Max's transport object provides a global master clock syncing objects to musical time values

Max provides a global time management system controlled by the transport object. When active, it maintains a master clock and BPM. Objects like metro can use tempo-relative time values (4n = quarter note, 8n = eighth note, 16n = sixteenth) instead of milliseconds, making timing automatically scale with BPM. A quarter note = 480 ticks. The transport is global: changing BPM in one patch affects all patches in the same Max session. This enables rhythmically synchronized multi-voice patches where meter can be changed at a single point. For unusual beat ratios not expressible in standard note values, ticks are used directly via the interval attribute.

Examples

metro 4n fires once per quarter note at any BPM. Two metros (4n and 4nt) create a permanent 2-against-3 polyrhythm scaling with any BPM. A quarter-note quintuplet = 480 * 4/5 = 384 ticks, set via [interval 384 ticks].

Assessment

Build a two-voice patch where voice A plays every dotted eighth note and voice B plays every quarter-note triplet. Use transport so that one BPM change shifts both simultaneously.