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ChucK: A Strongly Timed Computer Music Language

Profile image of Perry CookPerry Cook

2015, Computer Music Journal

https://doi.org/10.1162/COMJ
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20 pages

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Abstract

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.

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The computer has long been considered an extremely attractive tool for creating, manipulating, and analyzing sound. Its precision, possibilities for new timbres, and potential for fantastical automation make it a compelling platform for expression and experimentation -but only to the extent that we are able to express to the computer what to do, and how to do it. To this end, the programming language has perhaps served as the most general, and yet most precise and intimate interface between humans and computers. Furthermore, "domain-specific" languages can bring additional expressiveness, conciseness, and perhaps even different ways of thinking to their users. This thesis argues for the philosophy, design, and development of ChucK, a general-purpose programming language tailored for computer music. The goal is to create a language that is expressive and easy to write and read with respect to time and parallelism, and to provide a platform for precise audio synthesis/analysis and rapid experimentation in computer music. In particular, ChucK provides a syntax for representing information flow, a new time-based concurrent programming model that allows programmers to flexibly and precisely control the flow of time in code (we call this "strongly-timed"), and facilities to develop programs on-the-fly -as they run. A ChucKian approach to live coding as a new musical performance paradigm is also described. In turn, this motivates the Audicle, a specialized graphical environment designed to facilitate on-the-fly programming, to visualize and monitor ChucK programs in real-time, and to provide a platform for building highly customizable user interfaces.

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