Author: Keith Kothman

example patchers <sfplay1.maxpat> <sfplay2.maxpat> sfplay~ [sfplay~] plays soundfiles from the hard disk. You can define cue regions, loops, adjust speed of playback, and with version 7, independently stretch/compress time and shift pitch. sfplay1.maxpat shows some basic controls. The patcher is well-commented, but highlights include the open message to open the standard Mac/Windows file open dialog…

YouTube videos posted to makeup for Thursday’s class. They’re still processing, and not yet ready for viewing. You can go tohttp://www.youtube.com/keithkothman to see them once they’ve finished processing. One is on the groove~ and buffer~. The other adds the waveform~ object. I know a lot of you didn’t look at the last videos I posted.…

example patchers delayEcho.maxpat delayReverbSuboptimal.maxpat ForbiddenPlanet-matrix.maxpat echo and reverb Max does not come with a reverb processor, and most people get around this by using plugins or routing through a DAW. But we can make something of low quality that gives some approximation by using delay lines. We can try to simulate one by using allpass…

example patchers and video playlist theremin1.maxpat (part 1 of video) theremin2. maxpat (part 2 of video) ThereminLCD.maxpat (part 3 of video) BandLimitedNoise.maxpat (part 3 of video) Videos – all parts brief overview Since I take you through explanations in the videos, I’m just providing an outline here. Part 1 shows you how to map mouse…

The Karplus-Strong synthesis algorithm is an early example of physical modeling synthesis. Physical models generally provide parameter controls that relate to real world changes. The Karplus-Strong algorithm uses noise fed into a feedback delay line, with lowpass filtering of the feedback, to produce plucked string textures. You can read about online at Music and Computers:…

demo patchers: FMsynth1~.maxpat FMPolySynth1.maxpat FMsynth2~.maxpat fm synthesis Plenty of articles and resources exist describing frequency modulation (fm) synthesis. If you want to investigate online, I recommend Jeff Haas’s Intro to Computer Music, Vol 1, chapter 4. I’m going to focus on implementing fm synthesis in Max in a way that produces predictable, and therefore controllable, sidebands. The examples…

other pitch or amplitude parameters can be modulated the same as note pitch and note amplitude I’ve spent a fair amount of time on synthesis, and recently on modulation of pitch and amplitude. You need to keep in mind that the techniques I’ve shown for pitch modulation can be used to modulate any pitch control.…

amplitude modulation, ring modulation Revisiting our synthesis terminology, both amplitude modulation (AM) and ring modulation (RM) synthesis involve multiplying the amplitude of two signals together. The important difference is that RM involves two bipolar signals (oscillators moving between +/-1), and AM requires that one of the signals be unipolar (oscillating between 0. and 1.). With…

<BasicSynthADSRselectorFilter.maxpat> The patcher is monophonic only, and only uses [lores~]. It allows for you to set the cutoff frequency by adding the note input and an interval above in half steps. Apologies for the basic post, but I’m catching up. More info will come.  

adding pitch modulation, part 1 (and selectable waveforms) <BasicWaveformPitchSynth1.maxpat> <WaveformSynthWorking1~.maxpat> (for poly~) I’ve adjusted the SimpleSquareKK2~ patcher in a number ways. There are a lot of encapsulations now, to make the patcher clearer by having less clutter and subpatchers named after the function they perform. Encapsulations: note input and velocity handling envelope and amplitude scaling portamento control pitch…