[PD] newbie aspirations, math, logic, and questions

[Todd N. Goodenow]

Hello, So I have figured out the basics and can build myself delays, simple fm synths and what not. My inspiration for pursuing this all is so that I can do some pretty intensive composition work.Here are my goals:

-To build an audio file (or midi maybe) sequencer with: variable time signature modulated by various sources, variable step sequencer (ie have a way of controlling the order the steps go in. So for a 12-step sequence have ordered sets <1,2,3,4,....12> <1,3,4,5,6,7....> and a way of choosing between them say a keyboard)
-for the samples themselves: I want a way of sequencing the sample start and end times and also the "middle" of the sample (say letting the volume drop to nothing half way into the sample for 100ms). This is easy to do in a graphical audio sequencing program but...
-granular: I would like to build a granular program with realtime "timestretching" (like granulab), well actually just like granulab. 

I think that is it. The trouble I have had in music that one or a few incompatible programs might have some of these features, but no program has very many of these features (that I know of). Mightn't this sort of thing but do-able? :)

Questions 2: where to learn about this stuff. I am an undergraduate philosophy major so I know some formal logic. I have very little math though, what math would help me? What classes might help me learn to do this sort of programming? I figure it can't but help me in my studies anyway.

Question 3: is midiman ever going to release a linux driver for the quattro? It works great (when it works) in win2k. Win2k is really crappy for dual processors though. 

 Thanks for enduring my uninformed chatter

Todd