Composing with sounds: designing an object-oriented DAW for the teaching of sound-based composition

This paper presents and discusses the Compose With Sounds (CwS) Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and its approach to sequencing musical materials. The system is designed to facilitate the composition within the realm of Sound-based music wherein sound objects (real or synthesised) are main musical unit of construction over traditional musical notes. Unlike traditional DAW’s or graphical audio programming environments (such as Pure Data, Max MSP etc.) that are based around interactions with sonic materials within tracks or audio graphs, the implementation presented here is based solely around sound objects. To achieve this a bespoke cross-platform audio engine known FSOM (Free Sound Object Mixer) was created in C++. To enhance the learning experience, imagery, dynamic 3D animations and models are used to allow for efficient exploration and learning. All tools within the system are con- trolled by a flexible permissions system that allows users or workshop leaders to create sessions with specific features based on their requirements. The system is part of a suite of pedagogical tools currently in development for the creation of experimental electronic music.