Composers Desktop Project
Encyclopedia
The Composers' Desktop Projecthttp://www.composersdesktop.com/ (CDP) is an international cooperative network based in the United Kingdom
that has been developing software for working with sound materials since 1986. Working on a cooperative basis and motivated by user-specific compositional needs, the project has focused on the development of precise, detailed and multifaceted DSP
-based sound transformation tools. Currently, CDP provides sound transformation software (named after the project itself) for Windows and Mac OS X that has been evolving for over 20 years.
Originally, after a study to determine if it was possible and/or feasible to port CMusic
from UNIX
mainframe systems, the project released the CDP software along with corresponding SoundSTreamer hardware for the Atari ST
and later ported the software to DOS
. The software tool-set is designed specifically to transform sound samples
mostly via offline processing (non-real time
); the software is considered complementary to real-time processing and audio sequencers.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that has been developing software for working with sound materials since 1986. Working on a cooperative basis and motivated by user-specific compositional needs, the project has focused on the development of precise, detailed and multifaceted DSP
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
-based sound transformation tools. Currently, CDP provides sound transformation software (named after the project itself) for Windows and Mac OS X that has been evolving for over 20 years.
Originally, after a study to determine if it was possible and/or feasible to port CMusic
CMusic
cmusic is an audio compilation language which was created by F. Richard Moore. A full explanation of CMusic can be found in the book Elements of Computer Music, by F. Richard Moore , ISBN 0-13-252552-6....
from UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
mainframe systems, the project released the CDP software along with corresponding SoundSTreamer hardware for the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and later ported the software to DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
. The software tool-set is designed specifically to transform sound samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
mostly via offline processing (non-real time
Real-time computing
In computer science, real-time computing , or reactive computing, is the study of hardware and software systems that are subject to a "real-time constraint"— e.g. operational deadlines from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within strict time constraints...
); the software is considered complementary to real-time processing and audio sequencers.
Further reading
- A. Endrich (1996), Composers' Desktop Project: a musical imperative, Organised Sound, Volume 2, Issue 01, Apr 1997, pp 29-33.
- R.W Dobson (1993), The Operation of the Phase Vocoder – a non-mathematical introduction to the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), a CDP publication, Somerset.
- Wishart T. (1994), Audible Design: A Plain and Easy Introduction to Sound Composition. Orpheus the Pantomime Ltd. (ISBN 978-0951031315).