https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740
Someone gifted me this book a while back and I highly recommend it to anyone else who doesn't have a clue how circuits work. The author does a great job with presenting everything eli5 style without holding you back doing so. Not necessarily written for the raspberry pi but it explains enough to get grounded.
Kits are fun but another suggestion would be to grab the Charles Platt book " make: electronics, learning by discovery" and follow the activities there. I think the book has suggestions on where to buy components too.
Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740
Most of the kits on their own don't teach you the principles behind the project, which I think you are after. I'd recommend a book that helps you learn electronics principles as you build.
Here is an excellent book my kid and I are going through. It's nice because it goes from concept to math in a hands on way: Make: Electronics (Learning by Discovery) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0596153740/
Get the book, buy a kit with a bunch of parts (you can find lots of kits on Amazon) and then supplement with specific parts from your local electronics store.
For electronics, Make: Electronics is a great book that introduces components and basic concepts. Each chapter has a parts list so you can buy individual components as you go along or order a kit with everything included. You don't need expensive tools to get started, the cheap stuff is fine.
For programming, check out /r/learnprogramming, codecademy.com, or any of the high rated books on Amazon. Python is recommended for beginners, although if you know what university you are transferring to try and find out what language they use for their intro classes.
And if you want to shell out the cash, you can buy the student version of MATLAB and get started with it. There's a billion Youtube tutorials and books available that walk you through it.
While not exactly synth based, I found the Make: Electronics book a very nice hands-on intro to basic electronics concepts.
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740
And it's already been pointed out but Moritz Klein's YouTube series on VCO's is great. Follow along on a breadboard and you'll be good.
Would you consider a book?
Something like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740 would go a long way for a beginner and you could probably find it (barely) used for 10 bucks.
I think Make: Electronics and Make: More Electronics are the best I've seen for beginners.
I really enjoyed these books. https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740
There's https://www.adafruit.com/ for DIY kits and what have you. A good book is https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740 - You can also buy a kit specific to the book that has all the components needed for the projects.
Sorry my bad. Here is the the link to the kit http://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-components-pack-3 and http://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-components-pack-2. Click on features to see what is in it. Here is the link to the book Make: Electronics. Thank you very much for helping me out.
Sorry my bad. Here is the the link to the kit http://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-components-pack-3 and http://www.makershed.com/products/make-electronics-components-pack-2. Click on features to see what is in it. Here is the link to the book Make: Electronics. Thank you very much for helping me out.
I'm working through make: electronics and learning how to use CAD Eagle because they seem necessary for developing engineering projects, but I'm still missing the logic and know how necessary for development of mediocre projects. I'm definitely going to be a regular of /r/ECE this summer when I have more time to focus on personal projects instead of academia.
Forrest Mims books? or Make Electronics and More Make Electronics
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Discovery-Charles-Platt/dp/0596153740/
www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Journey-Amplifiers-Randomicity/dp/1449344046/
Analog Seekrets by Leslie Green (Once you have a handle on Electronics)
http://www.logbook.freeserve.co.uk/seekrets/
http://www.eevblog.com/files/seekPDF.pdf
OOooo I know a couple. I had to buy them for work to help people "talk to engineers".
I have only casually glanced a few pages but these come from some other reddit feedback and feedback from folks I work with.
Make has a great book on learning the ins and outs on a beginner's level.
The beginner's guide to reading schematics will also get you started with confusing diagrams.
That's my list. I used the engineer's notebook series from Radioshack to get started. They are pretty decent as well, though I don't think the best starting point these days.
I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but it seems pretty cool: Make: Electronics