Ableton Live field recorder

Apply envelopes and effects to ambient sounds to create “music”

Start with the sound of an orchestra warming up, traffic, sea lions, or any field recording – then apply global envelopes to shape the sound over time.

updated 4/19/2015

Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 9.39.41 PM

Based on a tutorial by Sonic Academy: https://reactivemusic.net/?p=2431

Local file is in Ableton teaching examples: dummy clips band recorder 11-08b (under dummy clips example project) This version uses ambient traffic sounds.

A version with a high-school band horsing around is in: dummy clips band recorder3z

The actual set will be posted here – eventually…

Rough description:

This project is an effects processor made with dummy clips – it has a simple hip-hop drum track.

instructions:

  • press ‘p’ to shut off speakers in dummy clip audio tracks (to prevent feedback in recording)
  • press cmd-comma (for config) to turn input device on
  • arm the “field recording” track and record a clip
  • press cmd-comma  (for config) and turn off input device to prevent feedback during playback)
  • press p to turn back on speakers in dummy clip tracks (so you can hear playback)
  • double click the new recorded clip, highlight section you want to keep and do crop clips.
  • press warp
  • <ctrl>click on the clip name and choose: slice to new MIDI track
  • Select bars or half notes
  • Select: Slice to single sample (Live 8)
  • A new track will get created with all the midi slices.
  • In the sampler device, select the zone tab, click on a slice and the press <ctrl>a to select all slices
  • Then in the Sample tab, turn on looping with one of the ->-> thing buttons under sustain mode.
  • disable (mute) the original field recording track
  • route the audio of new midi sliced track to the beat enveloper track – you’ll be playing this track with a Midi keyboard.
  • As long as you keep the field recordings and Midi slices out of the first row, you can start the music by doing a scene launch in the first row.
  • launchpad can be used to trigger the dummy clips

(edit) you may want to just delete the example clip that slice to midi makes because it will totally screw everything when you try to play it.

sound effects from here http://www.pachd.com/sounds.html

Using multiple Midi channels per track with Max for Live

notes

Apparently there is a limitation on sending more than one Midi channel from a track

http://cycling74.com/forums/topic.php?id=24020

This presents an issue for receiving osc and splitting it to various instruments…

(update) What I’ve been trying to do is set up a generalized way to trigger midi from web data. Currently getting the web data via processing, sending OSC messages to max for live (or max).

Once the OSC gets to m4l, I use an m4l device in a track which receives all the osc messages then sends them off on new upd ports using [updsend] – for example a separate port for what would normally be a separate midi channel.

Then I have another m4l receiver which you can set the appropriate port number to get the channelized data stream and scale it to midi notes.

[edit – need link to sample live set]

update – the “internet sensors” project shows some easier ways to do the translation of internet API to OSC”

 

 

 

working with audio samples in Max

notes

  • Start with MSP tutorial 13: record and play samples
  • use help file for [play~] object
  • [wave~] plays a buffer using a phasor
  • User [phasor~] to repeat audio sample,
  • [groove~] is good for sustained loops
  • tutorial 14 – is a great example of how to use numbers to work with sample data
  • tapin and tapout for delay
  • gizmo for pitch shift

 

 

pd to Max converting wrap~

notes

Use [pong~ 1.] instead of [%~ 1.] see note below about negative numbers…

hi julien,

for non-negative input you will get the same output from [%~ 1.], as from wrap~. However, for the whole domain, wrapping pong~, [pong~ 1], does the job (although it costs more)

Krzysztof

juli@tremplin-utc.net wrote: …

is the Max/MSP object [%~ 1.] an equivalent to the Pd object [wrap~] ?

Measuring rotation

We are trying to measure RPM of a bicycle wheel by reading the accelerometer data stream of a Wiimote wedged between the spokes of the wheel.

When the wii-mote is in the bicycle wheel it generates a stream of numbers much like a sine wave. Lets say we want to just get the speed of the wheel. It would be the frequency of these ‘sine’ pulses.

Strategy: use [past] object send a bang once each cycle. Then use a tap-tempo patch to convert pulses into bpm, mph, etc.,

 

 

Converting car engine sounds from Pd to Max

From “Designing Sound” By Andy Farnell

Update 6/2014: This project is at: https://github.com/tkzic/automax

original post

Yesterday I converted Andy Farnell’s car engine patch into Max. Some general suggestions about Pd to Max conversion:

  • You can save the Pd patch as a .pat file and load it into Max
  • [pow] object inlets reversed
  • look at translations from previous post for common objects – more on this later
  • I wrote a translation for [vd~] – more on that later…
  • In Pd all numbers are floats – so any non-signal objects in Max need to be explicitly set to float.
  • I am working to come up with a set of diagnostic tools in Pd for reading for probing into signal path, when debugging conversions.
  • the Pd [inlet~] does an implicit conversion from float to signal. In Max, you need to use [sig~]

The patches are currently in my tkzic/Pd folder. Will be moving them into a specialized folder for Andy Farnell stuff.