What's available for livecoding music? [closed]

StackOverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/392449

  •  23-08-2019
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Question

I recently found out about livecoding where someone will program something on the fly to make music. Apparently there are special languages and libraries for this sort of thing. So I'd like to know if anyone has any experience with it and if they have any languages, libraries or tools to suggest.

Was it helpful?

Solution

Check these resources:

  • SuperCollider (Environment and programming language for real time audio synthesis and algorithmic composition)
  • ChucK (Strongly-timed, Concurrent, and On-the-fly Audio Programming Language)
  • TOPLAP (temporary organization for the proliferation of live audio programming)

OTHER TIPS

I want to second the recommendation for Impromptu as well:

  • Wholesale utilization of your Mac: audio units, camera, openGL...etc (I actually ended up buying a Mac after playing around with this app.)
  • Very simple and easy to start : The tutorial gets to the fun fast. Perhaps the clumsiest aspect is getting the keybindings installed : (you will need to install in ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict)
  • It uses Scheme(Lisp dialect) a highly iterative language, suitable for prototyping apps one line at a time.

Now there is also Sonic Pi which is a lot of fun.

It is an Open Source live coding environment based on Ruby that runs in a variety of environments including the Raspberry Pi and is build on top of the Supercollider synthesis engine.

Sonic Pi has been designed with the aim to find a harmonious balance between three core principles:

  • Simple enough for the 10 year old within you
  • Joyful enough for you to lose yourself through play
  • Powerful enough for your own expressions

Sample code:

loop do
  sample :perc_bell, rate: (rrand 0.125, 1.5)
  sleep rrand(0, 2)
end

You should check out RTcmix (Real-time Cmix). I saw a great livecoding demo by one its developers, but I haven't been able to find any videos online.

I've been using RTcmix with its Python front-end module to experiment with algorithmic composition. It's very easy to use and has nice results.

EDIT
I've been investigating livecoding further recently, and RTcmix is not intended for this, but in some cases, it can work. It's much better for pre-processed scores. Sorry for any confusion. :)

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