oftware Sound Synthesis & Music Composition Packages

• General Synthesis Packages
  • *ster includes Pluckster, Hammster, Boxster, and other sample & IR generators from David Clark
  • Acouphenes small program to generate sounds from neural networks
  • Amber granular synthesis for Linux and MacOS
  • Audiality David Olofson's "audio engine... designed for playing music and sound effects..."
  • ChucK an audio programming language for realtime synthesis, composition, and performance, from Ge Wang and Perry Cook
  • CLAM is the C++ Library for Audio and Music from Xavier Serra and his talented crew at UPF (Note: This package effectively incorporates and replaces Prof. Serra's SMS)
  • Dissociated Studio takes an audio file, segments it, computes a segment similarity matrix, and plays the piece, skipping from segment to similar segment; very cool software from Aaron Lav
  • Fugue is by Roger Dannenberg at CMU
  • InSpect sound analysis/resynthesis/transformation from Sylvain Marchand
  • JASS the Java Audio Synthesis System, from Kees van den Doel
  • Loris sound modeling and morphing software from the CERL Sound Group
  • MARSYAS is the MusicAl Research SYstem for Analysis and Synthesis or the Manipulation Analysis and Retrieval SYstems for Audio and Signals, either way it's software from George Tzanetakis
  • The MusicKit is being ported from NeXTStep to Linux
  • OpenSoundWorld Amar Chaudhary's "...scalable, extensible programming environment that allows sound designers and musicians to process sound in response to expressive real-time control..."
  • SAOL
    • SAOL is the MPEG-4 Structured Audio Orchestra Language from Eric Scheirer
    • MPEG-4 Structured Audio: Developer Tools a page from John Lazzaro and John Wawrzynek, includes the indispensable sfront
    • SAOLsound Paul Winkler's project "... to provide resources for Csound users interested in exploring SAOL"
    • Sounds in SA some SAOL-encoded music
  • Sapphire an audio synthesis language by Jim Finnis
  • Scripts: Sound for Csound, PowerPV, and TrikTraks, from Drew Krause
  • SMS comes from Xavier Serra; a very cool on-line GUI is located here
  • Sonic is a digital audio programming language from Don Cross
  • Spectroscopic Toolkit "64-bit phase oscillators for nanotonal synthesis", from Pieter Suurmond
  • Spiral Synthesis materials from Tracy Lind Petersen
  • Squeak a Smalltalk-80 environment with built-in support for realtime sound synthesis; a description of Linux sound support for Squeak can be found here
  • STK Perry Cook's excellent Synthesis ToolKit; Tim Stilson has also prepared StkLinux, a Linux port of Perry's STK 1.0
  • SuperCollider3 a Linux port of the realtime audio server and object-oriented sound synthesis language
  • Tao physical modelling synthesis language and GUI, from Mark Pearson
  • Theo Verelst Additive Synthesis Program an additive synthesis program, from Theo Verelst
  • Varese synthesis/composition environment from Peter Hanappe
  • Virtual Sound audio synthesis tools from Christos Dimitrakakis
  • WONDER "Wave-field synthesis Of New Dimensions of Electronic music in Realtime", software from Marije Baalman and Daniel Plewe
  • gAlan the very cool graphical audio language, originally from Tony Garnock-Jones and now maintained by Torben Hohn
  • rt_lpc real-time LPC analysis/synthesis/visualization from the Princeton Soundlab
  • wigwamjam "... grows sounds using your decisions to drive the evolution of genetically programmed synth functions", from Dave Griffiths

• General Music Composition/Analysis Packages
  • Amuc is the Amsterdam Music Composer, from Wouter Boeke
  • Common Music is maintained by Rick Taube at UIUC
    • Notes From The Metalevel Rick's excellent book on Common Music, a must-have for all students and users
    • Plotter Rick's handy tool for Common Music now available for Linux and GTK
    • Scripts: Music routines for Common Music, MIDI and music scripts in Perl, by Drew Krause
  • Haskore Computer Music System is a collection of Haskell modules designed for creating musical structures in a high-level style similar to functional programming languages
  • The Humdrum Toolkit software tools for music analysis and research
  • JFugue Dave Koelle's Java classes for music programming
  • JMSL the most excellent Java Music Specification Language, from Nick Didkovsky and Phil Burk
  • LMUSeJ Lindenmayer fractal music software from David Sharp, requires JDK1.3
  • LMMS it's the Linux MultiMedia Studio, "... a free alternative to popular programs like FruityLoops, Cubase and Logic"
  • Metropro beat generator for "...the composition and interpretation of complex and non-linear tempo..."
  • Mondrian music composition language from Peter Brinkmann
  • Music Package various music-making tools (in Pascal) from Ulrich Bruchholz
  • Musica "... aims at the creation of a complete Mathematica package for the exploration of the interconnection between Mathematics and Music"
  • MusicScript "...an open-source music scripting language..."
  • OpenMusic the famous software from IRCAM now available in a version for Linux
  • ProteinMusic converts DNA sequences to music, requires Java
  • Radium unique graphic music-making environment with similarities to module trackers and MIDI sequencers
  • Randomposer an automatic-music composer from Stephan Beyer
  • Subvert Audio Niall Moody's "... music program designed to try and stimulate creativity in the user"
  • Turtle "... a tool/toy for experimenting with graphics and sound programming... hopefully useful as a vehicle for learning the Scheme programming language", from Michael W. Schaffer
  • XEMO is a "...vision of an integrated composition environment for the analysis, notation and composition of music"
  • compo is "a language allowing to describe in a natural way simple or complex musical structures"
  • mjoo Leonard "paniq" Ritter's "new kind of live composition software for the Linux operating system"
  • sieve makes music (?) from the Sieve of Eratosthenes
  • variations algorithmic composition system developed by Bruce Jacob
  • wx12Ton utility for composing and analysing 12-tone rows, requires wxWindows

• MAX-like Environments
  • Pd
    • Pd Pure Data, a language from Miller Puckette
    • GriPD a graphic interface builder for Pd, from Joseph A. Sarlo
    • Pd for Linux a version prepared by Günter Geiger
    • Pd-Page documentation, research, and patches from Thomas Grill and Marius Schebella
    • PDX7 an exploration of 6-operator FM synthesis via Pd, courtesy of Frank Barknecht
    • pure-data.info excellent resource site for Pd users
  • jMax
    • jMax MAX for Linux and Java, from François Déchelle's team at IRCAM
    • jMax-SDIF imports SDIF files into a track of matrices, exports a track to SDIF; from Diemo Schwartz
    • jMax Tutorial instructive documentation from Fabrice Medio
    • mamalala "...things related to electronic music and the famous jMax"
    • FFTease package of phase vocoder routines by Eric Lyon and Christopher Penrose, now available for jMax

• MusicV-based Languages
  • Cmix is from Paul Lansky and the Princeton Sound Kitchen
  • Common LISP Music comes from Bill Schottstaedt at CCRMA
    • ATS Juan C. Pampin's "library of Lisp functions for spectral Analysis, Transformation, and Synthesis", intended for use with CLM; ATSH is a graphic display/editing/resynthesis environment for analysis files created by ATS
  • Csound comes from Barry Vercoe at the MIT Media Lab
  • Music4C is from James Beauchamp at UIUC
  • Nyquist for Linux is a patch for the UNIX Nyquist source package by Roger Dannenberg
  • RTCmix is a version of Cmix maintained by Dave Topper, Luke DuBois, Brad Garton, and John Gibson; RTmix is Ivica Ico Bukvic's "performance tool geared towards persons interested in live and interactive electro-acoustic music", especially suited for use with RTCmix
  • cmusic is now available in Shahrokh Yadegari's port of the CARL software to Linux

  Please see the Csound & Cmix Helpers section for related software.

• Softsynths And Samplers Note: More softsynths can be found on the Audio Plugins page
  • 3MU a TB303 bassline emulator; tk3MU provides a useful GUI, thanks to Eric Brunel
  • Aeolus Fons Adriaensen's fabulous pipe organ synthesizer
  • ALSA Modular Synth outstanding softsynth fun from Dr. Matthias Nagorni
  • AUBE/Metadecks is "...a system for realtime sound generation and processing"
  • BEAST/BSE music composition and audio synthesis package with Gtk interface, from Tim Janik and Olaf Hoehmann
  • Beatrix excellent organ softsynth from Fredrik Kilander
  • Chionic Linux sampling software from Juan Linietsky
  • Cumulus real-time granular synthesis with MIDI control
  • Delfin a realtime software sampler
  • Didgeridoo "a voice controlled resonance instrument" from Stefan Nitschke, requires JACK and a microphone
  • Elara a very cool software synth from Steve Brookes
  • FluidSynth
    • FluidSynth an outstanding Soundfont synthesizer (formerly known as iiwusynth) from Peter Hanappe and many others
    • FluidGUI Ken Ellinwood adds a nice graphic interface to FluidSynth
    • QSynth Qt GUI Interface for FluidSynth
  • FMS is Daniel Gruen's Frequency Module Synthesizer
  • GENPO Stephen Merrony's neat "generic pipe organ"
  • Internet Synth Henry Lowengard's contribution to sound on the Web (source available by request)
  • Javasynth a "Java-based system for creating fully working modular audio systems, which are assembled with programmed functional components."
  • LegaSynth a new softsynth from Juan Linietsky
  • LinuxSampler
    • Linuxsampler it's *the* Linux sampler project, supports sample libraries in GIG, DLS, and Akai formats
    • JSampler a Java-based front-end for the Linuxsampler engine
    • Rui Nuno Capela's Qt-based GUI for LinuxSampler
  • LOS - Loop Offsetting Sequencer "a music sequencer specialized in offsetting sample positions within sound files"
  • Mathi's Music Magic real-time software synthesizer and audio processor; also available here (RPM only)
  • MFFM VectorBass a new software synthesizer from Matt Flax
  • Mono nice monophonic real-time synthesizer from Jarno Seppanen
  • MSS is Mats Olsson's very nice Modular Software Synth
  • Mx4 a new realtme software synthesizer from Jens M. Andreasen
  • Octavian software synthesizer pre-beta release now on-line
  • Om Dave Robillard's "... modular synthesizer that runs under JACK and uses LADSPA and/or DSSI plugins for processing"
  • PSIndustrializer neat physical modeling synth with OpenGL graphics
  • RTSynth an excellent realtime synthesizer for X
  • Slat "Sounds like a theremin", neat synth software from James Shuttlesworth
  • Specimen a MIDI-controllable audio sampler from Peter Bessman
  • SpiralSynth
    • Spiral Synth very cool realtime software synthesizer
    • Spiral Synth Modular modular software synth, roll your own synthesizer with its plugins
    • SpiralLoops a loop-based sampler with plugin support
  • Syncotron Bathysphere Sound Suite interesting sampler/sequencer
  • Ultramaster Juno-6 software emulation of the classic Roland analog synth
  • Xsynth MIDI-controlled analog-style realtime synthesizer from Steve Brookes
  • Zerius Synth software synthesizer with Java GUI
  • ZynAddSubFX an impressive new softsynth from Paul Nasca in Romania
  • amSynthe very cool analog synth modelling from Nick Dowell
  • aRts "simulates a complete modular analog synthesizer" but is also the well-known sound server for KDE
  • bristol synthesizer emulator new software from Nick Copeland, author of SLab
  • fastbreeder Dave Griffiths' neat "genetic progamming synth"
  • gsynth "...an extensible, modular synthesizer...the interface and current codebase present a simple Roland TB-303 emulator...programmed using fasttracker-style note entry"
  • horgand FM-synthesis organ, JACK-aware, with DSP effects and programmable accompaniment
  • jackMiniSynth a minimal subtractive synth (with Moog filter) for JACK
  • jackOrgan an ALSA sequencer/JACK client for David Bartold's LADSPA plugin
  • simsam Christian Henz's new "simple sampleplayer"
  • sloop.splitter "a realtime sound effect program...generates synthetic sounds from natural ones"
  • vOICe Sonification Applet Peter Meijer's very cool synthesizer, requires a Java-capable browser
  • wcnt the "WAV Composer Not Toilet" is a non-realtime modular synthesis program

• Sonic Environment Generators
  • Ambient Automat automatic ambience, synthesis, and more from Double Muffled Dolphin
  • Boodler Andrew Plotkin's "programmable soundscape tool"
  • Radio Hard Disk unique application from the MidiShare team
  • SoundGrid an interesting Java-based music application somewhat similar to Music Mouse
  • Soundweave cool looping mechanism to produce endlessly changing sound textures
  • jlooch drones courtesy Brad Garton and Java, requires Phil Burk's JSyn
  • phazor creates ambient textures by a very interesting use of the FFT
  • whitenoise utility to turn your computer into a random noise generator

• Waveform Generators
  • COW Cow Outputs Waves, "C++ classes handling graphs for amplitude and frequency and generating wavfiles out of these graphs"
  • TrikTraks/Wigout "two programs for composing waveforms", from Arun Chandra
  • makesound converts PNG graphics to WAV soundfiles
  • oa GUI for synthesizing and experimenting with waveforms, from Cedric Roux
  • soundmosaic "...constructs an approximation of one sound out of small pieces of other sounds", cool software from Steven Hazel

• Manuals And Other Documentation
  • CLMS Manuals useful on-line material for various SWSS languages, MIDI software and hardware, and synthesis methods
  • Digital Soundshapes: Einfuehrung in die Theorie und Praxis der Klangsynthese an excellent online introduction to the theory and practice of digital sound synthesis (mostly in German but with some sections in English)
  • The PLUM Page Tim Thompson's on-line list of programming languages used for music
  • Sound, Synthesis, and Audio Reproduction "an introduction to modern sound systems, human hearing, sound synthesis and processing and related topics" from Sampo Syreeni