Audio Development as a Creative Outlet
A High School Student’s Perspective
Getting started in audio development is hard. As a high school student who had never touched C++, the prospect of picking up an entirely new language and framework (JUCE) could’ve easily been enough to make me tap out. But, in audio development I saw an opportunity to perfect to pass up: an endlessly fulfilling creative outlet that combines an artistic drive for music with a love of math and coding.
From developing a fractal audio visualizer to building an OpenGL-based 3D mixing visualizer for orchestra teachers statewide, this talk frames audio development as a uniquely interdisciplinary creative outlet. Through my story, I’ll show how developers, especially those who are young or just starting out, can transform seemingly unrelated interests into exciting projects. Along the way, I’ll point out lessons I’ve learned, both technical and personal, to help beginners stay motivated while avoiding burnout.
Nathaniel D'Annunzio
Hello! My name is Nate D’Annunzio, and I’m a graduating senior headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill next year as a freshman. Over the past year, I’ve begun to learn the basics of digital signal processing and the JUCE framework, with a focus on creating unique audio visualizations.
My first project was a visualizer that created unique mathematical shapes (think fractals, kinda) by splitting an audio input into three bands and editing variables accordingly. It goes by “Quadratic Visualizer Plugin” on GitHub and is sitting at 10 star. My second project involved recreating the classic 3D “Art of Mixing” visuals in real time using a custom-built renderer in OpenGL. I plan to experiment with internal TCP communication to build a responsive 3D visual mixer.