LinuxMusicians

Hi everyone,

ok. Let's say I wanted to make a softsynth. (Or fork one already made, since that would help me learn.) Which programming language should I learn?

I ask this in particular to understand:

a) if I need to learn more than one language (a real challenge for sure), and

b) if one certain language is particularly "apt" for making softsynths. I know that there are synths made with different languages, but is one language particularly "ideal" for this endeavor?

Lastly, if you recommend learning language (x), how long should I expect to need to learn it? Can I learn it online? (I might not have any instructors in this area of the globe..)

Thanks in advance for all feedback!

brian

PS. I forgot to add: I particularly like standalone synths, but if it were to be a plugin type, which type? Lv2? Vst? Other? Why one and not another?

falkTX wrote:I think the best choice for you might be csound.

Cabbage (via csound) has an application to test code changes in realtime.
some tutorials here: http://www.thecabbagefoundation.org/vie ... 1da207ffb5

Although KXStudio repos come with some cabbage based plugins, the standalone app is not packaged.
I'll do that soon though.

Hi falkTX,
thanks for the suggestion! I'll check the link.
I also visited the "Juce" website and they seem to also cater to those interested in making audio software. But I think theirs is based on C++. Is C++ a bad place to start for a beginner like me? Would Csound be simpler?


brian

briandc wrote:Let's say I wanted to make a softsynth...

Places to start:

General:

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/audio-programming-book

Csound:

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/csound-book

Pure Data (Pd) :

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/designing-sound

SuperCollider3 :

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/supercollider-book

Cabbage home :

http://www.thecabbagefoundation.org/index.php

Charles Dodge's book, good for synthesis basics :

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Music-Sy ... 0028646827

Many other resources are available, these are just some that I've found useful. Traditionally if you're thinking of programming from scratch you'd probably want to learn C/C++ but there are so many alternatives these days. Cabbage is truly amazing, definitely worth your attention, though you'll want some background in Csound for best results.

Best,

dp

I picked up a book yesterday (yes, a book) on Csound. Been fiddling around with some simple synths using qutesound as the environment, but Cabbage is next on the list. I like the idea of being able to test the coding changes in realtime.
This could be fun....

brian