Max: Musical Programming

From Simple Patches to Live Performance Patches

Introductory Level

Prerequisite
Mastery of the Macintosh environment (OS X), a sequencer software program such as Pro Tools, LogicAudio, and a sound editor like Peak. Participants must know how to read a score.

Upon completion of this course participants will be able to understand the needs and the applications necessary for a creative project. They will be capable of elaborating simple patches (reading and recording samples, processing a voice or an instrumental sound source in real-time, construction of a simple modular application).

Description

Following an introduction on the use of the graphical programming environment through an interactive demonstration, the participants take their first steps with signal processing and the process of analysis in Max.

Schedule

Monday and Tuesday: Introduction to the Use of a Graphical Programming Interface Through Interactive Activities.
Brief history of the software, explanation of the Max environment, introduction to the MIDI standard, random and generative processes, management of information flow and stocking information.

Wednesday and Thursday: Beginner's Course in Signal Processing in Max
Additive synthesis, synthesis through modulation (frequency, pitch), reading samples, reading sound files (direct-to-disk), granular synthesis.

Friday and Saturday: Processes for Processing and Analysis
Sound processing (delay lines, transposition, reverberation, etc.), digital filtering, analysis of a signal in real-time (range, pitch, spectrum, etc.), optimizing patch performance (dynamic routing, control of the processor, etc), sequencing information.