Web Audio API, WebMIDI, and Tone.js are the browser-native stack for interactive music apps

Interactive browser music tools are built on freely accessible web technology: the Web Audio API (the low-level audio graph of oscillators, gains, and processing nodes), WebMIDI (connecting physical MIDI controllers), and Tone.js (a higher-level musical abstraction layer over Web Audio). These make it easier for coders to build interactive music experiences that run in any modern browser without plugins or native installs. The same foundation underlies browser live-coding environments, so recognising this stack helps a learner understand what runs beneath tools like Strudel that schedule and synthesise audio in the browser.

Examples

Chrome Music Lab’s experiments are open-source (github.com/googlecreativelab/chrome-music-lab) and built on this stack; Strudel likewise rides the Web Audio API’s clock and audio graph in the browser.

Assessment

Name the three named layers of the browser music stack and state, in one phrase each, what each contributes.