Evaluator

Evaluator offers a fun and easy way to learn how to generate music using C-like programming commands and the embedded code editor, with compilable capabilities.

The tool is an open-source project that was mainly written in C-like programming languages (such as C++, C, or Objective-C++). Although it might sound a bit challenging to get started with, the app is simple to use and has a friendly interface. Moreover, the developer did an excellent job at writing a rich user manual that explains all the points of interest and the options you could find in Evaluator's GUI.

The program has a simple input window and manages to output sound, with user-defined and configured frequencies. Probably the most interesting thing about Evaluator is the fact that it enables sound creation and learning how to code and set up — at a lower-level — different instruments, controllers, and other music-related parameters.

If you learn the ropes, study the program's manual, test it, and learn how to use it at its full capacity, Evaluator could be, for a self-driven/self-taught individual, the perfect way to learn how to code sound creation/editing software.

With this app, you can write and input, in C-like syntax, commands for different kinds of things. The purpose is to control the output and to generate real-time sounds, in different modes (Continuous or MIDI). Also, you can write different expressions, control the existing parameters, adjust the number of bits and the BPM, and of course, configure the audio/MIDI device settings (like drive type, input/output device, plus the IO/Signal vector size, sampling rate, etc.).

In Evaluator, you can use the Watch function to monitor values from program memory (e.g. user-defined variables, user-memory addresses, V knobs, or MIDI CC values).

Also, regarding the output, you have a comprehensive visual representation of what you have written in the code editor (and compiler). Inside the tool's Scope, you can see the sound waves displayed like an oscilloscope. You have controllers for adjusting the length of the playback time (in seconds).