Max (software): Difference between revisions

{{distinguish|Autodesk 3ds Max|Ableton Live}}

| latest release version = 8.3.2{{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1707206|P348|P548=Q2804309}}

| latest release date = {{Start date and agewikidata|2022qualifier|09preferred|17single|Q1707206|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}

[[Miller Puckette]] began work on Max in 1985, at the [[IRCAM|Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique]] (IRCAM) in [[Paris]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cache//b/b/p/bbp2372.1985.043/bbp2372.1985.043.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815043521/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cache//b/b/p/bbp2372.1985.043/bbp2372.1985.043.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 15, 2020|title=Synthetic Rehearsal: Training the Synthetic Performer|access-date=20182008-08-22}} </ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/i/icmc/bbp2372.1985.043/1/--synthetic-rehearsal-training-the-synthetic-performer?page=root;size=150;view=text |title=Synthetic Rehearsal: Training the Synthetic Performer |journal=International Computer Music Conference Proceedings |publisher=ICMC |date=1985 |volume=1985 |access-date=2018-09-19|last1=Barry |first1=Vercoe |last2=Miller |first2=Puckette }}</ref> Originally called ''The Patcher'', this first version provided composers with a graphical interface for creating interactive [[computer music]] scores on the [[Macintosh]]. At this point in its development Max couldn't perform its own real-time sound synthesis in software, but instead sent control messages to external hardware synthesizers and samplers using [[MIDI]] or a similar [[Protocol (computing)|protocol]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://msp.ucsd.edu/Publications/icmc88.pdf |title= The Patcher |author= Puckette, Miller S.|publisher= ICMC|date= 11 August 1988|access-date=2018-08-22}}</ref> Its earliest widely recognized use in composition was for ''Pluton'', a 1988 piano and computer piece by [[Philippe Manoury]]; the software synchronized a computer to a piano and controlled a [[Sogitec 4X]] for audio processing.<ref name="pluton">{{cite web|url=http://www-crca.ucsd.edu/~msp/pdrp/latest/patch/manoury-pluton/doc/history.htm |title=Pd Repertory Project - History of ''Pluton'' |publisher=CRCA |last=Puckette |first=Miller S. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040707132901/http://www-crca.ucsd.edu/~msp/pdrp/latest/patch/manoury-pluton/doc/history.htm |archive-date=2004-07-07 |access-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref>

In 1989, IRCAM developed ''Max/FTS'' ("Faster Than Sound"), a version of Max ported to the [[ISPW|IRCAM Signal Processing Workstation]] (ISPW) for the [[NeXT]]. Also known as "Audio Max", it would prove a forerunner to Max's MSP audio extensions, adding the ability to do real-time synthesis using an internal hardware [[digital signal processor]] (DSP) board.<ref name="ircam_history">{{cite web| url=http://freesoftware.ircam.fr/article.php3?id_article=5 |title=A brief history of MAX |publisher=IRCAM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603230029/http://freesoftware.ircam.fr/article.php3?id_article=5 |archive-date=2009-06-03 }}</ref><ref name="cycling_'74_history">{{cite web|url=http://www.cycling74.com/twiki/bin/view/FAQs/MaxMSPHistory#Where_did_MaxMSP_come_from |title=Max/MSP History - Where did Max/MSP come from? |publisher=Cycling74 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609205550/http://www.cycling74.com/twiki/bin/view/FAQs/MaxMSPHistory |archive-date=2009-06-09 |access-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref> The same year, IRCAM licensed the software to [[Opcode Systems]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HZtGs5_z4zIC&pg=PA241&lpg=PA241&dq=max+intelligent+music+joel+chadabe&sourcepg=bl&ots=3kLX1xCvr5&sig=91lAEkHPulkyfFyWPxCrd2EggJk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizks3QhKrUAhWEjVQKHb6-Bi8Q6AEIKzAB#v=onepage&q=max%20intelligent%20music%20joel%20chadabe&f=falsePA241 The Contemporary Violin: Extended Performance Techniques By Patricia Strange, Allen Strange] Accessed 10 September 2018</ref>

Max is named after composer [[Max Mathews]], and can be considered a descendant of his [[MUSIC-N|MUSIC]] language, though its graphical nature disguises that fact.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Puckette |first=Miller |title=Max at Seventeen |url=http://msp.ucsd.edu/Publications/dartmouth-reprint.dir/dartmouth-reprint.html |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=msp.ucsd.edu}}</ref> Like most [[MUSIC-N]] languages, Max distinguishes between two levels of time: that of an ''event'' scheduler, and that of the DSP (this corresponds to the distinction between k-rate and a-rate processes in [[Csound]], and control rate vs. audio rate in [[SuperCollider]]).