a soundfont editor, it's also a full-featured synthesizer that lets you play along with a MIDI keyboard. This tutorial shows you how to launch Polyphone in synth mode.

Create a synthesizer with a Raspberry Pi

A Raspberry Pi is a credit-card-sized computer in which Polyphone can be installed. By integrating it into a box containing speakers and associating it with a master keyboard, it's possible to create a real synthesizer!

Read a MIDI file with a soundfont

MIDI files contain MIDI messages which, when put together, form a melody. They can be combined with a synthesizer using a soundfont, and this tutorial shows how to use a MIDI file to test the rendering of a soundfont.