Hey AndyJ,
Once you get values from your sensor into Max/MSP, you will need to scale your sensor's range to the range of the parameter you want to map.
Here's a very basic way you could go about it:
- You'll need to find the range from your sensor. One way is to use the objects [peak] and [trough] to see the highest and lowest value. Try get your sensor to output the minimum and the maximum value. Here's the Max patch:
----------begin_max5_patcher----------
558.3oc2VEsaaBCE8Y3qvxOyhvl.jr252QW0DAbS7FXi.iV1p5+9LWSRnqDj
SAQp1K1wWbN5bN2qu1u35f2IOxpwnuhdD437hqiCDpMfS2ZGbQxwz7jZXa3T
YQASnvdluoXGUPb8l3EMEeSTkH1yN84btfkJaDvdncAEMExFUNSAH52EsrhU
qANQwkhuWwRUFVEudkuGhDBS9cCnm59SOKEpZ9eXs6kPWcFqDU5AtXeebBL3
PZmh.zBV2CIdFHC4te7EJE2CdQRA.O9gJdRN9hF3hSRfzF6UW21Auo5ibwz7
Q6sjsFGIvBGgbGcj15BEdlzLIHDDpuQ6vD0eXUS1t.pdWiRIECKORWTSH0uK
YFQf2oqMvmo7PxjDeQlzwUY7roEA6WZDeWBToOxNt.uR96c594bYhxFgGtAj
b7nBObARuZFqwXX0S+Pp2yhzeDHbR.E7hwS+z+ecA6MA+6X+M8sd0xJDWT1L
as4fx+0Vzia8mvrOMbUbjOIb6LUBPga31B9PPzv9vlEvGtV6wJYy9CWsGYvG
87AWbdZLKxb+OwOnWeyqTrbqsJnymIUxR94cyhh56Pi2HYBNDfG7Ru+4A4.i
Zi+VaqV1TkdRRmtIGcgVYrZEW.umt+lBeylNvyxXh9MYJ3YkRsizQBzSClDs
lSgVvIccEh74hRjEkRarzjtg7FIbUnGZST6XD8zumHOo13b2HQMjiXdqVbz4
EKfkRV1iB1vH+IPI8hWc+KPfpZpm
-----------end_max5_patcher-----------
- You will then need to set the range you want to scale. If for example, the range you got from step 1 is 0.0 to 19.5 and you want to change the pitch of a synth from middle C (264Hz) to one octave above (528Hz), you would setup the scale object like this: [scale 0. 19.5 264 528]. Here's the Max patch:
----------begin_max5_patcher----------
403.3ocyTEsaCBBE8Y8qfvycMhJVcusuiklEpRaYQAihacqo+6Ctpc1MWqMK
qYu.gKWN2y8vA165fWo1wqwn6QOhbb1653.grAb5V6fKX6RyY0PZ3TUQAWpw
yZ2Sy2og3uvxa3HsBUvJQ86JaJTM5btFNqWWzxJdsABlVnjOUwS0s02OZt2L
Dg3Ym5GPK6NzZkTWKdmayk3O+HVLc5VgbyPbB.bBAHHTXxeHThLfwpUOeW.d
.7RVA.O9gJAKePOHj8s.wF6fqqcX1DUr04JCFiKI9WPRBgdvO4hRhOc9hHOB
Moau1Zneqj2hjkELysFBuhI2fOhwX5GAJpGLk.UMHZb4idCjuexvYzqZUERH
Kazm2uc0VmjI3bB+m3b9SMAAwW1CDeCDBI+USo9tEHkkyMOIr2XTy+GgHpe7
3xE47dguoTSPbVrn8wI8b1DxUpNQCTG.ObtP90enAJYiepjUqZpR6afthi9j
UY7ZsPBewLHG5I4rUjkwkCe7THxJUBotiBnkid8MUFEOAFQ9ELxr3f6GhRXk
7B
-----------end_max5_patcher-----------
This approach will get you started. The hard bit is the tweaking and smoothing of the data.
I recommend you especially go through the "Data Scaling" Max tutorial, but the more tutorials you can get through, the better. If you specifically want to use Ableton Live, then Max for Live is perfect for your needs. A great resource is Max4Live.info, and of course the Max for Live tutorials.
I hope this gets you started.