ChucK is a programming language designed for computer music. It aims to be expressive and straightforward to read and write with respect to time and concurrency, and to provide a platform for precise audio synthesis and analysis and for rapid experimentation in computer music. In particular, ChucK defines the notion of a strongly timed audio programming language, comprising a versatile time-based programming model that allows programmers to flexibly and precisely control the flow of time in code and use the keyword now as a time-aware control construct, and gives programmers the ability to use the timing mechanism to realize sample-accurate concurrent programming. Several case studies are presented that illustrate the workings, properties, and personality of the language. We also discuss applications of ChucK in laptop orchestras, computer music pedagogy, and mobile music instruments. Properties and affordances of the language and its future directions are outlined.

Kronos is a signal-processing programming language based on the principles of semifunctional reactive systems. It is aimed at efficient signal processing at the elementary level, and built to scale towards higher-level tasks by utilizing the powerful programming paradigms of “metaprogramming” and reactive multirate systems. The Kronos language features expressive source code as well as a streamlined, efficient runtime. The programming model presented is adaptable for both sample-stream and event processing, offering a cleanly functional programming paradigm for a wide range of musical signal-processing problems, exemplified herein by a selection and discussion of code examples.

This article describes the design of a framework for sound synthesis in LC, a new computer music language we prototyped, together with concrete code examples. Unlike existing unit-generator languages, LC provides objects as well as library functions and methods that can directly represent microsounds and related manipulations that are involved in microsound synthesis. Furthermore, LC is equipped with traditional unit generators, and these two different abstractions can collaborate seamlessly. Although the framework for microsound synthesis itself is not particularly bound to the entire language design of LC, such seamless unification between the traditional concept of unit generators and LC’s microsound synthesis framework contribute to making LC’s programming model for microsound synthesis simpler and terser in comparison with existing unit-generator languages. These features of LC’s entire sound-synthesis framework can help computer musicians to creatively explore the domain of microsound synthesis and would also be beneficial for further research in computer music language as a design exemplar.