537 lines
16 KiB
Markdown
537 lines
16 KiB
Markdown
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<style>
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img:hover{
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color: #424242;
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-webkit-transition: all .3s ease-in;
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-moz-transition: all .3s ease-in;
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</style>
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# Pure Data
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## Introduction
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### What is Pure data?
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Pure Data (or Pd) is a real-time graphical programming environment for audio, video, and graphical processing.
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Pure Data is commonly used for live music performance, VeeJaying, sound effects, composition, audio analysis, interfacing with sensors, using cameras, controlling robots or even interacting with websites.
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Because all of these various media are handled as digital data within the program, many fascinating opportunities for cross-synthesis between them exist.
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Sound can be used to manipulate video, which could then be streamed over the internet to another computer which might analyze that video and use it to control a motor-driven installation.
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*taken from [here](http://write.flossmanuals.net/pure-data/introduction2/)*
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### How to get it?
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You can download puredata from the [main website](http://puredata.info/downloads/pure-data).
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#### Different versions
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There are a few different versions of puredata available in the wild.
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Below is a small list but I would *highly* advise to start with puredata vanilla.
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The extended version is *very* dated now and I would not advise to use that one.
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* puredata vanilla (the **main** version)
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* puredata extended (up until a few years ago the go-to version for most people)
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* Pd-L2Ork (same engine as vanilla but with different GUI)
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#### A note on libpd
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Puredata can be packaged into other applications as a sound engine.
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This is extensively used by app makers and game designers.
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While this is totally beyond the scope of this introduction I do want to mention the universal usefulness of puredata outside of sound creation.
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Below are some useful links:
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* [libpd github](https://github.com/libpd)
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* [libpd in unity3D](https://github.com/Magicolo/uPD)
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* [camomille - VST creating with libpd](https://github.com/pierreguillot/Camomile)
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## Pure data interface
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Pure data has one main window with a menu bar at the top and blank space below.
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This empty space will act as a **console**.
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All text based output will be shown here.
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The program, or **patch** can be seen on the right.
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In this window we can create **boxes** and connections between boxes to create a running program.
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### TODO:
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* create an empty patch and save it
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* close puredata and reopen our saved empty patch
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 1: Hello World
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The two main types of boxes we need to create a hello world patch are:
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* **object** boxes
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* **message** boxes
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In order to make our hello world function we need to connect the **outlet** of one to the **inlet** of the other.
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You **always** have to create a connection for the **outlet** to the **inlet**.
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The other way around does **not** work.
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Puredata has help built in to explain how all the objects function.
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You can access this help by right clicking on a box and choosing **help**.
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These help windows are also **patches** themselves which you can operate and copy paste from.
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Puredata has two **modes**:
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* edit mode (to create your patch)
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* normal mode (to click boxes)
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I personally am almost always in **edit mode** because you can control the sliders, message boxes, etc by using **CTRL-click**.
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This is a lot faster than switching back and forth between modes.
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### TODO:
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* create a hello world patch
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* change the hello world text to something different
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* create a second chain that prints out something different
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### Challenge:
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* try to differentiate between two different print chains by naming the print outputs
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [hello world patch](./resources/00_hello_world.pd)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 2: A simple calculator
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Arithmetic can be done with **object** boxes.
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Besides object and message boxes we also have **number** boxes.
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You can click and drag these boxes to change the number inside.
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### TODO:
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* create this patch yourself and try it out
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* why doesn't it always work?
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* what are creation arguments?
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [calculator patch](./resources/01_calculators.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [hot and cold inlets](https://puredata.info/docs/manuals/pd/x2.htm#s3.3)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 3: Bangs and triggers
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To deal with the **hot and cold** design of puredata we can use two very useful objects:
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* bangs
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* triggers
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Bangs are an essential feature of puredata.
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They serve as triggers and can be very useful for visual feedback.
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Triggers take something (numbers, bangs, lists, messages, ...) as input and output from **right to left**.
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By including triggers in our patch we can be certain of the **order of operations**.
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### TODO:
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* create this patch yourself and try it out
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [triggers and bangs patch](./resources/02_bangs_and_triggers.pd)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 4: Timers and toggles
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As a real time environment puredata uses the **metro** object to create timed events.
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To turn the metro on or off we need to connect a **toggle** to it's input.
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The metro object takes milliseconds as an argument *or* on the **cold** inlet.
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Below is a small example conversion grid of BPM notes to msec.
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### TODO:
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* create this patch yourself and try it out
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* can you make the output count up with each bang?
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* can you make a conversion that takes BPM as input and outputs 8th notes msec values?
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [timers and toggles patch](./resources/03_timers_and_toggles.pd)
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---
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\newpage
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# Audio
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## Setting up your audio device
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From the **media** menu select the audio settings.
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Your settings will be different depending on your platform and soundcard.
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If you hear a lot of clicking then you should raise the block size.
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A good middle ground is 1024.
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Don't forget to turn on the **DSP** in the console window.
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Puredata can output very loud sounds so don't turn the volume up too much.
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<p style="text-align:center;color:red;">!!!**PLEASE** don't turn your headphones up too much!!!</p>
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### Resources:
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* **online information**
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* [configuring puredata](http://write.flossmanuals.net/pure-data/configuring/)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 5: A simple synth
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Up until now we only used data objects and connections.
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To create sound and connect audio inputs and output we use objects that have a tilde **~**.
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New control objects, **sliders**, are seen here.
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You can configure these sliders by right clicking them.
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It's very important to modify the sliders in order to use them with audio signals.
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All audio signals flow between -1 and +1 as floating point numbers.
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In order to have working volume slider we multiply the audio signal with a value between 0 and 1 where 0.5 is half as loud.
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### TODO:
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* create this patch yourself and try it out
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [a simple synth patch](./resources/04_a_simple_synth.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [waveshaping](http://www.pd-tutorial.com/english/ch03s05.html)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 6: Some midi and music theory plus a musical synth
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The major scale is made up of the following pattern:
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* a half note is **1** step
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* a whole note is **2** steps
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* an octave is **12** steps
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* the **5th** always sounds good with the root note! (**7** steps)
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| degree | name | step size | relative midi value |
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| 1st | tonic | root | 0 |
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| 2nd | supertonic | whole | 2 |
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| 3rd | mediant | whole | 4 |
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| 4th | subdominant | half | 5 |
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| 5th | dominant | whole | 7 |
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| 6th | submediant | whole | 9 |
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| 7th | leading note | whole | 11 |
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| 8th | tonic | half | 12 |
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Below you can see the musical synth that plays the major scale starting at C4.
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [a musical synth](./resources/05_a_musical_synth.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [what is midi?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI)
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* [musical scales](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_scale)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 7: Controlling the musical synth
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We can control the synth with the **key** object.
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The output of this object needs to be routed to the corresponding notes we want with the **route** object.
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A more common way to control music programs is by using MIDI devices.
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You can setup midi from the **media** menu and selecting **midi settings**.
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Puredata provides a simple patch to test and see the midi messages coming into the computer.
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It can be shown by clicking on the **media** menu and selecting **test audio and midi**.
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [a musical synth](./resources/05_controlling_the_musical_synth.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [controlling the synth](http://write.flossmanuals.net/pure-data/controlling-the-synth/)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 8: Controlling with a gamepad
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The **hid** object gives us access to gamepads and joysticks.
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Depending on the OS the object needs to be installed via the help menu **find
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externals** option.
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### TODO:
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* create this patch yourself and try it out
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* try to add more controls to the synth
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [gamepad synth patch](./resources/07_gamepad_with_the_musical_synth.pd)
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* [gamepad synth with filter patch](./resources/08_gamepad_and_filter.pd)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 9: A drum machine
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We can load and play soundfiles with the **readsf~** object.
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To build a simple sequencer we combine a **metro** with a counting loop,
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**mod** and **select**.
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Below are the patches to both a simple and more complicated drum machine.
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### TODO:
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* create this patch yourself and try it out
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* how can you make this drum machine polyphonic?
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [simple drum machine](./resources/08_gamepad_and_filter.pd)
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* [advanced drum machine](./resources/09_advanced_drum_machine.pd)
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* **samples**
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* [drum samples zip file](./resources/808_drum_kit.zip)
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---
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\newpage
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## Example 10: Putting it *all* together
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The advanced drum machine sequencer can be used to create a patch that plays
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random *music* coupled with the simple synths from before.
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A new object is included in this patch called **vline~**.
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It is used to create volume or filter curves.
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### TODO:
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* try to make something yourself!
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [music by numbers](./resources/10_putting_it_all_together.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [envelopes](http://write.flossmanuals.net/pure-data/envelope-generator/)
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---
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\newpage
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## A short intermezzo
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While it is very important and satisfying to make your own puredata patches from scratch, there are a lot of extra libraries that can provide you with essential building blocks.
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Most of these can be installed with the build in package manager in puredata vanilla.
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You can access it by going to the menu **help** and choosing **find externals**.
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Some very useful ones are:
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* mrpeach (for everything network and OSC related)
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* list-abs (list abstractions that make manipulating and searching lists very easy)
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* cyclone (a bunch of useful little gems)
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* comport (for interfacing with arduino and other serial devices)
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* hid (useful for gamepads and joysticks)
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You can see all the externals that you have installed by going to the **help** menu and choosing the **browser**.
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Most libraries come with extensive help files to get you going in no time.
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Now, a *very* powerful collection of synthesizer building blocks is called **automatonism**.
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This is more than a library of abstractions, it makes puredata an easy to use modular synth.
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While I absolutely love this software, a basic understanding of puredata vanilla will go a long way.
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You can download automatonism from the link below.
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### Resources:
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* **online information**
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* [automatonism](https://www.automatonism.com/the-software)
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---
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\newpage
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# Video
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## Creating a GEM window and drawing a pretty cube
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GEM should come installed with puredata vanilla.
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If not, you can find it via the find externals menu.
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The best way to get familiar with GEM is to play around with the example files.
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You can find them in the **browser**.
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The most basic way to get GEM going is to:
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* **declare -lib Gem** enables the library of use
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* the **gemwin** object controls a window
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* the **create, 1** message will display the empty window
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Now to display a simple shape in this window we need to add a **gemhead** object.
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This will compute everything attached to it at every frame.
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This cube can be controlled with **messages** to the cube itself *and* by putting **objects** between the gemhead and itself.
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The same cube but with rotation, color control (including transparency) and XYZ control can be seen below.
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A light source is also added to introduce shade on the cube.
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To project something onto the cube we add a **pix_film** object.
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This object needs to flow into a **pix_texture** object in order to be drawn.
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The object loads .mp4 files and can play them back, in loop if desired.
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [the assets](./resources/assets.zip)
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* [the dancing cat](./resources/11_gem_intro.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [GEM intro](http://write.flossmanuals.net/pure-data/basics/)
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* [Ye olde GEM manual](https://puredata.info/downloads/gem/documentation/manual/manual)
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## Particles
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Besides displaying pictures and videos, GEM can animate particles.
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The way to draw them is very similar to the dancing cat.
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For each element we want to show and control separately we need different **gemhead**.
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Download the test files below and have a play with it, it will explain itself a lot better like that.
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Don't forget to download the assets as well, otherwise the video won't load.
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You can find the link below (it's the same file as the previous example).
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### Resources:
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* **patches**
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* [the assets](./resources/assets.zip)
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* [a dancing cat with particles](./resources/11_gem_cat_with_particles.pd)
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* **online information**
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* [GEM particles](https://puredata.info/downloads/gem/documentation/tutorial/particles)
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# Learning more about Pure data
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That's it for me but if you want to learn more about puredata you should have a look at the links below.
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It's a list of tutorials and interesting work created with puredata.
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* **documentation and tutorials**
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* [FLOSS manual](http://write.flossmanuals.net/pure-data/introduction2/)
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* [Rafael Hernadez youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL12DC9A161D8DC5DC)
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* [puredata tutorials list](https://puredata.info/docs/tutorials/)
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* [Programming Electronic Music in Pd](http://www.pd-tutorial.com/english/index.html)
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* **videos of sound made with pure data and some GEM stuff**
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* [puredata drone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1E52x15RYU)
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* [puredata sequencer 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nz0bxwoqQE)
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* [72-EDO algorithmic IDM in Pure Data](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4t5B6nPQGg)
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* [New Euclidean Rhythms Module in Pure Data Demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFtVT5j69A)
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* [Pure Data - Particle-based Music Visualisation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1k44Tr0pu4)
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* [webe.omnibox / PureData Visual with GEM (Test_02)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs1lsw1q_gU)
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