Brainstorming what can I do with M4L?

Learn about building and using Max for Live devices.
Post Reply
ZenMusic
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:09 pm

Brainstorming what can I do with M4L?

Post by ZenMusic » Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:23 pm

Not yet into Max ,,, so what can I do with it? I'm a professional (MIDI) programmer (C C# C++ Java etc.)

give some idea of what it is useful for?

pottering
Posts: 1802
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 4:41 am

Re: Brainstorming what can I do with M4L?

Post by pottering » Wed Oct 05, 2022 12:26 am

You can check existing stuff for some ideas:

https://www.maxforlive.com/library/index.php

https://www.ableton.com/en/packs/#?item ... x_for_live

https://cdm.link/tag/m4l/

Some Max MSP stuff, though M4L has limitations in comparison:

https://cycling74.com/projects

https://cycling74.com/products/made-with-max

Instagram has lots of Max MSP for some reason.

For MIDI I guess there are not that many MPE and microtuning stuff, current stuff is somewhat minimal.

For example all the device that can read, modify and create MIDI Clips (like MIDIvolve or Autobeat) are not MPE, they use the older API call that is not MPE (Live warns about that the 1st time you use them in Live 11 and later).

Microtuner and Expression Control are very useful, but they are not "creative", they are neutral. unlike stuff like Iftah's Sting that clearly have creative direction (and bias).

Maybe a step sequencer where one lane is the note (like always), but another lane you queue shapes, much like some of those for audio FX (like Looperator), but for per note MPE shapes, Will probably sound "stupid" most of the time, but some people would love it.

MIDI 2.0 is there for taking as well.
♥♥♥

iainduncan
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:06 pm
Location: BC, Canada
Contact:

Re: Brainstorming what can I do with M4L?

Post by iainduncan » Thu Oct 13, 2022 3:53 pm

If you're a pro programmer, you might be interested in my project, Scheme for Max. It puts an s7 scheme interpreter in Max, and runs in the high priority thread so you can build sequencers or generative music tools with it, or automate the live API from code (or even from your editor!). There's a youtube channel with a bunch of demos at youtube.com/c/musicwithlisp

dna598
Posts: 886
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:42 am

Re: Brainstorming what can I do with M4L?

Post by dna598 » Mon Nov 28, 2022 8:19 am

Could you make a replica of Megababy NM step sequencer?

see my post: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=246247
ctrl + left/right = select transient

ctrl + shift + left/right = select between transients

ctrl + space = play selection

Tranceophile
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 4:52 pm

Re: Brainstorming what can I do with M4L?

Post by Tranceophile » Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:55 am

Check out TransposerRT, a pair of M4L devices I wrote and put on www.maxforlive.com. TransposerRT (the RT stands for "Real Time") is a pair of Max for Live MIDI effect devices which together greatly increase Ableton Live's potential for improvisation and composition. With TransposerRT, a user can issue MIDI pitch transpositions on the fly from a MIDI controller or clip on one track, resulting in other selected MIDI tracks transposing the output of the clips they're playing before being fed to the instruments on those tracks, effectively changing the key of what is playing on those tracks.

The device pair has been freely available on MaxForLive.com since 2015; with my recent release of Version 2.5, I have made a YouTube video describing it and demonstrating its capabilities. The devices are licensed according to the Creative Commons 4.0 BY Attribution, which means anyone may obtain them, use them, modify them, or even distribute and sell them, as long as they credit me as being their original creator.

I use the devices every time I use Ableton. There are 3 things I use them for: (1) transposing the output of clips on bass, pad and other non-lead tracks with my left index finger, while I improvise on the lead track with my right hand; (2) quickly creating clips for bass, pad and other accompaniment tracks, without manually copying notes, pasting and transposing them; and (3) as a free-form arpeggiator [thanks to a user who suggested this application; I didn't anticipate using the devices this way!]

Post Reply