Computer Music
Summer Session – Advanced Special Topics in Technology, Arts and Media
Presented by Miller Puckette, Developer of Max/MSP and
Professor of Music, University of California, San Diego
ATLS 4519, 3 semester hours, Section 210 (lecture), Class No. 19490; Section 211 (lab), Class No. 19491
ATLS 5519, 3 semester hours, Section 210 (lecture), Class No. 19493; Section 211 (lab), Class No. 19494
July 7–August 7, 2015: Session B
Capabilities of the Music Software
“PD and Max represent open-ended platforms useful for the artist, the scientist and everyone in between,”
explains Hunter Ewen, Instructor of Music Technology at CU.
“For my own creative work, PD and Max have become indispensable tools to create, alter and playback
sound. Their open, graphical environments allow me to compose organically — without locking me into a
particular style, character, or software interface.”
“On top of their extremely deep musical capabilities, they allow the user to integrate visuals, interact
with other music software and coordinate hardware inputs/outputs, sensors and other circuitry.”
In this course, students will explore how to develop interactive applications for electronic arts and
music using the Pure Data graphical programming environment. Topics include:
- – Sensing inputs
- – Decision making
- – Transforming microphone and camera inputs
- – Generating sound and images
- – Audio spatialization
Applications may power stand-alone artworks or work as interactive musical/graphical instruments.
Students taking the course should bring a laptop computer or a Raspberry Pi (or similar), and ideally
a pair of headphones.
Miller Puckette obtained a BS in Mathematics from MIT and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Harvard. He was
a member of MIT’s Media Lab and then a researcher at IRCAM (l’Institut de Recherche et de Coordination
Musique/Acoustique).
At IRCAM he wrote Max, a widely used computer music software environment. Puckette joined the Music
department of the University of California, San Diego in 1994. Since 2004 he has performed with the
Convolution Brothers. Puckette received the SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award.