Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need programming experience to use bellplay~?
Yes—some familiarity with programming concepts is recommended. bellplay~ is controlled entirely through code written in the bell language. While the syntax is streamlined, users are expected to understand basic ideas such as variables, function calls, and loops. The environment does not use visual patching or graphical interfaces, which allows for highly dynamic and flexible algorithms.
For users new to programming or the bell language, the bell tutorials provide a structured introduction, with examples geared toward musicians and sound artists.
Can I use bellplay~ for real-time audio?
No. bellplay~ is designed exclusively for offline workflows. This means all audio rendering is deferred: you run a script, and it produces audio output once it completes. This enables features like multi-pass rendering, non-causal operations, and batch processing—techniques that are not feasible in real-time environments.
For real-time needs, consider alternatives like Max, SuperCollider, or TidalCycles.
What's the best way to write and edit bell scripts?
Since bellplay~ is script-based, using a capable text editor is essential. Writing .bell files in a basic editor can be error-prone and difficult to navigate—especially as scripts grow in complexity.
To improve the experience, it's recommended to use Visual Studio Code along with the bellplay-plugin extension. This provides syntax highlighting, autocompletion, and formatting tools that make editing more efficient and less error-prone.
What is the difference between bell and bellplay~?
bell is a programming language designed by Andrea Agostini and Jean Louis Giavitto, primarily for computer-assisted composition (CAC). It is a text-based language that runs inside the Max environment (via the bach package), and supports algorithmic and symbolic music processing. It is highly expressive for defining music-oriented logic and data structures.
bellplay~, on the other hand, is a software environment and framework built around the bell language, extending it to handle audio synthesis, processing, analysis in a symbolic (i.e., notation-based) paradigm. While it uses bell as the scripting language, bellplay~ provides an integrated interface for algorithmic audio. It is tailored to facilitate the generation of audio and symbolic content within the same environment.
In short, bell is a programming language, and bellplay~ the environment and framework built around bell for algorithmic audio.
Does bellplay~ support multi-channel audio?
Yes. Multichannel audio is supported natively, from stereo, to multichannel 1-dimensional panning, to higher-order ambisonics (see hoaencode and hoadecode functions). Buffers carry metadata such as channel count and can be processed accordingly.
Can I import and analyze my own audio files?
Yes. Audio files can be imported using importaudio, and processed and analyzed using the process and analyze functions. Audio descriptors such as loudness, MFCCs, spectral centroid, and pitch are available. You can use these features for inspection, querying, or synthesis tasks.
Do I need to know Max to use bellplay~?
No. While bellplay~ is built on Max, you don’t need to use patching or understand Max internals. The entire user interaction is script-based, via the bell language. A standalone app is available for macOS. On Windows, Max is required, but only as a runtime environment.
Is there a limit on how many buffers or layers I can use?
No. There’s no hard limit. Since audio is rendered offline, you're only constrained by your system’s memory and disk space. This makes it straightforward to work with dense polyphonic textures, granular processes, or large corpora.
Is bellplay~ free to use?
Yes. It’s distributed under the GPL-3.0 license, and the standalone app does not require a Max license.