Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T21:26:32.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Live Coding as a Theatre of Agency and a Factory of Time

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2022

Michelle Phillips
Affiliation:
Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Matthew Sergeant
Affiliation:
Bath Spa University
Get access

Summary

Introduction

‘Live coding’ has become a performative artistic practice that lies at the intersection of programming and artistic creation, often with an emphasis on music. Typically, live coding performances are presented on a stage, upon which there is a (personal) computer and a human producing code in one of a number of programming languages in real time. The screen of the performer is usually projected so that the audience can see the edits of code being produced. Sometimes, this code may be interpretable by the audience:

sound “kick kick clap kick”

As part of this, the audience thus witnesses the computer following the code/instructions, such as by producing an audio signal; in the example above, a musical pattern of three kick drums and a classic handclap sample. The visual cue provided by the code is important. Since the audience see on the screen that the clap falls on the third beat, they may try to adjust their cognition to ‘perceive’ the clap as the third beat of a 4/4 bar.

As our performance continues, with this programme running in a loop, the performer edits the code:

sound “kick kick clap*2 kick?”

Now the audience hears two kicks and two faster claps, sometimes followed by a rest and at other times by a kick (the ‘sometimes’ induced by the inclusion of the ‘?’). The performer keeps editing the code and the music continues to change until either the computer crashes; the programme fails; the performer gets lost in the code; or the prescribed performance duration is over.

Live coding is therefore the practice of writing and manipulating algorithms by programming (writing code) in front of an audience, and thereby exposing that audience to the effects of the code, which usually (but not always) takes the form of an audio-visual output: music, sound art, visuals, poetry, or dance, for example. Live coding is neither a form nor style of music; it is an audio-visual practice that draws extensively on many forms and styles of music. Live coding is also a thought-experiment with various side-effects, some of which can be framed as music.

Type
Chapter
Information
Music and Time
Psychology, Philosophy, Practice
, pp. 112 - 126
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×