Max for Live offers virtually unlimited possibilities - the Max, MSP and Jitter languages offer an open book for programing messages, audio synthesis and effects, visuals, and more. Programming Max for Live can also be intimidating - it's sometimes hard to know exactly where to start. BEAP, a new set of free modules for Max for Live, bridges this gap by providing a set of higher-level building blocks. Think of it like a modular synthesizer in Max for Live.
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Stretta, aka Cycling '74 employee Matthew Davidson, oversaw the development of BEAP. We spoke to him about some of his favorite modules, the inspiration for BEAP, and where beginners should look to jump in with this incredible new tool kit.
What was your inspiration for the BEAP devices? I've heard that you developed them for academic use?
Beap was developed as a pedagogical tool for the Electronic Production and Design students at Berklee College of Music in Boston. The Beap library is a collection of modules that emulate the function and signaling of hardware modular synthesizers.
The idea of a higher level Max patching system that emulates synthesis modules is not a new or unique idea. If you look around online you'll find a few of them. Ideally, you want the freedom to attach a patch cord from anywhere to anywhere without worrying about what kind of message is flowing down the patch cord.
Beap has been underway for almost a year now. In that time it has grown to encompass many themes of my past interests - especially my monome work. In fact all of my current monome work is now a subset of Beap including favorites like Plane and Polygome.
It turns out that a robust, simple, flexible and easy to understand protocol already exists and has been in use for almost 50 years: the 1v/oct standard. 1v/oct is elegant: C3 is 0 volts. C4 is 1 volt. Add or subtract a volt to anything and you move up or down an octave. Contrast this with other schemes like collapsing frequency down to a 0-1 range and you begin to appreciate the beauty of 1v/oct. Everything in Beap is an audio rate signal that conforms to this standard - even gates and triggers. Obviously, this isn't the most computationally-efficient, but it was the most pedagogically-sensible.
Because Beap emulates the signaling of a 1v/oct system, it is also compatible with 1v/oct modular synthesizer hardware. Any patch cord in Beap can be sent to a DC-coupled audio interface and used to control a hardware modular. In fact, we're doing this at Berklee. We have a new synthesis lab full of individual modular systems where students can freely inter-patch with Beap. The best of both worlds, hardware and software.
What are some of your favorite modules in BEAP?
Whenever someone asks this question about a project, whether it is monome-related, a maxforlive device, or music, the answer is always 'whatever I've been working on most recently.' The phase-vocoder oscillator module is my current favorite. It sounds great and it is wonderful to have a phase vocoder under voltage control. Interfacing is dead simple, a control voltage for pitch, a control voltage for playback position within the sample.
Were there any particular modules that you found extra difficult/complicated to assemble?
I have to come back to the phase vocoder again. This was new territory for me and although there are some good examples of phase vocoders in Max, there wasn't a singular example that did everything I wanted. I found the work of Jean-Francois Charles extremely helpful.
How will development of BEAP modules work moving forward - are you working with a community now?
Beap has been underway for almost a year now. In that time it has grown to encompass many themes of my past interests - especially my monome work. In fact all of my current monome work is now a subset of Beap including favorites like Plane and Polygome.
Beap development is contained at github which is designed for group collaboration. I really appreciate how github has built-in features for interacting with the community including a method for users to open and track issues. If anyone is interested in contributing to the Beap project, I'd encourage you to get in touch with me.
If I'm just starting out, is there a recommended tutorial resource for BEAP - or perhaps a 'start module' that's easier to make and that demonstrates how BEAP works?
Darwin Grosse created an excellent getting started resource which is hosted at the Cycling 74 Wiki.
In addition, when you download Beap, there is an examples folder filled with numerous demonstrations of Beap modules.
With the release of Max 7, Cycling ‘74 introduced a number of new capabilities to the venerable visual programming language. Among the many innovations are a several objects and devices that offer new possibilities in real-time intonation, pitch and time correction. Since Max for Live (as of Live 9.2) is based on Max 7, we wanted to highlight some of the new devices Cycling ‘74 introduced with Max 7 in the form of this convenient, free Pack for all Max for Live users.
Max 7 Pitch and Time Machines includes the following devices, grouped by category:
Sample Playback
Classic Player – A standard stereo/dual-mono sample player. This device uses the groove~ object without pitch/time corrections. It features the basic patch structure used in some other more complex examples.
PitchTime Player – A stereo/dual-mono sample player with pitch and time correction. This device introduces some settings which control the pitch and time correction feature.
PitchCorrect Player – A stereo/dual-mono sample player with pitch and formant correction. This device introduces some settings which control pitch and formant correction.
Synced Player – A stereo/dual-mono sample player synced to transport. This device uses the time/pitch correction feature of the groove~ object in order to play in sync with Max or Live's transport.
Bit Player – A sequence-able sample player, synced to transport. This device allows for re-ordering sample playback in sync with Max or Live's transport.
Sampler Instrument – A polyphonic sampler instrument with time-stretching. This device uses the time/pitch correction feature of the groove~ object in a MIDI instrument structure. The DSP part of the patch is embedded into a poly~ container, allowing you to load an open number of instances of a patcher file, and thus allows the use of polyphonic audio synthesis, audio processing, or even control tasks.
Pitch Shifting
Simple Pitch Shifter – A simple stereo pitch shifter. This device uses the pitchshift~ object to perform sound transposition.
Pitch&Vibrato – Stereo pitch shifter with vibrato. This device uses the pitchshift~ object to perform sound transposition. We've added a double LFO which acts as a pitch vibrato.
Pitch&Echo – Stereo pitch shifter with vibrato & feedback. This device uses the pitchshift~ object to perform sound transposition. We've added a double LFO which acts as a pitch vibrato. Additionally, the device inserts the pitch transposer into a delay line to create the famous 'harmonizer' sound.
Dual Harmonizer – A dual-mono pitch shifter with vibrato and feedback. This device uses the pitchshift~ object to perform sound transposition. It is similar to the Pitch & Echo device, except that the stereo echo effect is split into two independent mono delay lines, so that each audio channel can be treated separately.
Multi Harmonizer – 10 notes/20 voices pitch shifter. This device uses the pitchshift~ object in a polyphonic patch structure, thus allowing multiple harmonizations. The DSP part of the patch is embedded into a poly~ container, allowing you to load an open number of instances of a patcher file, and thus allows the use of polyphonic audio synthesis, audio processing, or even control tasks.
Pitch Analysis
Pitch Tracker – This device uses the retune~ object to perform some pitch tracking from monophonic input sound. The detected pitch can be monitored using a simple monophonic synthesizer. The estimated pitch and velocity are transformed into MIDI notes, which can be sent to other devices using the MIDI outlet when the device is used in Max. In Live, we use a special MIDI-side-chaining device, called 'Max MIDI Receiver,' in order to catch MIDI data from other devices such as the present one.
Vocoding
Mono Vocoder – A dual-mono vocoder. This device uses the retune~ object to force a monophonic signal to a given pitch, thus acting like a vocoder device. Pitch correction can be tweaked with some dedicated parameters, according to the type of sound that is processed.
Poly Vocoder – 10 notes/20 voices vocoder. This device is similar to the Mono vocoder device, but uses a polyphonic patch structure, thus allowing multiple harmonizations. The DSP part of the patch is embedded into a poly~ container, allowing you to load an open number of instances of a patcher file, and thus allows the use of polyphonic audio synthesis, audio processing, or even control tasks.
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Retuning
Autotuna – A scale-based microtonal auto-tuner that can use Scala files. This device uses the retune~ object to tune the audio to a given scale. Scales can be either entered by hand, or loaded from Scala files – a file format for musical tunings that is a standard for exchange of scales. Learn more about Scala.
Microtuner – A table-based microtonal auto-tuner that can use Scala files. This device is similar to the Autotuna example device, except that scales are entered using a graphic function whose shape can be curved, thus providing some unexpected pitch scales.
MIDI-Side Chaining
Max MIDI Sender & Max MIDI Receiver – In Live, audio and MIDI tracks don't communicate any MIDI data to each other. However, in some cases sending MIDI data to an audio effect might be useful: for instance, if you'd like to send a MIDI chord to a vocoder or harmonizer device using a MIDI keyboard.