The computer has long been considered an extremely attractive tool for creating and manipulating sound. Its precision, possibilities for new timbres and potential for fantastical automation make it a compelling platform for experimenting with and making music – but only to the extent that we can actually tell a computer what to do, and how to do it.

A program is a sequence of instructions for a computer. A programming language is a collection of syntactic and semantic rules for specifying these instructions, and eventually for providing the translation from human-written programs to the corresponding instructions computers carry out. In the history of computing, many interfaces have been designed to instruct computers, but none has been as fundamental (or perhaps as enduring) as programming languages. Unlike most other classes of human–computer interfaces, programming languages don't directly perform any specific task (such as word processing or video editing), but instead allow us to build software that might perform almost any custom function. The programming language acts as a mediator between human intention and the corresponding bits and instructions that make sense to a computer. It is the most general and yet the most intimate and precise tool for instructing computers.

Programs exist on many levels, ranging from assembler code (extremely low level) to high-level scripting languages that often embody more human-readable structures, such as those resembling spoken languages or graphical representation of familiar objects. Domain-specific languages retain general programmability while providing additional abstractions tailored to the domain (e.g. sound synthesis). This chapter provides a historical perspective on the evolution of programming and music.