Applying Aspect Oriented Programming to Music Computing

Computer programs for the composition, performance and analysis of music generally involve the tangled interaction of many dimensions of musical and extramusical concern. In this paper we introduce the concepts of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) to Music Computing and argue that AOP and related techniques and technologies form an appropriate solution to the separation and composition of such concerns. We motivate our argument with simple examples from the musical domain, but argue that the underlying principles may be applied to a wide and expressive range of musical applications.