Introduction to live coding music with Python and Super­Collider
a workshop with Ryan Kirkbride

This workshop will introduce the idea of live coding; the practice of creating live music and visuals with code.

  • We'll start with a discussion about "liveness" in music and how code can be used to articulate musical thoughts for real-time performance before getting a brief overview of the history of live coding and some of the popular tools used in the field.
  • Then we'll get hands-on with some of the basics of the Python-based live coding environment called FoxDot. FoxDot is used for describing rules for music, which sends messages to the powerful audio-synthesis engine, SuperCollider, via Open Sound Control.
  • We'll then go through the basics of putting together a live coded performance.

Pre-requisites:

This workshop is suitable for both beginner and advanced Pythonistas.

Ryan Kirkbride also has a talk: Programming Music for Performance: Live coding with FoxDot

Ryan Kirkbride

I am currently in the middle of a practice-led PhD in Music researching communication and collaboration in live coding – the practice of generating live music using code.

I developed a Python-driven live coding environment, called FoxDot, for live coding musical patterns with a focus on object-oriented programming and perform improvised melodic techno regularly under the stage name “Qirky”.

GH: Qirky
TW: ryankirkbride26