Synthesis-newbie

Hey

I'm getting into production, and I'm trying to get my head around what exactly Synthesis is and the forms of Synthesis. I hear terms like "soft", "Hard", "FM" "Subtractive" etc but I just can't get my head around them. I have watched many online videos and my heads feels sore :(

can anyone out there send me in the right direction for learning about it? (and for music production in general for the total newbie)

many thanks

This is pretty much the bible IMO:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm

Start at the bottom, and don't be afraid to skip the math sections. It can get a bit techy, but even if you just skim them for now you'll learn a TON about synthesis.