Author: Keith Kothman

As you learn more objects and more complicated ways of interacting with MIDI and synthesis with Max, your patchers will likewise become increasingly complex. While use of presentation mode can make your final interface much easier to use and understand, you will need to make extensive use of encapsulation if you want to keep any sense of clarity…

In the previous post I showed you how to use the (MIDI) [poly] object to assign voice numbers to incoming note on/off messages, and by packing those voice assignments with the note number and velocity, sending them to the appropriate voice of a polyphonic audio synthesizer hosted in [poly~]. In this post I will show…

All patchers are in the max examples folder on box. Parent patcher: <BasicPolySynth.maxpat> Subpatcher: <SimpleSawKK~.maxpat> Both files need to be in the same folder. polyphony in max A polyphonic synthesizer requires multiple copies of a synthesizer patcher, and some way of allocating MIDI input to different copies of the synthesizer patcher. poly~ is an audio object…

The next set of patches demonstrate how to apply amplitude envelopes in Max. Again, all patchers have extensive comments, although I do take some redundant (previously used) comments out as patchers progress. Do take a look at patchers in order for full explanations. All patchers are in the max examples folder on box. basic midi-controlled…

I’ve created three patchers that demonstrate basic audio generation in Max, both involving an oscillator with frequency input and output amplitude control. I’m only including brief summaries here. Example patches are well-commented, and all new objects are labeled with a comment name and short explanation. Remember, with any object highlighted, you can choose the reference icon…

We’re going to move into the digital audio portion of Max, historically called MSP (Max Signal Processing). You should do a quick read of the MSP Introduction and How MSP Works in the Max Documentation. In Max 6, go to Help > Max Help. In the resulting Max Documentation Window click on the “Tutorials” tab on the…

No real time for lengthy explanations, but I’ve uploaded all the demo patchers from class that relate to MIDI. Some have very good explanations via comments, but the pattern sequencer patchers are a little thin. https://ballstate.app.box.com/kothman-maxexamples You are welcome to borrow from anything that is uploaded. You will still have to figure how to use…

I finally sorted through some documentation about Box, and learned how to make a truly public folder. So I’ve been uploading example patchers from class, cleaning some up where appropriate. I’ve gone back to the beginning of class, so you if you want to review some simpler patchers you can take a look. Patchers are…

For your second assignment, due Tuesday 1/20 by class, use patcher (p), send (s), and receive (r) objects to create a cleaner looking version of your arpeggiator patcher. You should also add external MIDI CC control of durations, using ctlin and scale, and add computer keyboard control of the gate that switches output to the random object or counter. Important: start…

Developing a patcher of any complexity will usually result in a dense web of objects and patch cords. We will talk from time to time about how to make our patchers more visually appealing, clear, and easier to understand. send and receive, and self-commenting patchers Having to loop patch cords from the bottom of a…