I need some outside assistance concerning education for C++ for audio programming

Hello all, Hello World:

I'm a brand-new nobody to videogames (and C++), and a rising somebody to composing music. Now, my goal here is to combine the two into a terrible, terrible force that may ultimately destroy all of humanity in a Matrix-like web of entertainment and sloth.

I would like to learn how to program audio in C++ in order to supplement by composing knowledge and make my skills more attractive to employers. I'm not interested in coding C++ for any other reason than as a tool for my musical endeavors-- I've examined several colleges for their coursework and related degrees, but they are all intent on making me learn many more things than I care to know about and effectively wasting the time that I could spend writing and developing music.

You here all have knowledge that I don't, so I come to you with my situation and ask for your opinion: Can I learn enough C++ to bolster my resume and effectively assist the game developers in audio through self-study alone? Is this language too complex for someone to use professionally in this capacity? Is there any notable difference between programming music for a game in C++ and programming, for instance, a graphic interface, or any other piece of software? Should I just give up, head into the forest, and live in a tree for the rest of my life without ever speaking to anyone ever again?

I thank you for taking the time to answer, those of you who elect to do so, because I can't move forward until I gain more information about just which direction to set my first step in.

You don't really "program music for a game". You compose music and then export into whatever file the game decides to use. For example, lots of games just use .ogg or .mp3 now.


Quzah.

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Originally Posted by Inda Celesta

Now, my goal here is to combine the two into a terrible, terrible force that may ultimately destroy all of humanity in a Matrix-like web of entertainment and sloth.

I would like to learn how to program audio in C++ in order to supplement by composing knowledge and make my skills more attractive to employers.

Should I just give up, head into the forest, and live in a tree for the rest of my life without ever speaking to anyone ever again?

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You seem to be off on a number of tracks. Being able to program in C++ is not going to make you more attractive to an employer as musician/composer. An employer is going to be looking for a musician/composer OR a programmer. The vast majority of jobs regarding programming are for specialists in the particular area being hired for whether it's writing a database or the graphics for the new greatest thing out there.

As quzah says, composers compose the music, it doesn't get coded as such. The music or effects are then called by the program when required.

Obviously there is no harm in learning something new, and C++ is as good as anything if that's what you're into. From your idea for world domination, you could use C++ to evolve your music in some sort of interactive way, but that is not something that you would be able to do overnight.

As for giving up, certainly not - but living in a tree and not speaking to anyone certainly has an attraction :)

I prefer a cave to a tree.


Quzah.

Programming is a skill, not a profession. If you base your entire career around 1 skill you wont go very far.

Going far is over rated.


Quzah.

>they are all intent on making me learn many more things than I care to know about and effectively wasting the time that I could spend writing and developing music.


You can't learn to just be an audio programmer without learning the fundamentals of programming. You need to understand data structures, algorithms, and all of the fundamentals. There's no way to just take a vertical slice of programming like you've described.

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Originally Posted by Perspective

You can't learn to just be an audio programmer without learning the fundamentals of programming. You need to understand data structures, algorithms, and all of the fundamentals. There's no way to just take a vertical slice of programming like you've described.

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I disagree. I think it's possible for someone to learn an audio-specific language even if that's the only programming language they know. For instance, Csound.

Well, I was referring to C++ for the OP. Certainly you can create HTML without understanding how the browser renders it. CSound looks like a similar paradigm.