[abhirag]

I think macros can help when the syntax seems messy, that is where lisp shines the most. Have a look at extempore lang (https://extemporelang.github.io/) you might like it. Macros written by others can feel like magic, but a DSL you create might still feel the most intuitive. I get your point about hidden syntax though.

The only other language I am still curious about trying for livecoding is forth, for example Sporth(https://paulbatchelor.github.io/proj/sporth.html)

[Rochus]

I'm aware of Extempore and its predecessor, but I think they pretty much have the same problem, with no elegant solution (at least I didn't see one when studying the docs and thesis). Maybe the trick is indeed - as you say - to implement a "sublanguage" with macros to cover the more complex music representation. Forth is an interesting language, but I think it has even more issues to represent musical information.