Introduction to SuperCollider

Originally developed by James McCartney and now an open source project, SuperCollider is a software package for the synthesis and control of audio in real time. Currently, it represents the state of the art in the field of audio programming: there is not another available software that is so powerful, efficient, flexible. Yet, there is undoubtedly a reason why SC is often regarded with suspicion or awe by the novice: SC is not exactly “intuitive”. First, the interface offered to the the user is a textual one. Properly, SuperCollider must be written: enough to scare the musician that normally is used to see more than to read. Secondly, as all advanced software dedicated to audio, SuperCollider requires many different skills: related to the synthesis of the audio signal and the musical composition (in the broadest, open and experimental meaning of the term), but also related more closely to computer science, such as the theory of programming languages or the concept of client/server architecture. However, these aspects that may appear to the beginner as obstacles are really the strength of SC: they allows versatility for advanced software applications, generality in terms of relations with other aspects of computer modelling, expressivity in terms of symbolic representations. This manual aims to provide a brief overview and introduction to SuperCollider and to introduce some key aspects of that area which is usually indicated, with a definition at times inaccurate and improper, computer music.