9 Front Ends

Csound was originally a program that was invoked by typing commands on the command line. The command-line version still works, and in some circumstances may be preferable—for example, if you’re using Csound to do batch processing of sound files. In Windows, you can run Csound from a Command Prompt window (which emulates the functionality originally found in MS-DOS). In the Macintosh OS, you can run Csound from a Terminal window in much the same way. Today, however, most people prefer to run Csound from a front-end program. A front end is a second piece of software that provides a user interface, often with slick graphics and other features. After creating or loading a code file that contains one or more instruments and a score, you give a command that causes the front end to invoke Csound, thus producing sound.

Several developers have written front ends for Csound. Each of these programs has its own strengths. They generally reflect the desires and thought processes of one or two developers. Most of the front-end developers actively listen to feedback from their users and try to accommodate suggestions. Nonetheless, Csound front ends tend to be the result of individual effort, not of large development teams. Because of this, the available front ends don’t always resemble commercial software. Some of them are, to be frank, a bit peculiar.

The fact that they’re produced by individuals (unpaid or compensated only by voluntary contributions from users) has a second consequence: These programs are not always free of bugs. When you start using a front end, you may encounter things that don’t work as expected, or things that you don’t understand how to use because the documentation is sketchy. At that point, you will likely find yourself exchanging emails directly with the developer. Usually these folks are more than happy to help you, but courtesy pays dividends. You need to remember that you’re dealing with someone who probably has many other demands on their time—a day job, a family, their own music-making, and their own list of things they would like to do to improve the front end. Sending a good, thorough bug report is helpful. Getting pissed off and complaining is not helpful.

CsoundQt (see Chapter 5) was chosen as the main front end to use and discuss in Csound Power! for several reasons—but it’s not the only game in town. In this chapter we’ll look at three other front ends for Csound, all of them mature and highly useful for certain types of music. Because space in this book is limited, none of them will be explored in as much detail as CsoundQt. I’ll focus on the most important features of each program and try to give you a clear idea of whether it might be right for you.

Not included in this chapter, but well worth exploring if you’re adventurous, are athenaCL and IanniX. Neither is a Csound front end, but both can work with Csound to produce music.

athenaCL (www.flexatone.net/athena.html) is a deep, multi-dimensional music construction kit that can generate scores for Csound or SuperCollider, or even MIDI files. It runs as a module within the Python programming language and is invoked from Idle (the Python shell) using the command from athenaCL import athenacl. The documentation for athenaCL is extensive but not easy to grasp.

IanniX (www.iannix.org) is a system for generating OSC control messages from within an animated graphic environment. Scripts for Iannix can be written using JavaScript. Judging by the videos, the system looks powerful, and it’s certainly intriguing, but at this point in time (summer 2011), the documentation is close to nonexistent.