Max is a real-time, interactive, graphic programing environment for music, audio, media and interactive installations. It is especially useful for those who want to go beyond what is offered by dominant commercial music software (editors, sequencers, plug-ins). Much more than a piece of software – and much more open-ended – Max provides users with the resources to build their own tools for signal processing, synthesis and data management. It can be used to write signal processing programs for studio use as well as to build computer “instruments” which are played in concerts of real-time interactive music.
I. Max for Beginners will focus on taking the fundamental first steps with Max – the language, Midi, digital audio, synthesis, sampling, sound processing – and on building playable musical “instruments.” The goal is to become autonomous as quickly as possible. The course is open to anyone with basic computer skills; however, it is best to have some experience making music with audio software and/or hardware.
II. Advanced Topics in Max will be dedicated to time domain signal processing. We will concentrate on implementing a small number of advanced techniques, developing our projects for real-time performance and employing methods to render them musically compelling and practically useful. Specific areas of focus may include: nonlinear distortion, variable delay, envelope following, limiting, chorus, filtering, feedback, decorrelation, jitter and drift. The course is open to all experienced Max users.
Method
The sessions will combine lecture-demonsration-explanation with collective, hands-on, practical instrument building. We will spend a lot of time making patches together, so you should come away with a fair amount of concrete practical experience.
Courses will probably be taught in English, but could be taught in French (or Italian), depending on the students’ preferences.
Prerequisites
Course 1: basic computer skills are essential. It is best to have some experience making music with audio software and/or hardware. However, the most important prerequisites are: motivation, patience, determination, and a sense of humor…
What to Bring
If at all possible, you should bring your own computer with Max 7 installed, a set of headphones, and a portable Midi controller (if you have one). (There will be some computers and controllers available for those who need them.)
Maximum number of students: 10
Deadline for enrollment: 6 July 2015
Price 350 €uros
Beginners: 4-9 August 2015 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Advanced: 11-16 August 2015(10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Deadline for enrollment: 6 July 2015
Maximum number of students: 10
Fee: 350€