Seeing Sound — the Scope

Half of learning this synth is watching it. The display across the top isn’t decoration — it’s the fastest way to connect a control you’re moving to the sound that comes out. Tap anywhere in the scope area to cycle the view, or click a mode by name. There are six.

• osc — the oscilloscope: the waveform over time, the slanted ramp or rounded curve you’d see on a scope in a lab. This is the one to watch while you drag the partials matrix — you’ll see a sine round out into a sawtooth as the harmonics open.
• fft — the frequency spectrum: the same sound read as a row of peaks, one per partial, with height showing loudness. If the oscilloscope shows you the shape, the FFT shows you the ingredients. When you boost or cut a harmonic, you’ll see that peak move here.
• string — a stacked vibrating-string view: each harmonic drawn as a string vibrating at its own rate, the way the overtones actually sit on a real string. Toggle between the stacked view and a single line. This is the most intuitive picture of why a sound is made of partials.
• lissajous — an X-Y plot of the waveform that draws geometric shapes. Less a measurement tool than a beautiful one — useful for seeing stereo width and phase at a glance.
• harmony — the chord and Harmony Wheel readout: it tracks the notes you’re holding (from MIDI or the on-screen keyboard), names the chord, and shows the tuning. A music-theory window into what you’re playing.
• info — the plain-text breakdown: the chord name plus a per-partial pitch readout (fundamental first, then each overtone and the note it lands on). When you want the exact pitches, this is the view.