[david-given]

ABC isn't a programming language, it's just notation. Alda's actually a programming language (I think it's implemented as a macro set on top of Clojure?); you can write arbitrary code in it to generate music programmatically.

Back in the 80s there was a synthesiser addon for the BBC Micro called the Music 5000 that had a similar programming language, this one Forth based; it was called AMPLE:

http://www.colinfraser.com/m5000/m5000.htm

Looks like none of the demo tracks have made it to Youtube, but there are some on that site. Classic old-school warm OPL sound.

[baldfat]

> (I think it's implemented as a macro set on top of Clojure?)

When I see this I feel the need to ask: Shouldn't this have been built on Racket? Lisp family languages are great for these things but Racket was made specifically for building languages.

[TheOtherHobbes]

Common Music is a much more mature and comprehensive project and uses Scheme - close to Racket - and/or its own DSL. There's also the option to do synthesis.

http://commonmusic.sourceforge.net/

There's also Overtone for Clojure fans, which also does synthesis:

http://overtone.github.io/

And Impromptu, PD, Csound, Supercollider... and Max if you want something commercial.

And projects with much higher levels of abstraction like Rubato Composer.

(And many others, in fact.)

I guess there's no reason not to make something like Alda as a simple student exercise. But compared to the alternatives, it isn't any more powerful than that.

[SpaceCadetJones]

I don't know much about the project, but it may have been done in Clojure as the author works a lot with it/writes about it. I haven't come across anything about Racket from him.

[baldfat]

No he wrote it on Clojure and my point is Racket (Close cousin) would have been a better choice since Racket is made for making languages like these.