Making Music With Livecoding: ORCA

Overview

Take a deep dive as we ebb and flow through the creation of abstract rhythms, melodies, and musical compositions using procedural sequencing in one of the most innovative coding languages ever created, ORCA.

ORCA is a powerful, limitless, and real-time live coding environment where we can control audio software and instruments to manifest and explore our own sonic landscapes.

This workshop is open to anyone interested in exploring alternative and inspiring ways to interact with digital music and sound. Prior experience with music production or coding is not required.

“Orca is an esoteric programming language, designed to create procedural sequencers in which each letter of the alphabet is an operation, where lowercase letters operate on bang, uppercase letters operate each frame. The application is not a synthesizer, but a flexible live coding environment capable of sending MIDI, OSC & UDP to your audio interface, like Ableton, Renoise, VCV Rack or SuperCollider.” – Hundredrabbits

Objective

This workshop serves as an introduction to live coding for generative music and sound. With a focus on electronic music composition, participants will learn to work with synthesis, samples, and MIDI to create musical harmonies, rhythms, and sound.

Five Things Participants Will Learn

1. “What is live coding?” (Various options and explorations)

2. Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and MIDI control

3. Trackers and sequencers

4. Generative and algorithmic music production

5. Recording, mixing, and mastering your sonic creations and explorations

Registration

Session 1: Thursday, October 11, 6pm-9pm

Session 2: Thursday, October 18, 6pm-9pm

Session 3: Thursday, October 25, 6pm-9pm

Participants will need access to:

Laptop or computer with ORCA installed (Session 1 will walk you through installation)

Headphones (optional, recommended)

Any additional materials will be sent in advance via email