Leopard

I've searched the forums and seen alot of examples of what i'm looking for. The only problem is they're not done via additive synthesis in the very basic way I need (in fact alot of them I just don't understand what has been done to create the waveforms.)

All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square, Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.

Can anybody explain how ? For example with a sawtooth wave the partials are 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 etc, but how do I do this using say a 440Hz sine wave?

I presume I start with Cycle~ 440. But then what would I add for the SawTooth wave etc? ( a number box containing all the partials?)

Thanks for your help and patience because i'm sure it's frustrating to get asked basic stuff like this but I am completely new.

very-basic-help-with-max

It depends on how many partials you want. You can either have a Cycle~

object for each partial (each playing a sine-tone) or use poly~, or use an

oscillator bank such as the one found in the CNMAT package:

http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu/MAX/downloads/

Also I believe there is an additive synth patch in the msp tutorial.

> I've searched the forums and seen alot of examples of what i'm looking

> for. The only problem is they're not done via additive synthesis in the very

> basic way I need (in fact alot of them I just don't understand what has been

> All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square,

> Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.

> Can anybody explain how ? For example with a sawtooth wave the partials

> are 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 etc, but how do I do this using say a 440Hz sine

> I presume I start with Cycle~ 440. But then what would I add for the

> SawTooth wave etc? ( a number box containing all the partials?)

> Thanks for your help and patience because i'm sure it's frustrating to get

> asked basic stuff like this but I am completely new.

It depends on how many partials you want. You can either have a Cycle~
object for each partial (each playing a sine-tone) or use poly~, or  use an
oscillator bank such as the one found in the CNMAT package:
http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu/MAX/downloads/

On 27/10/2007, George Stapleton  wrote:
>
>
> I've searched the forums and seen alot of examples of what i'm looking
> for. The only problem is they're not done via additive synthesis in the very
> basic way I need (in fact alot of them I just don't understand what has been
> done to create the waveforms.)
>
>
> All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square,
> Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.
>
> Can anybody explain how ? For example with a sawtooth wave the partials
> are 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 etc, but how do I do this using say a 440Hz sine
> wave?
>
> I'm completely lost.
>
> I presume I start with Cycle~ 440. But then what would I add for the
> SawTooth wave etc? ( a number box containing all the partials?)
>
> Thanks for your help and patience because i'm sure it's frustrating to get
> asked basic stuff like this but I am completely new.
>
> Thanks again.
>

Here is a quick example of an approach you could take. Of course you would need many more partials to approximate a saw wave but you can get some interesting results. Also, using the /~ operator for amplitudes isnt the most efficient approach but I thought it would illustrate the idea clearly.

However, I would like to agree with Peiman and say that the CNMAT osc bank is probably the best way. I've been using it for additive synthesis and have been getting great results.

Anyway,copy the following text and go to File -> New From Clipboard 

Here is a quick example of an approach you could take. Of course you would need many more partials to approximate a saw wave but you can get some interesting results. Also, using the /~ operator for amplitudes isnt the most efficient approach but I thought it would illustrate the idea clearly. 

However, I would like to agree with Peiman and say that the CNMAT osc bank is probably the best way. I've been using it for additive synthesis and have been getting great results. 

Anyway,copy the following text and go to File -> New From Clipboard 
in Max

A quick perusal of any decent computer music text will provide info 

on additive synthesis that you can apply within MaxMSP. Dodge & 

Jerse's 'Computer Music' (Schirmer) and/or Roads' 'The Computer Music 

Tutorial' (MIT Press) are good places to start.

In short, you need as many sine oscillators as you want harmonics in 

the composite waveform. You set the frequency of the fundamental 

directly, and then set each of the other oscillators by an integer 

multiple corresponding to the harmonic number (e.g. second harmonic's 

frequency is the fundamental frequency * 2, third's is fundamental * 

3, etc.). Scale the amplitude of the output of each oscillator 

according to the formula for harmonic strength according to which 

wave form you are creating (use [*~}, for example). You then add all 

of the individual scaled outputs together to create your composite 

On Oct 27, 2007, at 3:57 PM, George Stapleton wrote:

> I've searched the forums and seen alot of examples of what i'm 

> looking for. The only problem is they're not done via additive 

> synthesis in the very basic way I need (in fact alot of them I just 

> don't understand what has been done to create the waveforms.)

> All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a 

> Square, Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.

> Can anybody explain how ? For example with a sawtooth wave the 

> partials are 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 etc, but how do I do this using 

> I presume I start with Cycle~ 440. But then what would I add for 

> the SawTooth wave etc? ( a number box containing all the partials?)

> Thanks for your help and patience because i'm sure it's frustrating 

> to get asked basic stuff like this but I am completely new.

A quick perusal of any decent computer music text will provide info  
on additive synthesis that you can apply within MaxMSP. Dodge &  
Jerse's 'Computer Music' (Schirmer) and/or Roads' 'The Computer Music  
Tutorial' (MIT Press) are good places to start.

In short, you need as many sine oscillators as you want harmonics in  
the composite waveform. You set the frequency of the fundamental  
directly, and then set each of the other oscillators by an integer  
multiple corresponding to the harmonic number (e.g. second harmonic's  
frequency is the fundamental frequency * 2, third's is fundamental *  
3, etc.). Scale the amplitude of the output of each oscillator  
according to the formula for harmonic strength according to which  
wave form you are creating (use [*~}, for example). You then add all  
of the individual scaled outputs together to create your composite  
waveform.

>
> I've searched the forums and seen alot of examples of what i'm  
> looking for. The only problem is they're not done via additive  
> synthesis in the very basic way I need (in fact alot of them I just  
> don't understand what has been done to create the waveforms.)
>
>
> All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a  
> Square, Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.
>
> Can anybody explain how ? For example with a sawtooth wave the  
> partials are 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5 etc, but how do I do this using  
> say a 440Hz sine wave?
>
> I'm completely lost.
>
> I presume I start with Cycle~ 440. But then what would I add for  
> the SawTooth wave etc? ( a number box containing all the partials?)
>
> Thanks for your help and patience because i'm sure it's frustrating  
> to get asked basic stuff like this but I am completely new.
>
> Thanks again.

----
Steven M. Miller
Professor, Contemporary Music Program
College of Santa Fe

Home 
SFIFEM 
Atrium Sound Space 
OVOS 
CMP 

At 3:57 PM -0600 10/27/07, George Stapleton wrote:

>All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square, Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.

I have an example that does just that. I made it quite a while ago, but took your request as a chance to clean it up a little before I uploaded it. I wouldn't approach the problem in this way, if I was doing it today, as there are a bunch of easier ways to accomplish this sort of additive synthesis. (e.g. some of the CNMAT stuff)

The example is called Partial Workshop, and can be found here: 

It generates the fundamental and 63 harmonics. It allows you to draw the amplitude of all the harmonics.

Chris Muir | "There are many futures and only one status quo.

cbm@well.com | This is why conservatives mostly agree,

 | and radicals always argue." - Brian Eno

At 3:57 PM -0600 10/27/07, George Stapleton wrote:
>All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square, Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.

The example is called Partial Workshop, and can be found here: http://www.xfade.com/max/examples/

-- 
Chris Muir           | "There are many futures and only one status quo.
cbm@well.com         |  This is why conservatives mostly agree,
http://www.xfade.com |  and radicals always argue." - Brian Eno


Has anyone suggested ioscbank~ from CNMAT?

> At 3:57 PM -0600 10/27/07, George Stapleton wrote:

>> All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square,

>> Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.

> I have an example that does just that. I made it quite a while ago, but took

> your request as a chance to clean it up a little before I uploaded it. I

> wouldn't approach the problem in this way, if I was doing it today, as there

> are a bunch of easier ways to accomplish this sort of additive synthesis.

> The example is called Partial Workshop, and can be found here:

> It generates the fundamental and 63 harmonics. It allows you to draw the

On 10/28/07 2:04 AM, "Chris Muir"  wrote:

> At 3:57 PM -0600 10/27/07, George Stapleton wrote:
>> All I want to do is make 4 buttons which when pushed produced a Square,
>> Triangle, Sine and Sawtooth wave through additive synthesis.
>
> I have an example that does just that. I made it quite a while ago, but took
> your request as a chance to clean it up a little before I uploaded it. I
> wouldn't approach the problem in this way, if I was doing it today, as there
> are a bunch of easier ways to accomplish this sort of additive synthesis.
> (e.g. some of the CNMAT stuff)
>
> The example is called Partial Workshop, and can be found here:
> http://www.xfade.com/max/examples/
>
> It generates the fundamental and 63 harmonics. It allows you to draw the
> amplitude of all the harmonics.
>
> -C

Cheers
Gary Lee Nelson
Oberlin College
www.timara.oberlin.edu/GaryLeeNelson

Sorry, Chris...should have read your suggestion more carefully.

Thanks for your help - I would have replied sooner but i'm over in the U.K and it was pretty late last night when I actually started the discussion.

I love the simple sawtooth wave creator that's what i'm looking for and should help me.

I was unaware that to add more partials i only had to do the *1 *2 *3 *4 etc thing.

Also the little Fundamental frequency number box also helped me alot too.

For triangle wave I presume it's the same sort of stuff but with

I have looked up the tutorials especially tutorial 7 but it didn't help me as much as you actual human lifeforms have with regards to partials creating certain types of waveform, it just gives you examples of how to add whole (cycle~440, cycle~450, cycle~460 etc) tones together - no exact routes in creating square , triangle waves etc ((though it does talk about presets)).

I have looked up the tutorials especially tutorial 7 but it didn't help me as much as you actual human lifeforms have with regards to partials creating certain types of waveform, it just gives you examples of how to add whole  (cycle~440, cycle~450, cycle~460 etc) tones together - no exact routes in creating square , triangle waves etc ((though it does talk about presets)).


Hey guys, an update. I have created a square wave, and sawtooth wave. However - whenever i join them both to the DAC and hit the "X" button . . i heard both at once. So i've split them up...but what would i need to alter to make the patches have a button each that plays the sample when clicked?

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4438/firstpatchxf1.jpg

keep in mind that those [0 ] boxes arent doing anything. To get an amplitude of zero out of the cycle~, use [*~ 0.]. Same with the frequency (use [* 0.] ).

However, if you are not going to use the cyle~ for that waveform, simply don't include them! All you need is the cycle~'s with the 3x 5x 7x etc.

What you are asking about turning signals on and off is a pretty basic question. I would suggest looking through the MSP tutorials (again?) so get a better hold on how signal flow works in the program. As a hint, take a look at gate~ and/or selector~. You will get a lot farther a lot faster if you have a firm understanding of the fundamentals rather than asking (and waiting for a reponse) on the forum.

keep in mind that those [0 ] boxes arent doing anything. To get an amplitude of zero out of the cycle~, use [*~ 0.]. Same with the frequency  (use [* 0.] ). 

However, if you are not going to use the cyle~ for that waveform, simply don't include them! All you need is the cycle~'s with the 3x 5x 7x etc. 

What you are asking about turning signals on and off is a pretty basic question. I would suggest looking through the MSP tutorials (again?) so get a better hold on how signal flow works in the program. As a hint, take a look at gate~ and/or selector~.  You will get a lot farther a lot faster if you have a firm understanding of the fundamentals rather than asking (and waiting for a reponse) on the forum.


VERY basic help with max.