Hi Greg,
I've had my copy of the book for perhaps six years now.  I've 
not ready every chapter (eg. the french horn one) but the 
chapters I've read I have reread many many times (Hilites are in 
three colors, plus margin notes in two different pens, and three 
pencil lead sizes, if that give you a clue) and the cover is 
still firmly attached.  Of course I permanently removed the CD 
envelope the day I got the book, so that may be a factor.  As to 
the content...I too find it lamentable that there has not been 
an updated, revised, more current-practice edition of the book. 
  On the other hand, if you think in terms of instruments, quite 
a lot of good music is still being created using 'primitive' 
pre-twentieth century strads, etc., so the synthesis materials 
and concepts of the book are still valuable in at least showing 
a fundamental approach to how synthesis in its purest form can 
be used.  You mention Jacob Joaquin, whose articles and blogs 
are very enlightening..but he himself has presented some 
interesting pieces that could have been rendered in csound 4.xx. 
  So, my position, I guess, is that of balancing between an 
appreciation of the effort and value of the book and the csound 
it presents, and a desire to see similar materials about the 
hundreds of new opcodes introduced since then.  And especially 
articles that go beyond the trivial 'here's an example of using 
'xxxx' to modulate a sine wave'.  In his blog, Jake refers to 
Kim Cascone's article, which talks about creating a real piece 
of music.  Surely anyone who composes with csound has a piece 
that he or she could write about.  Even if it only uses sine 
waves and linsegs, talking about why the choices were made could 
be informative.  And so how much more  would articles by the 
people who developed the new opcodes, presumably to answer some 
compositional need for them.  Give us your piece, and show us 
how you used what you did to create it.  I'd hope that a three 
volume set would be possible..and if it were, I know I'd buy 
it!!  In the meantime, Dr. B's still yields new ideas for me.
Bob Foose


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