Chapter 1P - Sound synthesis with Max/MSP 1p

The button object produces the message "bang ". What does "bang" mean
in th e language of Max/MSP? It is a trigger. It means "go", or "beg in", or "exe-
cute", or "trigger the action that you were told to do", and it is recognized by
the majori ty of objects. It is a little like the pistol shot tha t signals the beginning
of an ath letic event. Try connecting a button to the message box that we have
already connected to print : every time the we click on the button, a bang is
received by the message box, which then sends its messageto the print object,
causing the message to appear in the Max window. The same th ing happens if
we connect the button to the number box, and indeed for most other objects
as well: when they receive a bang, they perform thei r principal action. Connect
a button direct ly to pr int (disconnecting the other objects). What happens
when you click? Try it. The button object also has an inlet, and when messages
are sent to it, the object reacts "with a bang" .

To conclude this brief d igression, let's discuss the object line- . This object is
a generator of signal segments tha t move from value to value over specified
time intervals. To create a segment, the object needs a starting value and a list
conta ining pairs of values: a value to be reached, coupled with a time in mil-
liseconds. The list can conta in one or more pairs; each indicat ing a value and a
t ime. The fo llowing list, for example, specifies two segments:

"440 5000 110 3000"

and will be interpret ed by line- as instructions to reach the value 440 in 5

seconds (5000 milliseconds) and to then drop to the value 110 in 3 seconds (3000
milliseconds). Try th is out by creating a patch like the one shown in fig ure 1.31:

440 5000 110 3000

l_
...-
line-

110. ,E1
ao':)
Fig. 1.31 The line- object

As you see, there is a message box connected to the line- object, which
in t urn is connected to a number- .30 On the right is the dac- object: it is
necessary to turn on audio processing in order to activate line- (wh ich is,
after all, an object that generates signals, even though they are not audible).
After clicking on "startwindow", click on the message box connected to line-
and observe the nume rical values d isplayed by number- , which start at 0 (t he
default initial value for line- if no other value is specified as an argument),

30 Can you fi nd number- ? In the palette , select the Audio tab in order to see only objects t hat
manage signals: number- should be the eighth icon. If you still can't find it, use the technique we
have already seen: t ake an object box, type number- into it fo llowed by <Enter>. and the object
will appear.
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