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Show HN: ÆTHRA – Write music as code (notes, chords, emotion-driven music)

3 points

by CzaxTanmay

6 hours ago

story

Hi HN

I built ÆTHRA, a programming language for writing music as code.

I made AETHRA some weeks ago but it was in version 0.8. Now I updated it to version 1.0 with better examples, commands and cross platform support.

Instead of timelines, DAWs, or heavy music theory, ÆTHRA lets you describe music using simple commands like notes, chords, tempo, instruments, vibrato, and emotion-driven structure.

Example:

@Tempo(128) @Volume(0.9) @Instrument("Saw") @ADSR(0.01, 0.05, 0.7, 0.1)

@Loop(4){ @Chord(C4 E4 G4, 1) @Chord(F4 A4 C5, 1) @Chord(G4 B4 D5, 1) @Drum("Kick", 0.5) @Drum("HiHat", 0.25) }

The goal is not to replace humans, but to make music programmable, readable, and expressive — especially for developers.

Why ÆTHRA? • Text-based music creation • Cross-platform (Windows / Linux / macOS) • Deterministic output (same code → same music) • Designed for emotion-driven composition (sad, happy, rock, ambient) • Beginner-friendly syntax

It’s inspired by ideas from live coding and music DSLs, but focused on simplicity and clarity rather than performance art.

GitHub: https://github.com/TanmayCzax/AETHRA

I’d love feedback on: • Language design • Ideas for v2

Thanks for checking it out

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