Date & Time: Saturday 24th July 4pm UK / 5pm Berlin / 8am LA / 11am NYC

Level: Open to all levels

Hosted by Melody Loveless.

Meetups are a great way to meet and be inspired by the Max community.

What to expect? 

The meetup runs via Zoom and will be approx. 2-hours in length.

This session will feature presentations from 3 expert practitioners: 

Viola Yip

• Website: https://www.violayip.com/  
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viola_yip/?hl=en 

Daniel McKemie

• Website: https://www.danielmckemie.com/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielmckemie/ 

Virginia de las Pozas: Axine M

• Website: https://gnarl.online/LINK/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_238900/ 

Following these presentations breakout rooms are created where you can:

• Talk to the presenters and ask questions

• Join a room on topics of your choice

• Show other participants your projects, ask for help, or help others out

• Meet peers in the chill-out breakout room

Requirements: 

• A computer and internet connection
• A Zoom account

 Berlin Code of Conduct

We ask all participants to read and follow the Berlin Code of Conduct and contribute to creating a welcoming environment for everyone.

Supported by Cycling ‘74

Pricing excluding kit, components to be purchased separately – see kit list in requirements section 

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Want your Arduino to control audio, video, generative 3D visuals, or even Ableton Live? Combine Arduino with Max 8, a powerful visual programming environment opens up many possibilities for interactive installation, generative art, multimedia performance, and more! You will learn very basic electronics, introductory Arduino skills, and how to use sensors and inputs to control Max 8!

By the end of this workshop series you will be able to:

• Create Arduino based electronic prototypes

• Control audio in Max 8 with sensors and your own custom hardware interfaces

• Utilize Max to map software interactions to physical electronic systems

• Apply interaction design concepts for developing installations and performances

Session Study Topics: 

• Max 8 to control Digital and PWM output

• Switches and Digital inputs mapped to states in Max 8

• Analog sensors, smoothing data and creating meaningful interactions

• Strengths, weaknesses and limitations of hardware and software.

Requirements

• A computer with Internet connection

• Arduino / Electronics kit  please check you can order all of these parts before the series starts

• Max software – either free trial or full licence 

• Arduino software

About the workshop leader:

Kyle Duffield is a Toronto based Interactive and Experience Design Professional who creates immersive interactive installations and brand activations. He is also known for his affiliation with the studio and former gallery, Electric Perfume. As an educator, and technical consultant, he has facilitated interactive media workshops and projects with institutions across Canada, Shanghai, and online. Currently, Kyle is participating in Cycling 74’s Max Certified Trainer Program, and is focusing on creating unforgettable technological experiences.

KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, founded by AR Rahman, teams up with London-based online teaching platform Music Hackspace and California-based software company Cycling ’74 to deliver free music programming classes in May 2021. As part of the partnership, Cycling ’74 will provide free 1-year licenses of its flagship programme Max to KM students. 

India is home to one of the most dynamic music scene in the world, but still relatively cut off from the US and the UK. As the pandemic rages in India, most students are continuing to learn online. With this new course, we aim to help music technology students engage with new technology with a long term perspective of exchange and training.

AR Rahman says: “There is a huge appetite for music technology in India, but there is a scarcity of tools and teaching professionals. Musicians in India will be able to join in a global community that gives them the opportunity to develop life-long skills. “

Public registrations to the course are open on a first-come first-served basis (register here). The course will be offered to students for free and will be taught by Max Certified Trainer Phelan Kane who has years of experience teaching music technologies. 

Cycling ’74 offers a free trial of the software (download here), making this accessible to anyone who is curious about music programming. There is no obligation to buy the software to participate in the workshop.

JB Thiebaut, CEO of Music Hackspace, adds “Our mission is to empower everyone to learn creative technologies and we are proud to enable this partnership on our platform, where visitors will find more free courses on demand to continue their learning journey.”

Max is an ubiquitous software that is taught in over 1,500 institutions around the world. Max is also integrated with leading production software Ableton Live. 

Getting started with Max Workshops 

The series will have 4 sessions of 2 hours each. Participants will learn how to get started with interactive audio and MIDI, and discover the possibilities of the Max environment.  They will learn how to manipulate audio, MIDI, virtual instruments, and program their own interactive canvas, and will learn from guided examples and live interactions with teachers and other participants. 

Session overviews:

• Session 1, 5th May – Understand the Max environment
• Session 2 , 12th May – Connect building blocks together and work with data
• Session 3, 19th May – Master the user interface
• Session 4 , 26th May– Work with your MIDI instruments

**********

About KM Music Conservatory

KM Music Conservatory (KMMC for short) is the first institution of its kind in India. A higher education institution established in 2008 by the A.R. Rahman Foundation with A.R. Rahman serving as Principal and Fathima Rafiq as Executive Director. Situated in brand new, state-of-the-art facilities at the heart of Chennai’s film and music industry, we offer a range of part-time and full-time courses in Hindustani and Western classical music and music technology. Faculty are drawn from around the world, with specialisms in musical performance, musical theory and analysis, music history and music technology in order to meet the highest standards of international education.

About Music Hackspace 

Music Hackspace’s mission is to develop the largest online learning platform  for music technologies. It was founded in 2011 by Jean-Baptiste Thiebaut in London, as a collective of artists and engineers. Starting with weekly meetups and seminars, Music Hackspace now curates over 20 live and online workshops every month on music programming, instrument design, and DIY electronics, for a growing number of artists and hobbyists. 

About Cycling ’74

Cycling ’74 creates software for the specialized needs of artists, educators, and researchers working with audio, visual media, and physical computing. Our visual programming tool Max serves as the creative engine behind thousands of innovative projects. Its iPad app Mira allows the user to expand beyond the Max environment for increased flexibility. 

For more information: 

www.musichackspace.org/learnmax 

www.kmmc.in 

Jean-Baptiste Thiebaut; Founder & CEO @ Music Hackspace

jb@stagingmhs.local

Lilli Wessling Hart 

pr@cycling74.com

Level: Intermediate / Previous experience with MSP is required.

Build highly efficient signal processing operations in Max using Gen~. In this series of 4 workshops, you will learn the fundamentals of signal processing and develop skills to confidently code with Gen~ in Max. The course contains 24 custom-made example patches along with audio samples that you will build as exercises during the course and be able to use in your own projects.

Series Learning Outcomes

By the end of this series a successful student will be able to:

• Become familiar with the Gen~ environment

• Build various audio processing tools via Gen~ (i.e. delay FX, AM and FM tools)

• Construct basic Gen~ sampling and synthesis  tools

• Apply a myriad of Gen~ operators

Series Study Topics

• The Gen~ environment

• Audio processing in Gen~

• Gen~ sampling and synthesis tools

• Gen~ operators and data management

Requirements

• A computer and internet connection

• Access to a copy of Max 8 (i.e. trial or full license)

About the workshop leader

Phelan Kane is a Berlin & London based music producer, engineer, artist, developer and educator. 

He is currently running the electronic music record label Meta Junction Recordings and the audio software development company Meta Function. He has released the Max for Live device synth Wave Junction in partnership with Sonicstate.

Date & Time: Saturday 24th April 3pm UK

Level: Open to all levels

Join the Max meetup to share ideas and learn with other artists, coders and performers. Showcase your patches, pair with others to learn together, get help for a school assignment, or discover new things.

The meetup runs via Zoom. The main session features short presentations from Max users. Breakout rooms are created on the spot on specific topics, and you can request a new topic at any time.

Meetup will be hosted by Ned Rush with presentations by: 

In the breakout rooms, you can share your screen to show other participants something you’re working on, ask for help, or help someone else.

Berlin Code of Conduct

We ask all participants to read and follow the Berlin Code of Conduct and contribute to creating a welcoming environment for everyone.

 Topic suggestions but not limited to:

• MIDI
• Jitter
• Signal processing
• Sequencing
• Hardware
• OSC
• Algorithmic composition
• Package manager modules

Requirements

• A Zoom account
• A computer and internet connection

Date & Time: Saturday 17th April 3pm LA / 6pm NYC

Level: Open to all levels

Join the Max meetup to share ideas and learn with other artists, coders and performers. Showcase your patches, pair with others to learn together, get help for a school assignment, or discover new things.

The meetup runs via Zoom. The main session features short presentations from Max users. Breakout rooms are created on the spot on specific topics, and you can request a new topic at any time.

The theme for this session is Max in live performances.

Hosted by: Chloe Alexandra Thompson

With presentations by: 

Marcus Price: Granular Synthesis

Presentation on how he use granular synthesis/auto-scrubbing and a variety of custom tools (spacialization helpers, effects and feedback/delay lines) for live performances.

Michele Zaccagnini: Nonlinear Sequencer

Michele will present a max package he designed which is now distributed in the package manager. It covers the use of sequencers in nonlinear fashion, i.e. the time function of the sequencer is distorted to create tempo oscillations. The overall tempo-predictability and synchronization robustness of the sequencer is nonetheless still present in the Nonlinear Sequencer. Plus these set of objects allow to “measure” the regularity/irregularity of a rhythmic event on an imaginary grid.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXMQVkLE-bKdA7cycXECtCQ 

https://michelezaccagnini.blog/.

João Cabral: Topic: Hardware presentation

João will present a bunch of devices that were made using M4L that work as a 1 dimensional Visual Synth that were used to create LED animations.

 

In the breakout rooms, you can share your screen to show other participants something you’re working on, ask for help, or help someone else.

Ready to present your work at a future meetup?

Everyone is welcome to propose a presentation. Just fill in this short form and you’ll be put on the agenda on a first come first served basis.

Presentations should take no more than 5 minutes with 5 minutes Q&A and we’ll have up to 5 presentations at each meetup.

List of presenters will be updated and announced before each event.

Topic suggestions but not limited to:

• MIDI
• Jitter
• Signal processing
• Sequencing
• Hardware
• OSC
• Algorithmic composition
• Package manager modules

Requirements

• A Zoom account
• A computer and internet connection

Berlin Code of Conduct

We ask all participants to read and follow the Berlin Code of Conduct and contribute to creating a welcoming environment for everyone. 

Level: Beginners curious about programming

Get started with interactive audio and MIDI, and discover the possibilities of the Max environment. In this series of recorded videos, you will learn how to manipulate audio, MIDI, virtual instruments and program your own interactive canvas.

Connect together Max’s building blocks to create unexpected results, and use them in your music productions. Through a series of exercises you will engage in the pragmatic creation of a basic MIDI sequencer device that features a wealth of musical manipulation options.

Learn from guided examples.

This on demand content aims to enable you to work with Max confidently on your own.

Learning outcomes: 

• Understand the Max environment

• Connect building blocks together and work with data

• Master the user interface

• Work with your MIDI instruments

Requirements

• A computer and internet connection

• A good working knowledge of computer systems

• Access to a copy of Max 8

About the workshop leader 

Phelan Kane is a Berlin & London based music producer, engineer, artist, developer and educator. For over twenty years he has been active in both the music industry and the contemporary music education sector, with a focus on electronic music and alternative bands.

He specialises in sound design and production techniques such as synthesis and sampling, alongside audio processing and plug-in development.

He is currently running the electronic music record label Meta Junction Recordings and the audio software development company Meta Function, which specialize in Max for Live devices releasing the M4L synth Wave Junction in partnership with Sonicstate.

Level: Informative for all levels of experience

One of the best aspects of Max MSP is it’s ability to do real-time visual rendering. In this workshop we’re going to learn how to program our own custom visual designs as well as different techniques to make them respond to audio in real-time. Through this workshop we’ll explore different aspects of how Jitter and OpenGL operate within the Max domain along with a look into many incredible max objects. We’ll also touch on some signal processing techniques and how to patch it all together.

Session Learning Outcomes 

By the end of this session a successful student will be able to:

• Program their own visual animations in Max MSP

• Have a basic understanding of Jitter, OpenGL and the differences between them.

• Learn several techniques to make the visuals responsive to audio in real-time

• Think of the design aesthetics from a new perspective.

Session Study Topics

• Intro to jitter and OpenGL + key objects

• Real Time Audio Responsive Techniques

• Creating the Visuals

• Design Thinking and Philosophy

Requirements

• A computer and internet connection

• Access to a copy of Max 8 (i.e. trial or full license)

About the workshop leader

Andrew Robinson is an Arizona based interactive experience designer, artist, and educator.

Andrew has been designing real-time audio responsive animations for live music performances, music videos, and more for the past 6 years and has had the opportunity to work with some incredible musical talent. He also received his master’s degree in interactive experience design from Arizona State University in 2019 and now works at Synthesis Center as an educator and researcher for experience design.

Level: Beginner +

Brian Eno used arranged tape loops for composition in the 1970 Discreet Music and Music For Airports. This M4L device takes those ideas and uses them for a simple but effective loop playback device. In this workshop you’ll learn how to work with audio file playback objects like buffer~ & groove~ along with send & receive concepts and sub-patches.

By the end of this session a successful student will be able to:

• Build a basic audio file playback device.

• Explore signal routings using send & return objects.

• Use sub-patch encapsulations in M4L.

• Describe the signal flow in a M4L device.

Session Study Topics

• Max objects for audio playback.

• Audio signal flow.

• Encapsulations in Max.

Requirements

• A computer and internet connection

• A web cam and mic

• A Zoom account

• Access to a copy of Max 8 (i.e. trial or full license)

About the workshop leader

Johan Englund is a music producer based in St Leonards East Sussex and an educator for Tileyard Education (London) and Bimm (London). He has been engaged as a professional in the music industry since the early 1990s and as a lecturer since 2005.

Level: Intermediate

There are a broad array of techniques musicians can use to generate music in Max. One fundamental component of traditional analogue synthesiser use is the LFO, or low-frequency oscillator. Additionally, pitch quantization can be an extremely powerful tool, especially when used alongside the values generated by an LFO.

This workshop will provide you with the information to construct both devices in Max, giving you a broader palette of compositional tools.

Session Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Learn the basics of LFOs and pitch quantizers.

• Build a standalone LFO patch with variable waveforms and a functional UI.

• Build a quantizer which will map incoming pitch values to user-defined scales/modes.

• Use both devices to control parameters of sound synthesis and assist in generative music composition.

Session Study Topics

• Generative music

• LFOs and waveforms

• Pitch quantization

• Composition through MIDI and software instrument manipulation.

Requirements

• A computer and internet connection
•  Access to a copy of Max 7 or 8 (i.e. trial or full license)

About the workshop leader 

Samuel Pearce-Davies is a composer, performer, music programmer and Max hacker living in Cornwall, UK.

With a classical music background, it was his introduction to Max/MSP during undergraduate studies at Falmouth University that sparked Sam’s passion for music programming and algorithmic composition.

Going on to complete a Research Masters in computer music, Sam is now studying a PhD at Plymouth University in music-focused AI