Dr. Arthur B. Hunkins
316 Trail One
Burlington, NC 27215
336 227-0917
Email: abhunkin@uncg.edu
HTML5 GUIs for Android Csound: A Tutorial in 14 Examples
(2016; revised 2020) - a tutorial about incorporating HTML5, JavaScript and CSS into Android Csound6 to
create integral custom GUIs
.zip - the 14 examples and this
article/tutorial.
Alternative Android Csound Apps
The alternative Android apps below offer expanded user interfaces to the Android
apps formerly posted on Sourceforge, and now found here.
Otherwise identical to the standard apps, these are primarily intended for 7"
Android tablets and larger. Csound5a and Csound6a
interfaces include a fixed arrangement of 9 sliders, 12 buttons and no trackpad.
Smartphones will run both apps, but only directly display the 9 sliders (with few or no
buttons, and no console output). Csound6b includes up to 16 sliders and
buttons, but no trackpad or Csound console output. It displays all controls at all times,
even on smartphones. Csound6c is identical to 6a, except that it includes
a one-line Csound console output. Except for Csound6a, these apps and the original Android Csound apps can all
coexist on the same device.
These adaptations were done by Dave Hunkins (zatchu.com; dmhunkins@gmail.com ). Csound5a is built on the Csound 5.19 distribution (the final one). The Csound6x apps are built on Csound 6.01.
Alternative Csound Players and Composing Environments for Android (2015) - an article about the enhanced apps and user interfaces described below, in the context of the overall development of Android Csound.
Csound5a.apk -
enhanced performance interface for Csound5
Except for user interface, identical to CsoundApp-5.19.apk (aka CSD
Player) which is downloadable from here. Strictly a .csd
player, it incorporates the final version of Csound5; size is 2.8MB. Its entire screen is
vertically scrollable (but with difficulty). While the entire UI is active and accessible
on smartphones, only its 9 sliders or so are readily useable. Like CSDPlayer, it includes
very limited Console output.
Csound6a.apk - enhanced
performance interface for Csound6 and complete development system
Except for user interface, similar to Csound6.apk which is downloadable here.
A full-fledged Csound composing environment, it incorporates Csound6.01; size is 9.9MB.
Its screen does not scroll, which makes it useless on smartphones for most things (except
performing .csd's that require 9 sliders or less with few to no buttons). On 7" or
larger tablets, as it features a greater number of sliders and buttons, Csound6a is an
expanded, all-around system for working with real-time Csound. Unlike Csound5a.apk, it
includes a 4+MB GM soundfont bank, 1+MB of HRTF files, and librairies for fluidsynth, Lua,
and signalflow graph opcodes - as well as user help resources. Significantly, like
Csound6, it also includes robust Csound console output.
Csound6b.apk -
enhanced performance interface for Csound6 and development system
Except for user interface, near-identical to Csound6a.apk above. A
complete composing environment except no Csound console output. (This can be a
significant limitation.) Its screen does not scroll, but can display a full array
of 16 sliders and buttons even on smartphones. The number of sliders/buttons (or
buttons alone) is selected by the user in the Settings menu option (bottom of screen); the
choices are 1-16. Original display is 9 buttons/sliders, but the app remembers the
previous selection.
Csound6c.apk -
enhanced performance interface for Csound6 and development system
Identical to Csound6b.apk above, except that it includes a single-line
Csound console output. This output comprises, at all times, the last line of
the complete Csound console, and is useful for realtime display of slider settings and
button selections. The entire set of 16 sliders, buttons, and single Console line can be
displayed even on smartphones. (On smartphones, Console text size is preferably no larger
than "Normal.")
I have adapted four of my compositions specifically for these alternative apps. Performance materials and instructions for two of them, SPIRITUS SANCTUS alt and SPIRITUS SANCTUS 2alt, are found here. (Demo recordings of the basic versions of these pieces are available further down the same page.) The former work uses the full enhanced complement of controls for Csound5a and 6a (9 sliders, 12 buttons), while the latter employs 8 sliders. Each can be performed by any of the above apps.
The other two, PEACE BE WITH YOU alt and PEACE BE WITH YOU 2alt, are also found here, and require at least minimal Console output. Such output is available, along with the required minimum of 9 sliders and buttons, only with Csound6a and Csound6c. (Both pieces require only a single line of output.) Whereas a limited rendition (9 sliders only) of Peace alt is possible with Csound6a, Peace 2alt must use Csound6c (with its minimum of 12 [and up to 16] sliders).
In sum, these alternative Android apps for Csound allow for a greater number (9-16) of sliders and/or buttons, and in some cases, at least minimal Console output. Several of the apps also allow the user to specify a specific number of buttons/sliders. These expanded options should prove useful to composers porting their realtime (MIDI) works to the Android OS, while avoiding the need to create their own custom performance interfaces..
Android Devices as Alternative MIDI Controllers for Csound
Android Devices as MIDI Controllers (2014) - article detailing how to use the TouchOSC app (iOS or Android) as a GUI to perform realtime Csound compositions (on Macs or PCs), with a recent smartphone or tablet. References the zip archive below: a collection of TouchOSC layouts for Csound plus a test .csd.
TouchOSC for Csound (2014) - zip archive of TouchOSC layouts for MIDI control of realtime Csound. Intended for a variety of recent Android (and iOS) smartphones and tablets. Includes an explantory README.txt and test .csd. Composers can use these sample GUIs to create/modify their own. The mobile device acts as wireless MIDI controller, and no changes need be made to the composer's .csd.