Handel
Creative
music composition language
SHOW HN2021
187points
58comments
#250of 2,533 in 2021
Top 10%of 2021 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
7 positive, 17 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 1 critical, out of 28 comments about the project. Thread score +0.15.
Idea: 2 for, 0 againstDesign: 2 for, 0 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Readable, natural syntax
From 3 comments
I think in 2 ways: 1. Readability: Ex. start play E3, Ab3 for 1b rest 5b play E3, Ab3 for 1b finish It is somewhat intuitive to read the above without experience with the…
ddj231 on HNSyntax is very human readable, yet still expressive. In terms of extending, is there an easy interface for generating custom waveforms? Or alternatively, if I generate sine…
ArtWomb on HNFunctional and very simple to use, and looks clean to the eye. Great job!
kliments on HN
Browser-based with live web player
From 2 comments
Definitely cool! I do like simple text-based music tools, and the fact that it has a live web player is excellent. A couple of things I noted: - I couldn't work out how to run…
undecisive on HNFunctional and very simple to use, and looks clean to the eye. Great job!
kliments on HN
Objections
Playback drifts out of sync between tracks
From 1 comment
I'm having a hard time getting instruments to synchronize in the examples—over time all the sequences drift. Is this expected / known?
arcsincosin on HN
Lacks arithmetic and variable mutation
From 2 comments
This looks wonderful. I may be missing it from the description, but when I think "procedural" I think that I should be able to change the variables with math, or at the very…
SamBam on HNThanks! So by procedural what is meant is that the there are chunks (which are Handel's procedures/functions). Currently your code snippet can't be replicated in Handel. Looping…
ddj231 on HN
Cannot run chunks in sequence
From 2 comments
Definitely cool! I do like simple text-based music tools, and the fact that it has a live web player is excellent. A couple of things I noted: - I couldn't work out how to run…
undecisive on HNThanks for the feedback! Running two chunks in sequence is currently not supported, but I've been considering a separate block (or a customization of a run of a chunk) that could…
ddj231 on HN
Midi export and Firefox support unclear
From 2 comments
Nice. Have you found any good workarounds for getting midi to work in Firefox or is this Chrome only?
jacquesm on HNWell, you're both slightly off. No, midi does not work in Firefox, last time I checked, Mozilla still doesn't like the security of the current API hence it hasn't been…
capableweb on HN
Requests
Add composition examples in the editor
From 1 comment
I suggest you add a drop down with some composition examples in the editor so it kind of demos out what it is capable of. The language feels quite natural to transfer an existing…
tartoran on HN
Support key or mode transposition
From 1 comment
Being able to set a key or mode would be nice. Play verse but 3 semitones up. Play melody A but in phrygian. Would be nice to experiment with different moods
andreskytt on HN
Export to MIDI or sheet music formats
From 2 comments
Looks interesting. I had spent a while playing around with LilyPond (http://lilypond.org/), and I think something like Handel would solve issues with some of the more repetitive…
jkingsbery on HNHi! Compiling to midi is also a great feature. I think having both the immediate feedback of hearing your compositions, and the ability to export to midi would be useful
ddj231 on HN
Interface with Max, Pure Data or SuperCollider
From 1 comment
Would be great if this could interface with Max, pure data, supercollider or some synthesis language.
yatakaka on HN
Looping on play command
From 2 comments
Definitely cool! I do like simple text-based music tools, and the fact that it has a live web player is excellent. A couple of things I noted: - I couldn't work out how to run…
undecisive on HNI added the loop customization to play commands in Handel v0.1.12. So for repeating commands you can use this syntax: play somenotelist for 1b loop for 5 Here is your code using…
ddj231 on HN
Questions
How does it differ from ABC notation or Lilypond
From 2 comments
How is this different (or better than) from ABC notation?
johnx123-up on HNHow des this compare to Lilypond (aside for being browser based)?
sam_goody on HN
Can custom waveforms be added
From 1 comment
Syntax is very human readable, yet still expressive. In terms of extending, is there an easy interface for generating custom waveforms? Or alternatively, if I generate sine…
ArtWomb on HN
Can sub-beat note durations be set
From 1 comment
Am very interested! By looking at it on a glance, I'm wanting to write a mscx (Musescore) importer. I have a question though, that may have skipped my eyes: is there a way of…
stelonix on HN
Alternatives named
Sonic Pi
From 1 comment
reminds me of sonicpi
gegtik on HN
LilyPond
From 2 comments
How des this compare to Lilypond (aside for being browser based)?
sam_goody on HNLooks interesting. I had spent a while playing around with LilyPond (http://lilypond.org/), and I think something like Handel would solve issues with some of the more repetitive…
jkingsbery on HN
ABC notation
From 1 comment
How is this different (or better than) from ABC notation?
johnx123-up on HN
Renoise tracker
From 1 comment
This reminds me of the very fun and oldschool tracker paradigm for music production. Incidentally, this is experiencing a bit of a renaissance due to the wonderful Polyend…
fab1an on HN