Mapping one range of values to another needed range of values is a crucial technique in computer music. In this example, we want to map MIDI data values that range from 0 to 127 into a useful range for controlling the amplitude—and thus the loudness—of a sound in MSP.
This patch converts MIDI velocity values to create an amplitude envelope to control a *~. The Test MIDI velocity to amplitude (vtoa) abstraction patch shows how this abstraction can be used.
This is an example of a patch loaded in a poly~ which uses midi values to load and transpose samples of guitar strings in a groove~. This patch is used as an abstraction inside of the Sampling Synthesizer in Max patch which includes pitch bend and mod wheel functionality and contains the buffer~ objects that the groove~ in this patch refers to.
When you play a note with MIDI, you usually want the note to sustain as long as the key is held down, then you want it to turn off (either immediately or gradually) when the key is released (when the note-off message is received). Because MIDI is designed to function in real time, in live performance, there is no duration information contained in a note-on message. The duration can only be known once the key has been released.
A linear fade-in or fade-out of audio is okay for quick changes that take place in a fraction of a second, but for slower fades one should generally take into account that our subjective sense of loudness more closely conforms to an exponential change in amplitude. This patch allows you to use the slider (or the mod wheel from a MIDI controller) to control the amplitude of white noise in one of three different ways: with straight linear mapping, exponentially (with an exponent of 4), or using a range of 60 decibels.
This example shows how to create a “theremin” where the mouse position controls pitch and amplitude of a cycle~ with the x and y position respectively.
This patch doesn't do anything musical, but it shows the math formulae that underlie the mtof, ftom, atodb, and dbtoa objects.
One of the ways we determine where a sound is located is by comparing the sound's intensity in our two ears. A sound that is located to one side of us goes more directly into the ear that's on that side, whereas the sound has to diffract around our head to get to the other ear, so the intensity is usually greater on the side where the sound is located. That distinction is known as interaural intensity difference (IID).
This patch is an abstraction for supplying an amplitude factor to control the level of an audio signal. The output of this abstraction is intended to go to a *~ object to scale the volume of a sound. The amplitude factor is expressed in decibels, which is generally a more intuitive way to refer to the volume of a sound. The abstraction fades to the new amplitude in a specified amount of time. Perceptually, a linear fade in decibels (which yields an exponential fade in amplitude) sounds smoother than a linear fade in amplitude.
This example shows different ways to interpolate between values, for the purpose of automating volume control.