Cycling '74 Max/MSP
May 3, 2005 9:39 PM   Subscribe

Has anyone used Cycling '74 Max/MSP and if so, do you know of any good tutorials?
posted by svidrigailov23 to Media & Arts (4 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: the documentation included with max is probably the best of any application i've ever used. just option-click on any object to bring up an example of it in use, fully documented, with links to other relevant information and objects.

and two written guides for getting up to speed:
http://www.synthesisters.com/download/Max45TutorialsAndTopics.pdf
http://www.synthesisters.com/download/Max45GettingStarted.pdf
posted by tumult at 11:21 PM on May 3, 2005


Best answer: i attended a course that mostly revolved around the use of Max/MSP at berkeley. One of the TAs was Ali Momeni. I'm sure if you email him he can be of some assistance.

The docs *are* really good. Also there is an active mailing list that should be helpful as well. I think if you've had any programming experience whatsoever you'll find it fairly easy to pick up.
posted by fishfucker at 7:16 PM on May 4, 2005


Awesome question, awesome responses. <3 AskMe.
posted by xmutex at 9:56 PM on May 4, 2005


yeah, and although i check my mefi profile email really irregularly, i'd love to answer any questions/debug projects that people have. I haven't worked with MAX in years (because I'm lazy) but it is possibly the most awesome product i've ever seen -- i even built something akin to what Ableton Live does in MAX/MSP for Live PAs before it came out. There's some awesomely powerful objects in there. I've been rushed every time I look at this question so I haven't had a lot of time to speak to it, but I've met some of the developers/contributors to MAX/MSP when I was living in SF and doing experimental music and I am postive that all of them would be really receptive to emails from people wanting to learn. Kit Clayton, for example, who has worked with cycling 74 for, like, forever is a cool and idiosyncratic dude who could probably help you out if you have good questions.

a good grasp of object oriented programming will help you A LOT, but really, the best way to learn is to get in there with a project and start building. Just keep the sound down and you won't kill your ears, and you can't break anything. While I was taking the course from CNMAT i had the pleasure of seeing MAX/MSP played over an eight channel sound system and HOLY SHIT there's a lot of stuff you can do -- with jitter, if you're a video artist, there's even more. This is an absolutely essential tool for anyone who wants to do interesting academic music, and it's INDISPENSIBLE for anyone wanting to do multimedia pieces. There are innumerable multimedia art projects that have been built on MAX.

i'll shut up now, but yeah, I want to give you kudos for dipping your toe in; this software, if you're a musician or artist, will change your life.
posted by fishfucker at 2:04 AM on May 5, 2005 [1 favorite]


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