Lilli Wessling Hart

Cycling '74

Michael Sperone will be leading one of nine community-driven workshops at Expo '74 in Brooklyn this October. Read on for more information about his workshop and some history of his work.

Techniques for Extending Acoustic Instruments

Many composers of the 20th and 21st century - in order to create a new music, and a new sound - have  developed a range of extended techniques such as multiphonics, "growls", "pops", slides and glissandi, etc.  In this workshop, Michael will be discussing his use of Max to extend the acoustic instrument. He will feature examples on the glockenspiel with his patches for expanding the range, sustain, and tonal possibilities. Also, he will include examples with electric guitar, voice, and percussion.

Topics covered will include general effects and pitch detection, and ways to use
that information once Max has received it (resynthesis, harmonizing, etc.),
ways to interface with Max while playing your instrument, and other general
performance issues.

To participate in this workshop, you will need a laptop (Mac or Windows) with Max/MSP, an acoustic instrument (optional), and a way to get that instrument's sound in/out of Max (other than the laptop's mic/speakers).

My name is Michael Sperone, I am a composer, percussionist, and an electronic musician.  I compose music for Tintinnabulation which performs my pop music (and is releasing an album soon).  I started this group to experiment with my Max patches that integrate my glockenspiel and other external controllers.  I also compose concert music which has more recently incorporated versions of my patches I developed with Tintinnabulation.

I started using Max in 2006/2007 after learning about and using PD for a little while (after learning CSound in college).  I had an internship at Harvestworks and learned more about Max from the other interns and have used it ever since.

What technology or person's work intrigues you most right now?

I keep being impressed by the work of Levy Lorenzo and Eric Drasin.

What is the most exciting part of attending Expo '74?

The MOST exciting part of Expo '74 will be all the other Max/MSP nerds who I'll get to talk with and share ideas and patching techniques.

Michael Sperone talks about his Expo '74 workshop.

techniques-for-extending-acoustic-instruments

David Zicarelli

It was ten years ago this month that we announced our first conference for Max users, which we confusingly named to honor a World’s Fair in Spokane, Washington that took place 35 years earlier. We promised the first Expo ’74 in April 2009 would be “a safe space to show your patch” and we endeavored to make it a reflection of our corporate bias in favor of the unpretentious and quirky. Once attendees arrived at the first Expo, we divided them into groups (naturally based on Max object names) that we proceeded to lead on field trips around San Francisco. That was just the beginning of a three-day patching party that featured a catered science fair and ended with Miller Puckette jamming on electric guitar.

Even in 2009, the world did not need another academic conference about digital media (and ten years later, it really doesn’t need another one). Instead, we took inspiration from events where anyone could feel welcome to show up, talk shop, share tips, and swap stories. From time to time, the Max community has been described as "model train club.” With Expo we consider that a feature not a bug.

Ten years later, Expo ’74 returns for a third iteration that will take place April 26-28, 2019. This time, we’re excited to be partnering with my favorite art museum in the universe, MASS MoCA. We’re hard at work putting together an inspiring program of presentations, workshops, and installations. Naturally, we’ll host another science fair. And a field trip? We can’t say for sure yet, but it’s definitely a possibility.

Despite the fact that it’s not exactly an Uber ride away from a major international airport, MASS MoCA promises to be an amazing venue for this event. One highlight among many for me would have to be recently opened Building 6 with its collection of large-scale immersive works by Laurie Anderson and James Turrell. Next to the Laurie Anderson installations, the museum created a room full of playable instruments constructed by Gunnar Schonbeck. Gunnar was a teacher of mine and his community-based approach to music-making was hugely influential. Perhaps you’ll be influenced to imagine how these instruments might exist in the Max domain. Beyond the curated exhibitions, we’re also excited about the opportunities afforded by the museum's variety of cool public spaces.

We've prepared a guide to help you plan for your Expo experience including hotel options and transportation advice.

We’re not quite ready to unveil everything we’re planning, but I am happy to announce that for this forthcoming Expo we’ve engaged our former colleague Luke DuBois to serve as Artistic Director. With his unrivaled knowledge of work done with Max, Luke seemed to us to be a particularly appropriate choice for this role given that the software is 30 years old this year. Luke is working on putting together a diverse lineup of presenters that will reflect both the historical significance and future directions of Max.

Ultimately, we go to the effort to put on Expo ’74 to connect to the extraordinary work being done by the Max community and engage in an unmediated conversation about where the software should go next. In that spirit, all of your friends at Cycling ’74 are looking forward to seeing you in North Adams next April.

Learn more about Expo '74 and buy your ticket now!

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Cycling ‘74 invites you to join us at Expo ‘74 2019. It will take place April 26-28 at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, USA.

announcing-expo-'74

Announcing Expo '74

Code Control Festival is Europe's biggest Max meetup. Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre in Leicester will be hosting its 3rd international conference for artists, musicians, students and teachers to explore Cycling '74's Max software, a toolbox for developing unique sounds, stunning visuals and engaging interactive media.

This year Phoenix, in association with Cycling ’74, invites applications to its Code Catalyst Award fund. The Catalyst Award represents an excellent opportunity for artists and practitioners to design and create new work or get free tickets to the events. The deadline for submissions is Friday 8th February.

Guest speakers will include Cycling '74 CEO and founder David Zicarelli, Cycling '74 developers Sam Tarakajian and Jeremy Bernstein, and Eric Lyon with more to be announced.

Festival dates: 22nd – 24th March 2013


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Let's Meet in the UK

At Expo '74 in Brooklyn this year, Max users exhibited their work. Electronic Experiments projects are featured in the third video of the Science Fair series.

Featuring Max Electronic Experiments projects from Tom Zicarelli, Michael O'Bannon, Kevin Holland, Benoit Bouchez, and Chris Coleman.

Electronic Experiments - Science Fair @ Expo '74 2011 - Brooklyn, NY

At the 2011 Expo '74, some Max users exhibited their electronic experiments.

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Science Fair Projects, Part 3

Andrew Benson

Last week, I was invited by to participate in a panel discussion at Live Design International (LDI) in Las Vegas, the leading conference and trade show for lighting and live design professionals. The panel was called “Design On A Dime”, and despite the name, tended to mainly focus around how people create one-off and custom show designs. Those of you mostly focussed on music might not realize how many theater and stage professionals are sticking Max in the middle of their complex show designs. Joining me on the panel were other artists and lighting designers working with Isadora, Millumin, and Lightjams, as well as a number of other solutions.

A big topic of conversation - and something I realized I wanted to learn more about - was LED pixel mapping. With individually addressable LED strips and tapes now widely available and relatively affordable, lots of people are looking into custom installations and set pieces that include LED lighting effects. Enttec’s E.L.M. software includes supports for Syphon, which means you could develop video effects in Jitter that get passed along to the LEDs without having to do the DMX programming yourself. Some very exciting possibilities there that I’ll be excited to test out in my studio.

Besides that, where LDI really delivers is a show floor full of fog machines, laser projectors, movable head lighting fixtures, projection mapping, and every configuration of LED lights you can imagine. It definitely made me want to dust off Andrew Pask’s DMX articles and dive into some lighting experiments.

A visit to Live Design International, 2016

LDI 2016 1

LDI 2016 2

LDI 2016 3

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On the Road: Live Design International

As a perfect end to the first day Expo '74 2011, our friends at the Computer Music Center at Columbia University are hosting a free event for expo attendees beginning at 7pm. Take this opportunity to see some amazing projects and gear, and to meet some outstanding people in the New York-area Max user community.

Five reasons why you need to join us there:

Columbia will have all their studios open.

Students will be showing installations or demo-ing work in the studios.

There will be historic pieces of gear out on display, including the RCA Mark II synthesizer and an original modular Buchla.

There will be live performances from current Columbians and recent alums.

Take the subway (#1 Line) to 125th Street Station. CMC is only 1/2-block away from the station at 632 West 125th Street (Prentis Hall), 3rd floor.  (Just down the street from the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater.)


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An Evening at Columbia

Thomas Resch will be leading one of nine community-driven workshops at Expo '74 in Brooklyn this October. Read on for more information about his workshop and some history of his work.

At the Electronic Studio/Research Department of the University of Music Basel we have been developing the external object note~ for Max/MSP.  The essential concept of note~ is that of a classic MIDI sequencer: recording, editing and playing back control data. It provides a GUI, a scripting interface and feedback for every interaction so its functionality can be extended by common Max/MSP objects.  This workshop is an introduction to note~ for Max, explaining its features, how to work with it and expand its functionality and integrate it into the Max environment.

To participate in this workshop, you will need a laptop (Mac or Windows) with Max/MSP installed.

I studied Information Technology at Technical University Berlin and Audio Design at the University of Music Basel. Currently, I am working as a research fellow at University of Music Basel with the main focus on note~ for Max. I also work as a sound engineer for TV-postproduction and classical/pop recordings and I love my band "Sherry Black and the Port Authority" which has never played a concert and released only one album in 4 1/2 years.

I started using Max in 2002 because my Audiodesign Professor told me to do so. At that time I had really no idea what Max is capable of.

Since my car ride back from Hamburg to my little home village Schlangenbad last week I'd have to say Bob Dylan.

To finally meet some of those Max people who always answered my developer forum questions immediatelly and do all the cool stuff.

Thomas Resch talks about his Expo '74 workshop.

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Introduction to note~

Andrea Agostini will be leading one of nine community-driven workshops at Expo '74 in Brooklyn this October. Read on for more information about his workshop and some history of his work.

This workshop will focus "bach: automated composer's helper", a freely downloadable library of Max patches and externals for music notation, sequencing and computer-aided composition in the real-time world. Students will learn how to use bach's musical notation editors for generating and displaying scores in real time; and how to take advantage of bach's powerful list processing tools for operating algorithmically on symbolic musical data. The workshop will not focus on music theory or algorithmic composition in itself, and participants will not need to be experts in music formalization or analysis. The approach will be very hands-on, as the aim of the workshop is to provide a practical introduction to this extremely versatile set of tools.

To participate in this workshop, you will need a laptop (Mac or Windows) with Max and, if possible, bach installed. No need for MSP or Jitter.

I am a composer mostly based in Italy and France, with a strong preference for carefully planned music (whether it is rock'n'roll, western classical and contemporary music or Balinese gamelan). I have been fiddling with computers since my childhood, and at some point it was quite obvious for me to start doing computer music and music- and art-related computer programming. I have been a student, and later a composer in research, at IRCAM, mainly focusing on sound synthesis. My latest work is a new, completely electronic music for the 1925 movie "Wunder der Schöpfung", a commission from Cinemathèque du Louvre that will be premiered on September 19 in Paris.

I started in 2004 under the guidance of my former composition teacher, because he thought it was a too powerful tool for me to ignore it. Shortly after, I was offered a job by a theatre company who was looking for a computer musician, and I did a lot of Max programming for them - which helped me boost my Max skills at a very fast pace.

About technology, I am crazy about advanced additive synthesis as it can be found in Pianoteq or Synful, and I dream of a synthesis engine of this kind, but more flexible. I'm pretty sure that when this will happen we will experience a new, great leap in sound synthesis.

And then, I'm extremely fascinated by generative music systems, such as improptu and David Cope's work. This is a world I don't know much about - which I want to fix very soon !

Andrea Agostini talks about his Expo '74 workshop.

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Bach: Automated Composer's Helper

We’re pleased to announce that the second Expo ’74 conference will take place October 14-16, 2011 at NYU Poly in Brooklyn, New York.

We created Expo '74 as a way for Max users to connect with each other and share their passion for creating. Our first conference in San Francisco in 2009 was so much fun, we've been anxious to put on another one. 

This year, in addition to the popular events from the first Expo, we're inviting everyone to share their knowledge with community-driven workshops. It's simple -- propose a hands-on seminar on anything Max-related that the world needs to know about, whether it be hardware, software, live performance techniques, or even how you teach the software. If your proposal is accepted, you'll get space, as many students as you want, and a free Expo pass. Obviously workshop opportunities will be limited, so we hope you'll start thinking about it right now. Please contact us with any questions, and tell us what you want to do soon.

Important Notes: As of June 1st, we are no longer accepting workshop proposals. The deadline for early registration has been extended to July 15th.

The conference is sold out.

Schedule of Events

"Great amount of information that I'm going to use immediately."

"Friendly and helpful, I had a great time and learned a lot."

"Never been surrounded by so many interesting and brilliant people."

"Meet all the wonderful friends of the Max/MSP forum."

"Would definitely go out of my way to attend again."

You don't have to be a Max expert to benefit from Expo '74. In fact, as we learned at the first Expo, most of our guest presenters didn't consider themselves Max experts! No matter what level of Max proficiency you have, you'll be better after your Expo experience, whether it's by learning new techniques, being inspired by new ideas, or meeting new friends and collaborators.

Expo ’74 2011 will be held over a weekend at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), in collaboration with the Brooklyn Experimental Media Center. Some of what we have planned includes:

Guest Presentations: We’ve invited some truly dynamic members of the Max community from around the world to inspire you with their work.


Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, creators of the Monome and Arc controllers

Mattijs Kneppers, developer with focus on advanced patches for commercial audiovisual
performances

Eric Singer, creator of Cyclops, MIDItron, and founder of LEMUR (League of Electronic Muscial Urban Robots)

Jeremy Bailey, video and performance artist

Dafna Naphtali, vocalist, sound artist, and performer

Daito Manabe, designer, DJ, VJ, and composer

Kurt Ralske, visual artist and musician, creator of AUVI

Philippe Manoury, composer and computer music researcher

Mobile Phones and Max: Simple ways to make interactive (and collaborative) music

Making A Slick Max Standalone: Tips & Tricks

Convolution and Impulse Response Workshop (using HISSTools)

Cycling '74 staff presentations: We'll have a number of sessions covering Max 6, so you'll be able to get an inside view of the exciting new features in this major upgrade. Plus a feedback forum where you can tell us what you think we should do next.

Science Fair: A social event where you set up your project and display it for all the Expo attendees, as well as interact with people who want to learn more. Watch Science Fair videos from the Expo '74 in 2009.

Evening Gatherings: Friday in the Courtyard, Saturday Science Fair and Reception, and a Sunday Performance

Competition: We're planning a new event where contestants will get five minutes to show their patch to the audience -- and a celebrity panel. Think you have what it takes to be the Top Chef of the Max world?

We have contracted with The Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge. The discounted rate is $229 per night. The hotel is a few blocks from NYU/Poly, where we are holding the expo, and the subway. To get the rate, you can reserve online or call their reservations number and ask about room blocks for "Cycling 74/Software User Conference".

To make reservations from the US or Canada, call 800 228 9290.

To make reservations from outside the US or Canada, read the list of Global Reservation Numbers.

Start making plans to join us in Brooklyn October 14-16.

Register now and avoid paying extra when you forget to do it this summer, assuming there is any space left by July.

Prepare your science fair project and let us know if we can answer any questions.


Here is a short video featuring a few of the people who attended Expo '74, Cycling '74's first user conference devoted to Max/MSP and Jitter.

Expo '74 Conference

Join us in Brooklyn for our next Max user conference!

announcing-expo-74-2011

Announcing Expo '74 2011

Andrew Pask

Tomorrow (20 July) at 4:30pm, Tom Hall and I will be presenting a 45 minute demo of Mira, the iPad controller app from Cycling '74.

We will be discussing the design ideas behind Mira, show Mira working in different contexts, and highlighting the ability of Mira to facilitate collaboration. There will be a raffle for a free copy of Mira, too.

More details about the event can be found here:

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