Tutorials and Topics - Peabody Computer Music

How MSP WorksMax patches and theMSP signal networkFor example the dac~ (digital-to-analog converter) object, for playing the audio signal,can be turned on and off with the Max messages start and stop.Some MSP objects can receive audio signals and Max messages in the same inletAnd the cycle~ (oscillator) object can receive its frequency as a Max float or int message, orit can receive its frequency from another MSP object (although it can’t do both at thesame time, because the audio input can be thought of as constantly supplying values thatwould immediately override the effect of the float or int message).Some MSP objects can receive either Max messages or signals for the same purposeSo you see that a Max patch (or subpatch) may contain both Max objects and MSPobjects. For clear organization, it is frequently useful to encapsulate an entire process,such as a signal network, in a subpatch so that it can appear as a single object in anotherMax patch.Encapsulation can clarify relationships in a Max patchLimitations of MSPFrom the preceding discussion, it’s apparent that digital audio processing requires a lot of“number crunching”. The computer must produce tens of thousands of sample values persecond per channel of sound, and each sample may require many arithmetic calculations,depending on the complexity of the signal network. And in order to produce realtimeaudio, the samples must be calculated at least as fast as they are being played.33