ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the Raspberry Pi microcomputer and the software Pure Data, which combined create an inexpensive yet powerful computing platform for digital audio creation. Although barely the size of a credit card, the Raspberry Pi is a full-blown computer with the capabilities of a desktop or laptop machine. Unlike the Arduino and other microcontrollers, the Pi can run a high-level operating system (Linux), and after hooking up a keyboard and monitor, one can access to a full range of programming tools. Raspberry Pi, along with PureData, can work as a handy and inexpensive audio media player, and in this patch one will learn the basics of playing back sound files from the SD card. The Raspberry Pi microcomputer is an amazing platform for running many applications, especially PureData for sound creation. For many people, this is a less intimidating way to start programming than the text-based language used with things like the Arduino.
