Lesson 5, following up from the explanation about encapsulation of Lesson 4,  introduces you to one more element that should allow you to put together more efficiently a project with Max: the Max Project.

With this topic, you have reached a milestone in your Max learning. You have now the following knowledge and skills in your hand (if you have practised enough!):

  • Knowledge of different object types and behaviour
  • Knowledge of how to retrieve information about an object’s behaviour (Max object help, reference, hovering inlets/outlets)
  • Knowledge of working with signals: adding signals, modulating signals (AM, RM, FM), scaling amplitudes, look into the signal numeric flow (number~ object), some use of subtractive synthesis (Karplus-Strong algorithm, Lesson 3), creating sound shapes by applying functions in time to the amplitude of a signal, the audio signal flow in Max
  • Knowledge of numerical operation, or database creation, or logical operators, and some knowledge of algorithmic processes (metro-counter-select, random-select) that involve time, decision, and choice.

In more musical terms you can now:

  • Make your own sound: building the exact harmonic content you like, the amplitude shape of each component, and independently controlling each of them
  • Understand how the difference in sound content, envelope transient, decay, and the body can produce different sounds, and know how to realise it in Max
  • Create automatic behaviours for converting Max data into useful numerical values for musical purposes (e.g.: counter to convert metro ticks in numbers, scale to convert sliders action into frequency for an oscillator…)

All these elements are necessary for you to develop your skills and taste in creating sound. You have also learned how many artists work on these elements in different ways, and are now able to experiment with a variety of sonic structures yourself, even taking as suggestions sonic explorations of the natural world.

We are  entering now a new domain, which is that of being able to use and control complex waveforms. Sampling will allow you to work with richer harmonic content, incredible subtleness of shapes and sonic structures, and to add new interesting Max tools for processing sound.