This rigorous book is a complete and up-to-date reference for the Csound system from the perspective of its main developers and power users. It explains the system, including the basic modes of operation and its programming language; it explores the many ways users can interact with the system, including the latest features; and it describes key applications such as instrument design, signal processing, and creative electronic music composition. The Csound system has been adopted by many educational institutions as part of their undergraduate and graduate teaching programs, and it is used by practitioners worldwide. This book is suitable for students, lecturers, composers, sound designers, programmers, and researchers in the areas of music, sound, and audio signal processing. "Today, Csound is in my opinion the most powerful and general program for sound synthesis and processing. Moreover, it is likely to endure, since it is maintained and developed by a team of competent and dedicated persons. The authors of this book are part of this team: they are talented software experts but also composers or sound designers. The book reviews the programs which culminated in the present Csound, and it explains in full detail the recent features. It can thus serve as both an introduction to Csound and a handbook for all its classic and novel resources." [Jean-Claude Risset].