Getting started in Audio & Music Technology with FOSS

Audio & Music Technology is a growing domain that supports a wide variety of applications including creative tools for artists, voice generation for dialogues, sound design & music for films, game audio, health care, TV, live experiences, accessibility & all forms of storytelling. With such a vast scope, comes the potential to make a meaningful impact.

In this talk I will provide an overview of how to get started in this domain using FOSS, the tools & developer frameworks available to explore & contribute to, and steps to be a part of a collaborative community. The session structure of this beginner-friendly talk is as follows:

• Why is the pro audio industry moving towards open source and how has this led to some of the best solutions in the past 5 years – includes examples of key projects defining the new age

• Current state of music tech in India and the potential to grow

• Open source frameworks to build cross-platform audio applications, with live examples of the code in action for a few of them

• Ways that the FOSS community can contribute to build an inclusive system of products

• Role of diversity in music tech – music information retrieval (MIR), accessibility, hardware tools, education, kid-friendly toys

• Challenges open to students to take on and freely available initiatives to guide them in that direction

As a side goal, this talk aims to inculcate audio related discussions in the FOSS community which is at the core of how the industry can build relevant technologies.

• What are the elements of music & audio technology?

• How can someone new to this domain learn and contribute to FOSS projects in audio?

• Technical resources to get started

• How can diversity & inclusion play a central role in this industry?

• Scope of growth for students & challenges to solve