The ninth issue in September
The publisher : Shigeto Wada
[email protected]
http:// www.geocities.com/ swmusicstudio/
Contents
A
good homepage
Basic
usage of MAX (7)
At
the starting of MAX i MUM
What
MAX is.
The
imprint
Next issue will be on 29th September.
You
are able to download
this magazine from hear
to read after disconnecting.
' MAX i MUM ...E version... The ninth issue in September '
A good homepage
I introduce you Mr. or Mz. Ito Hikaru's homepage,
"MAX, MSP, Pluggo Private Guide".
This homepage is written in Japanese mainly, but
its aim is deeply related with English.
Because, the project attempting is making
Japanese
MAX manual!!
And, a good instruction for buying MAX in Japan.
The price of MSP or Pluggo (especially Pluggo) is
very expensive in Japan. So it is quite big buy.
The reason why we should by Japanese version is
very simple. We can receive services, such as technical support,
in Japanese. Nevertheless, it is far more expensive than the services
themselves
(^_^;)
Though, Japanese version is essential for non-
English
speakers or the person who has no time, isn't it? Any problem should not
be there when the software is been introducing.
Ito's homepage suggests us personal importation of
English version. Then let us make the manual!! It is fantastic idea,
because
we can stop that import merchants make excessive. And the project is
admitted
by the developer, Mr. David Zicarelli (^o^)
It looks so sorry for merchants but, it is
because
of their inadequate components and price!
My manuals are all in English. MSP just contains
thinx3 Japanese manual. I have bought them in Japan but....(^_^;)
And, when I tried to make anything, I actually
needed
English manuals.
It is a good idea to visit the page for the person who can agree with idea or help them, or who is living in Japan but doesn't want ot spent a lot.
The address is : http://www.moggio.to/~hikaru/max_msp_pluggo/
Also, you can visit his or her homepage at : http://www.moggio.to/~hikaru/
Please do not hesitate and tell me your recommending homepages.
Basic
usage of MAX (7)
This issue, I will explain about sound wave before
entering to MSP patch.
It is a "simple but not so wrong" version. Well,
it is OK. This is not a physics class. And because I do not know so
well.
If you know about wave well, please forgive about it (^_^;)
Then suddenly, starting with animation (^o^)
These wave represents sound wave. These are Sine
wave, Phasor wave and Noise from the left.
Originally, synthesizers produce sound by adding
them. Nowadays, many other ways have been adopted for sound processing.
I will explain this in the next issue maybe.
If you carefully read manuals or brochures of synthesizers, you may find about them, such as "oscillator x 3 (sine, square, noise)". Oscillator is a mechanical parts which produces electric vibration. This vibration can be seen as a movement of voltage, and this is turned into sound. Digital synthesizers produce this "movement" by mathematical calculation. Computer is too.
So, any machines make same sound? Of cause not.
Well,
because they are different, many good or bad instruments exist.
Even computers can not make the exactly same
sound.
Here is an anecdote about defective faulty in
computer.
When pure sine wave is input into Cubase or
(further
expensive) Pro Tools, and using faders, a clipping noise can be heard.
Because the wave is so ideal, a computer can not reproduce or change
them
well. This is a little bit silly, but truth.
When I was making a music for animation, the
problem
was stupidly realised, then I needed to use analog mixer.
Shall we go back the main topic.
You may learn sin, cos, tan relating to triangle in the secondary school, sine wave is expressed by this.
Phasor wave can produce by adding n{overtone)
whose
volume is expressed by 1/n (int(n>0)). Overtone is a wave which
frequency
is a positive integral multiple of original wave. This original wave is
called fundamental tone.
God! It sounds difficult.... why there is no
online
dictionary of J-E translation for mathematical terms.
Well, how to make the sound with mathematics is
not so important. But overtone and fundamental tone is useful word
overtone.
Diagrams make things easier.
I think you can get the idea from the wave shape.
From the left, a fundamental tone (440Hz), the second overtone(880Hz), and the third overtone (1320Hz).
Frequency is usually expressed by Hz. Hz shows how
many times a thing shaking in 1 second. Sound wave shows cyclical shape,
so Hz shows how many times this cycle appears in one second. You may see
this frequency on the FM radio, such as 99.7MHz. Radio sound is changed
into a radio wave and a radio convert back to the sound.
For example, BBC Radio 4 is 92.4(-92.4)MHz.
&
nbsp;
92.4 x 1000,000 = 92400000 Hz
That means, the cycle appears 92,400,000 times in
one seconds(!!)
If wave shaking a lot, the sound becomes high
sound.
So, 92400000Hz, such a high sound can not be heard.
A good example of audible sound, piano's middle
A sound is normally 440Hz now.
Human can hear, of cause there is individual
variation
but, from 20 Hz to 20000Hz approximately. This audible range is called
audio frequency range or audio range (electronics term).
More, there are Triangular wave, Square wave. These are also able to be made from the combinations of sine waves. The left is Triangular wave, and the right is Square wave.
Then, how about a noise? Well simply, at random
wave
shape is heard as a noise (^_^;) Human naturally categorize sound wave
and if it does not show interesting shape, it sounds noise.
You may be able to produce a sound similar to
noise
by this way. Put a point on the paper randomly, and connect them from
the
left to the right. Then, transfer the shape to the wave. The reason I
said
"similar to" is that human always thinking subconsciously, and make a
sort
of regular shape (^o^)
Noise can not be produced by a combination of
sine
wave.
So, finally, I may show the wave which sine wave, phasor wave and noise are added together.
From the left, sine wave only, sine + phasor, then
sine + phasor + noise.
Please remind that each wave is not the same
volume.
I add them just because of good looks (^_^;)
Like this, sound making equals making wave
strange
shape of wave.
There is no perfect rule to make good sound.
Because
we have different tastes for sound.
So, mixing a lot and exploring interesting sound
is great fun (^o^)
Next issue, I will introduce a patch to produce these waves and merge them.
Finally, here is the wave shape of my voice (^_^;)
I said "Ahhhhhhhh....".
Such a complex wave can not be reproduce by
computer.
Still it is impossible to make very similar sound of human voice or acoustic instruments. That's good (^o^)
See you.
At
the starting of MAX i MUM
Thus the content includes quite basic usage of each object and description of terms, also introduces the interfaces which are provided by MAX and the optional software or hardware of it.
Moreover, it would be really welcoming that applications of readers which agree the above purpose.
MAX is a rare and excellent software which gives chance of making up musical works with well thought of logic and mathematics of creators, in other words, without concerned with special skills such as reading scores or playing musical instruments, to the persons who want to approach music actively.
I do hope at the starting of MAX i MUM
that a lot of readers would be interested in composition, arrangement,
also sound engineering, furthermore, here would be a place that we
exchange
enjoyable information each other because of this magazine.
What
MAX is.
" Max is a graphical music programming environment for people who have hit the limits of the usual sequencer and voicing programs for MIDI equipment." (Miller Puckette, Max reference manual, 1988)
based on Pd by Miller Puckette, (c)1997 The Regents of
the University of California
MSP and Pd are based on ideas in Max/FTS, an advanced
DSP platform (c)IRCAM. Used by permission.
pluggo, Plug-in Manager, and this manual are copyright
(c) 1999 Cycling'74.
pluggo uses the runtime environment for MSP.
Cycling '74
1186 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94103 USA
[email protected]
http://
www.cycling74.com
The
imprint
The publisher and distributor : Shigeto Wada
The publishing office : Shigeto Wada Music Studio
e-mail address : [email protected]
Published on 10th September, 2000 as "MAX i MUM, the ninth issue in September"