Build your own world of sound.
Create synthesizers, audio effects, interactive installations, and generative music with Csound — the free, open-source audio programming language with over 1,500 unit generators running on desktop, web, mobile, and embedded hardware.
Pling — Self-scheduling modal resonator percussion in 8 lines of code.
instr Pling
// Modal filter excited by an impulse with random pitch & damping
aMode = mode(mpulse(ampdb(random:i(-22, 0)), p3),
mtof:i(random:i(80, 100)), 10^(p3 - 1))
aL, aR pan2 aMode, random:i(0, 1)
out(aL, aR)
// Recursively schedule the next event
schedule(Pling, rnd:i(1), random:i(1, 4))
endin
schedule(Pling, 0, 3)instr start_sequences
krate = scale(rspline:k(0, 1, 0.1, 2)^2, 10, 0.3)
kcps = cpsoct(rspline:k(4.3, 9.5, 0.1, 1))
kpan = rspline:k(0.1, 4, 0.1, 1)
kwg1 = rspline:k(6, 9, 0.05, 1)
kwg2 = rspline:k(6, 9, 0.05, 1)
schedkwhen(metro(krate), 0, 0, wguide2_note, 0, 4, kcps, kwg1, kwg2, kpan)
endin
schedule(start_sequences, 0, -1)instr Tone
iamp, ifreq = p4, p5
ihrd = random:i(0.1, 0.9)
ipos = random:i(0, 1)
ares = vibes(iamp, ifreq, ihrd, ipos, 1, 6, 0.05, 2, 0.1)
adryl, adryr pan2 linen:a(ares, 0, p3, p3/2), random:i(0, 1)
out(adryl, adryr)
garev1 += 0.3 * adryl
garev2 += 0.3 * adryr
endinOne audio engine. Every sonic paradigm.
From classic additive and FM synthesis to spectral phase vocoders, granular clouds, and physical models—Csound gives you sample-accurate control and unmatched longevity.
Deep Sound Design
Combine over 1,500 built-in opcodes for subtractive, FM, granular, spectral (PVS), waveguide, and modal synthesis—or write custom DSP with User-Defined Opcodes.
Plugins & Standalone Apps
Design custom graphical interfaces with Cabbage to export VST3/AU plugins for any DAW, build interactive instruments in CsoundQt, or score in Blue.
Host APIs & Live Coding
Drive Csound from Python (Jupyter notebooks, ctcsound, csoundengine), C/C++, JavaScript/WASM, Max/MSP, or PureData.
Run Anywhere
Deploy the exact same .csd orchestra on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Unity, Godot, WebAssembly, Raspberry Pi, Bela, ESP32, and ARM Cortex-M7.
Expressive modern syntax meets 40 years of stability.
Csound 7.0 introduces explicit colon type annotations (sig:a, cutoff:k), user-defined struct types, function-style UDO definitions, and a modernized host API—while running classic Csound pieces from the 1980s without modification.
- Explicit Types & Structs: Descriptive variable names and custom data structures.
- Functional & Classic Styles: Write
outall(moogladder:a(vco2:a(0.2, 440), 2000, 0.4))or classic orchestra lines. - Zero-Install Browser Workflow: Learn interactively in the Csound Web IDE and FLOSS Manual.
instr SubSynth
// Explicit variable typing in Csound 7
amp:i = p4
freq:i = p5
env:k = madsr:k(0.05, 0.3, 0.6, 0.4)
osc1:a = vco2:a(amp, freq)
osc2:a = vco2:a(amp, freq * 0.995)
filtered:a = moogladder:a((osc1 + osc2) * 0.5, 4500 * env, 0.35)
outall(filtered * env)
endin
schedule(SubSynth, 0, 2.5, 0.25, 220)
schedule(SubSynth, 0, 2.5, 0.25, 330)Latest News & Releases
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