Using CSound with Strudel
🧪 Strudel has experimental support for csound, using @csound/browser.
Importing .orc files
To use existing csound instruments, you can load and use an orc file from an URL like this:
// livecode.orc by Steven Yi
await loadOrc('github:kunstmusik/csound-live-code/master/livecode.orc')
note("c a f e").csound('FM1')
Note that the above url uses the github: shortcut, which resolves to the raw file on github, but you can use any URL you like.
The awesome livecode.orc by Steven Yi comes packed with many sounds ready for use:
Writing your own instruments
You can define your own instrument(s) with loadCsound like this:
Parameters
The .csound function sends the following p values:
| p1 | instrument name e.g. CoolSynth |
| p2 | time offset, when it should play |
| p3 | the duration of the event / hap |
| p4 | frequency in Hertz |
| p5 | normalized gain, 0-1 |
There is an alternative .csoundm function with a different flavor:
| p4 | midi key number, unrounded, 0-127 |
| p5 | midi velocity, 0-127 |
In both cases, p4 is derived from the value of freq or note.
Limitations / Future Plans
Apart from the above listed p values, no other parameter can be patterned so far. This also means that audio effects will not work. In the future, the integration could be improved by passing all patterned control parameters to the csound instrument. This could work by a unique channel for each value. Channels could be read like this. Also, it might make sense to have a standard library of csound instruments for strudel’s effects.
Now, let’s dive into the Functional JavaScript API