Published November 18, 2025 | Version v1
Presentation Open

Bitrhythm - Music IDE to make modern electronic music

Authors/Creators

Description

Bitrhythm is a tiny Javascript IDE that can work with web using webaudio or DAWs using JUCE.

Existing DAWs provide seqeuencer UIs and staff notation which are far too complex and piano-centric to help with a broad range of music styles. The sequencer notation used in Bitrhythm is inspired by tracker notation but with added changes like allowing unicode and alternate notation for hexadecimals. A programming langage is also sufficient in-itself as a sequencer notation, while providing other benefits like allowing the musician to develop custom notation and workflows. While there is a slight learning curve - things like state, contraints, conditionals, loops and timers can greatly aid in sequencing music. Moreover simple containers like arrays can be used to model knobs for doing parameter automation in electronic music.

While Tone.js is useful for sound design, using JUCE to embed a webview can help in other aspects of music like mastering, sampling, sound design and recording. The approaches taken here are useful to create a new style of music making called Hard Coding, similiar to executable music of the demoscene community, which can make music making open source and github the new soundcloud.

Files

bitrhytm-music-IDE-to-make-modern-electronic-music-practitioner-talk.pdf