I want to make a sound programming project, but I don't know where to start

Question

In my high school, we can take a class where we mainly study the subject on our own for a semester. I thought I wanted to learn about “sound programming,” but I realized that I had no idea what this means. I am interested to learn, for example, how the synthesizer works, how I can write VSTi and how sound works in the field of computer science. Is this an acceptable subject? Are there any good tutorials for someone completely new to this? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: This ... this is what interests me.

Answer 1

VST plugins are usually written in C ++. But you can use other languages. Creating a VST plugin with C ++ is a pretty attractive project. Without prior experience, this is probably too much for a school project. In addition, you are likely to spend so much or more time implementing the VST part and the GUI, as you will use the actual sound programming.

However, there are other ways to create a VST plugin and still get dirty recording code.

SynthEdit is a modular environment for creating synthesizers and effects. Modules, such as oscillators, envelopes, etc., are visually connected by wires. Patches can be exported as VST plugins. SynthEdit allows you to program additional modules using C ++.

SynthMaker is another option similar to SynthEdit. It has a code module that allows you to write DSP code without complicated compilation of modules in another language.

The advantage of using SynthEdit or SynthMaker in your situation is that you can focus your programming efforts on a specific area, for example, create a filter or an oscillator module. SynthEdit / SynthMaker can handle other areas (GUI, voice logic, etc.).

Using SynthEdit or SynthMaker will also allow you to prototype ideas faster. This way, you will have more time to experiment with different synthesizer architectures or effects before proceeding with something that needs to be done for a school project.

The DSP theory can be quite complicated, and the math is hard, but that should not distract you. Depending on what you want to do, a basic understanding of the principles of digital sound and mathematics at the algebra level may be enough to make you awesome for a long time.

Answer 2

You may try to find resources on DSP (digital signal processing) and / or audio processing. Programming itself (unless you are looking for an existing audio library) is more likely to be more math intensive than intensive programming, so it may be suitable for querying at math.stackexchange.com .

Answer 3

There is a very flexible and powerful sound application called Plogue Bidule . You can use it to learn about processing and synthesizing audio by creating your own “biduras” or groups using low-level math and logic blocks. There is a user community there, and it was difficult for me to find a limit on what it can do. You are not going to make any code with this tool, but it is great for performance and learning the basics of sound processing and synthesis.