accdntly

why should i buy max? do i need msp? (was the msp question stupid?) my goal is to program sporadic, generative sequences of samples/sounds in a cliche' minimal techno or experimental sound :/ im very curious of eno's generative music concepts and would like to apply myself to this. im a huge fan of gaiser and b. pronsato and i know they use max. i downloaded the demo a year or so back when i wasnt so serious. now id like to give it another consideration but cant find the info i need. 

why should i buy max? do i need msp? (was the msp question stupid?) my goal is to program sporadic, generative sequences of samples/sounds in a cliche' minimal techno or experimental sound :/ im very curious of eno's generative music concepts and would like to apply myself to this. im a huge fan of gaiser and b. pronsato and i know they use max. i downloaded the demo a year or so back when i wasnt so serious. now id like to give it another consideration but cant find the info i need. 
thanks,
andrew


convince

Quote: accdntly wrote on Wed, 24 October 2007 11:38

----------------------------------------------------

> my goal is to program sporadic, generative sequences of samples/sounds

Well you can definitely do this with Max, but expect to put in a lot of time and effort to do something interesting. I doubt you will find any prepackaged Max solutions for generating the music the way you want, but if you are motivated to learn and implement your own solution (often by building on the work of others), then I bet the experience will be very rewarding. I purchased Max about a year ago for similar reasons and have not been disappointed. It's changed the way I think about composing music, so even if I ultimately end up using a different piece of software the overall learning experience has been worth it.

If you are planning to only work with MIDI to drive other software or external hardware, you may be able to get by without MSP. But if you want to do any sample looping/processing, make your own DSP effects, etc, you will want MSP. MSP is really fun and I think most people end up getting at least Max/MSP and then Jitter is optional.

It may also be true that Max is not right for you. For this kind of patching system there are other options like Pd, Bidule, and PWGL, to name a few. Or if you are a programmer or willing to learn programming, and don't mind coding in text, then you may actually be better off with something like ChucK, Impromptu, Common Music, SuperCollider, or AthenaCL (again just to name a few!).

If money is a concern, many of the options I mentioned are free or cheaper, so do your research. Max is unique in a lot of ways, though, and definitely fills a major software void for me. It can also work alongside the other software I mentioned in a complementary way. Nothing else really clicked with me the way Max has, but maybe that's just me...

Quote: accdntly wrote on Wed, 24 October 2007 11:38
----------------------------------------------------
> my goal is to program sporadic, generative sequences of samples/sounds
----------------------------------------------------

Well you can definitely do this with Max, but expect to put in a lot of time and effort to do something interesting. I doubt you will find any prepackaged Max solutions for generating the music the way you want, but if you are motivated to learn and implement your own solution (often by building on the work of others), then I bet the experience will be very rewarding. I purchased Max about a year ago for similar reasons and have not been disappointed. It's changed the way I think about composing music, so even if I ultimately end up using a different piece of software the overall learning experience has been worth it. 

If money is a concern, many of the options I mentioned are free or cheaper, so do your research. Max is unique in a lot of ways, though, and definitely fills a major software void for me. It can also work alongside the other software I mentioned in a  complementary way. Nothing else really clicked with me the way Max has, but maybe that's just me...

Sounds like Max would be a great choice. You will need to do a lot of experimentation and learning, but the great thing is that simple ideas are quick to get going, which inevitably lead to more ideas and possibilities. It's not for everyone, but that said, there are as many ways to use Max as there are users. I'm much more of a "what's possible?" kind of user, which is great for understanding, but I often wind up not making anything musical with the experiments --- I'm off to the next "what's possible" question. Of course, that's me --- someone else might be "here's a simple patch, let's see everything it can possibly do musically", rather than thinking what other functions one can add.

adamj's post said all this very well. I can't speak to many of these other programs, but Max does complement others very well (any MIDI or audio), and certainly will change how you think about the creative process of music-making.

MSP is really great and I'd recommend having it, it opens up a much wider world of sound possibilities, and if you're at all into synthesis it's a must-have. Even if you're more into samples, you should get it, because that waveform~ interface object is hard to match.

I'm a huge fan, so you know my vote. It's really something pretty unique and powerful.

> why should i buy max? do i need msp? (was the msp question stupid?)

> my goal is to program sporadic, generative sequences of

> samples/sounds in a cliche' minimal techno or experimental sound :/

> im very curious of eno's generative music concepts and would like to

Long before Eno's generative music arrived, I got Max for exactly the 

same reasons (My inspiration came from Satie, Hiller, yes also 

Eno/Fripp...) At that time there was no MSP, just Max and I drove my 

external synths and samplers with Midi. Now I really prefer to not carry 

huge stacks of external equipment and MSP is a perfect companion for the 

I moved on of course, but for generative music, Max is ideal. As it 

incorporates now beside the data flow paradigm, also all kinds of text 

based programming styles. You even get a chuck~ external... ;-)

The community is great, you'll find all the help you need. The 

documentation is wonderful, and once you've done the tutorials, a new 

andrew schrieb:
> why should i buy max? do i need msp? (was the msp question stupid?)
> my goal is to program sporadic, generative sequences of
> samples/sounds in a cliche' minimal techno or experimental sound :/
> im very curious of eno's generative music concepts and would like to
> apply myself to this.

Long before Eno's generative music arrived, I got Max for exactly the 
same reasons (My inspiration came from Satie, Hiller, yes also 
Eno/Fripp...) At that time there was no MSP, just Max and I drove my 
external synths and samplers with Midi. Now I really prefer to not carry 
huge stacks of external equipment and MSP is a perfect companion for the 
sound creation part...

I moved on of course, but for generative music, Max is ideal. As it 
incorporates now beside the data flow paradigm, also all kinds of text 
based programming styles. You even get a chuck~ external... ;-)

The community is great, you'll find all the help you need. The 
documentation is wonderful, and once you've done the tutorials, a new 
world will open up... ... ...

-- 
Stefan Tiedje------------x-------
--_____-----------|--------------
--(_|_ ----|-----|-----()-------
-- _|_)----|-----()--------------
----------()--------www.ccmix.com