birds.tidal

Live-coded composition featuring virtual birds (December 2018)



In this paper, I explore the practice of live coding within composing computer music. I outline existing research into the use of live coding languages such as SuperCollider and TidalCycles, and their advantages and disadvantages within the context of composition, as well as themes of authorship in the generative arts. I present contemporary examples of live coding systems and performances, and describe the processes used in my composition birds.tidal. Finally, I critically analyse my piece and the methods I used to learn live coding - of which I have no prior experience within the field of composition or performance.