THE APPEAL OF LIVE CODING
We’ve looked at Sonic Pi as a tool for composition, but it can be used in a quite different way which its users call live coding. We can think of it as a bit like a jazz jam session – in which the artists improvise their performance – but in the digital domain. This is specifically supported in Sonic Pi by enabling users to edit the code without interrupting the performance. To learn more, we put some questions to Sonic Pi creator Sam Aaron.
So what skills were the most important for a live coder – musical or coding? Sam’s response was, perhaps, surprising. “In order to get started having fun with live coding you need neither musical nor coding experience. Instead, it’s much more important to have an open mind, lots of patience and an experimental attitude. Sonic Pi is best learned through play and exploration – having fun trying new things out and surprising yourself with new sounds.”
So what type of audience most appreciates a live coding event? According to Sam, “live coding events can be a lot of fun and can be inherently interesting to technically-minded people, especially if the code is projected so the audience can read it.” That’s not essential, though. “Just like you don’t need to know how to make your own guitar to enjoy a rock band, live coding events can be enjoyed by everyone. I believe it’s only a matter of time before we see live coding techniques in more mainstream contexts – there is just too much potential and expression in code as an instrument for it to be ignored.”