Jukka Hautamäki

/////// puredata workshop /////// Puredata workshop in Turku, 16-17.5.2009

May 14, 2009

Moi.

Turussa Naphousessa tulevana viikonloppuna la-su Puredata workshop.
Ohessa info englanniksi. Järjestäjänä Kokomys.
Puskaradio laulamaan / please fwd.

—————–

/////// puredata workshop ///////

Puredata (a.k.a. pd) is a graphical programming enviroment dedicated to real-time video and sound processing, and any kind of data (from sensors, controllers, to motors, electronics boards…). Puredata allows you to build your own logical circuits and tools in an easy way : instead of typing lines of codes, you just have to link differents objects in a plumber-style.

Puredata is radically open-source. This means that even the most advanced software made with puredata can be opened like an old teenager moped, and then studied or copied to combinate it with another piece of program.

/////// lutherie numérique* ///////

This workshop will focus on sound processing, by studying common electronic music instruments (additive synthesis, sampling, filters…) and by deconstructing them into small pieces. After a few basic skills to use puredata, each participant will try to build a very simple sound instrument of its own particular design. At the end, all the tools produced are shared between the participants (to learn from each other) and… (why not ?) combinated in a whole crazy instrument to hear how they sound together !

* « lutherie » is a french word to name a place where string-instruments were built and « numérique » stands for « digital »

/////// requirements ///////

The workshop is free of charge, but if you want to participate we invite you to make a donation for the KoKoMYS collective in order to decrease next workshop’s costs (electronics components, teachers, etc…).

Just bring your own computer (it doesn’t need to be a very powerful one) and headphones if you have.

If you already have some music instrument (from a guitar to any MIDI controller), you can bring them and we’ll try to combinate them with your own puredata programs.

The workshop will be given in english but most finnish people speak english perfectly, so if you don’t, they’ll help you !

/////// how to get puredata on my computer ? ///////

For this workshop, you can use a special powerful operating-system called pure:dyne, which is linux-based and optimised for any audio/video processing. It contains a very complete, ready-to-use, puredata version. You can use this linux distribution without causing any trouble to your system because it will run from a DVD and won’t change anything on your hard-drive. If you want to get a copy, just bring a blank DVD. You can also keep your favorite system (whatever it is, linux, windows or macOS) and install puredata on it.

If you want to install it before the workshop (it would save time, and time is… well not exactly money but…) go to this webpage and download the pd-extended version ; remember to choose the right operating system (windows XP, macOSX, ubuntu, etc…). If you don’t know what it means, always prefer the i386 versions, which is the most common computer architecture. If you don’t have installed puredata, we’ll do it at the beginning of

the workshop or you can try the pure:dyne !

/////// getting started ///////

If you want to try puredata before the workshop, you can, but be prepared : without any basic introduction, puredata is really not easy to handle. But since some time, there are some good online english tutorials.

Undoubtely the best, Programming Electronic Music in Pd by Johannes Kreidler (http://www.pd-tutorial.com) is a very good step-by-step way to learn the basics. The workshop will be mainly based on it, but it concerns only the audio part of puredata, not video. There’s also the FLOSS manual “puredata” (http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata), a collaborative documentation that is uncomplete – even if more general (i.e. video examples are included) – but give some good tricks to start.

There are also IRC chatrooms (irc://irc.freenode.net/dataflow), a huge mailing-list, a “pdpedia” and of course, the puredata official webpage.

Good luck !

/////// next steps ///////

During the workshop, there will be some demos on how to use puredata to communicate with the arduino, a programmable microcontroller, in order to use sensors (light, pressure, buttons, infrared, etc) or to control devices (motors, lights…). This because on of the next KoKoMYS workshop will be about this wonderful electronic toy !

/////// Registration for workshop ///////

There will be space for 20 people, so confirm your your place in workshop by sending an email to kokomys@gmail.com

http://phae.fr/puredata.html