Make music come alive through interactivity with the infinitely powerful visual programming language used by sound designers, Max MSP. If you are a musician looking to craft visuals for live performances or a visual artist looking to incorporate sound and interactivity to your work, this is a chance to develop and get feedback from a lively cohort over the course of 4 weeks. You will leave this class with a customizable tool to control sound and visual art for your next performance or installation, large or small.

• Compose a collection of sound art by developing your own customizable devices called patches for music, sound generation, and audiovisual performance.
• Become familiar with the logic of Max programming and how to harness the power and flexibility of its data manipulation capabilities to create complex and ever-evolving patches
• Learn how to manipulate and control audio and video with a variety of different tools and inputs
• Create finished patches with a customizable and interactive UI to share with others and make your patches performance-ready
• Integrate Max with other powerful audio and visual software such as Ableton Live and TouchDesigner for limitless possibilities

Week 1 – Introduction to Theory and Tools

A brief history of Max/MSP and how it got to where it is today. We will set up and configure Max/MSP together and get a feel for the internal logic of working in Max. We will learn how to generate sound and control audio output, control video playback, and interact with media using the mouse and keyboard. Through this class we will create a playlist of both sound and video that can be control using the mouse and keyboard.

Week 2 – Getting Musical

Learn how to interact with Max in more complex and interesting ways. We will learn how to incorporate rhythm, tempo, harmony, melody, and chords into a patch. Utilize MIDI interaction, manipulate parameters with messages, and go further in-depth with learning the internal logic and dataflow of Max as we create an interactive audiovisual sequencer together.

Week 3 – Logic, Randomness, and Generative Design

Dive into randomness, arithmetic logic, and generative design. We will learn how to harness the chaotic power of Max’s data manipulation capabilities to integrate decision-making, parameter logic, randomization, and noise into our patches. We will further explore different types of data as we build a sound generator with customizable parameters.

Week 4 – Patch Design and Software Integration

Finalize your patches by learning about clean patch design, subpatchers, presentation mode. Learn how to create a UI to share your patches with others and utilize them effectively in performances. Finally, we will learn about harnessing Max’s flexibility to integrate Max/MSP with other software such as Ableton Live and TouchDesigner to expand your audiovisual toolkit and hit the ground running with using Max in your own work.

Parish Bracha (@par.ish_)is an ex-neurobiologist, geneticist, English teacher, monk, philosophy student, radio DJ, and chronic hobby changer turned full-time audiovisual artist. He has been pseudonymously releasing music in various corners of the internet for over a decade and has developed a deep passion bordering obsession with chasing the most incomprehensibly alien sounds he can find. His work has been released and re-released on various record labels, discussed on TEDx, used in film, and discussed and featured in both a feature-length documentary and book. Parish’s current creative focus is on creating experimental electroacoustic music, making Max/MSP devices and live reactive visuals for performance, and finding beauty in sonic extremity.

Index scholarships are designed to benefit underrepresented groups, BIPOC members of our community, and those for whom the class price is not accessible. These need-based scholarships will go to the candidates who best demonstrate why they should be chosen for the free spot to our class based on the following criteria:

• Belong to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the graphic design and creative industries
• Do not have jobs that would pay for these courses as professional development
• Cannot independently afford the class at list price
• Share our value of intentional community

The number of selected applicants chosen is subject to the discretion of Index and the instructor, but every course will select at least one. Apply for a scholarship here. Applications close April 10th.

We get that things come up, but we rely on headcounts in our programs to survive as a business. If you request a refund...

More than 4 weeks before class begins → 100% refund
More than 2 weeks before class begins → 50% refund
Fewer than 2 weeks before class begins → No refund

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