Code Doesn't Have To Just Be About Apps 

We have the ability to create!

Make no mistake...

..this still takes commitment

People do this for work

There are no mistakes, only opportunites" 

~ Sam Aaron, Sonic Pi

Code as Music

http://sonic-pi.net/

How To Create Music with Code

Just like with real instruments we have the ability to generate notes, chords, scales, effects and more....

Live coding is the process of writing code in front of an audience and in this case the result is performing live music in front of an audience

There is even a new phenomena called algoraves in which people dance to music generated soley by algorithms

The Basics

#By Number
play 70


#By Name
play :E

#By Octave
play :E3

#Sharp Notes
play :Fs3

#Flat Notes
play :Eb3

Sounds can be represented as numbers or notes.

If using numbers, it would represent a numbered key on a piano

Chords

#Play a C major chord
play :C
play :E
play :G

#Play a C minor chord
play :Cb
play :E
play :G

Chords can be played by specifying multiple notes to play at once

All play commands will run simultaneously without a sleep between them

Rests

play 72 #play note
sleep 1 #rest 1 count
play 75 #play note
sleep 2 #rest 2 counts
play 79 #play note

Just like actual music we have rests between notes

If we want to rest between notes we can use the sleep keyword

Amplitude

play 80, amp: 2
sleep 2
play 84, amp: 0.5

Amplitude is essentially "loudness" which we can control

We must specify amplitude as a parameter after our play method and separated by a comma

Panning

play 80, pan: -1
sleep 2
play 84, amp: 1
sleep 2
play 75, amp: 0

Panning allows us to control which speaker sounds come from

We must specify panning as a parameter after our play method and separated by a comma

-1 - Play from left speaker

0 - Play from both speakers

1 - Play from right speaker

Advanced Concepts

use_synth :saw
play 38
sleep 0.25
play 50
sleep 0.25
play 62
sleep 0.25 

Sonic Pi has a series of "synths" or synthesizers you can use that have their own sounds which we can explore.

Synths still play notes and keys but with effects.

use_synth :tb303
play 38
sleep 0.25
use_synth :dsaw
play 50
sleep 0.25
use_synth :prophet
play 57
sleep 0.25

Samples

play 36
play 48
sample :ambi_lunar_land
sample :ambi_drone 

Sonic Pi also has a series of samples you can use which are "compositions" that have already been made.

sample :ambi_lunar_land
sleep 1
play 48
sleep 0.5
play 36
sample :ambi_drone
sleep 1
play 36 

You can "discover" samples by typing sample : into Sonic Pi and seeing what options you have available.

sample :ambi_lunar_land, amp: 2.5

You can also pass parameters to samples

Looping

loop do
  play 50
  sleep 0.5
  sample :elec_plip
  sleep 0.5
  play 62
end

None of this is of much purpose without the ability to loop to create "tracks".

3.times do
  play 50
  sleep 0.5
  sample :elec_blup
  sleep 0.5
  play 62
  sleep 0.25
end 

We can loop forever 

..or x amount of times

Looping

loop do
  sample :drum_heavy_kick
  2.times do
    sample :elec_blip2, rate: 2
    sleep 0.25
  end
  sample :elec_snare
  4.times do
    sample :drum_tom_mid_soft
    sleep 0.125
  end
end

None of this is of much purpose without the ability to loop to create "tracks".

Functions

define :jamz do
  play 50, amp: 5
  sleep 1
  play 55, amp: 5
  sleep 0.5
end

sleep 1

2.times do
  jamz
end

What if we want to re-use something over and over again?

Just like any other coding, we can use functions and call them.

define :my_loop do
  use_synth :tb303
  play choose(chord(:e3, :minor)), release: 0.2, cutoff: rrand(60, 130)
  sleep 0.25
end

loop do
  my_loop
end

NOW GO CREATE!

Code as Art

https://processing.org/

How To Create Art With Code

With digital mediums we can do many things, from drawing colors and objects, to manipulating video, visualizing audio and everything in between.

Art can be about personal expression, social awareness, or just pushing the boundaries of our imaginations.

There really is no limit to what we can do with Art x Tech

What is Processing?

Processing is free open source software for building generative art.

It is built with Java as it's language and it allows us to draw custom animations and use other elements such as video and audio.

How do I use it?

A Processing project generally is composed of 3 things:

• A sketch
• A setup function
• A draw (loop) function

int barWidth = 20;
int lastBar = -1;

void setup() {
  size(640, 360);
  colorMode(HSB, width, 100, width);
  noStroke();
  background(0);
}

void draw() {
  int whichBar = mouseX / barWidth;
  if (whichBar != lastBar) {
    int barX = whichBar * barWidth;
    fill(barX, 100, mouseY);
    rect(barX, 0, barWidth, height);
    lastBar = whichBar;
  }
}

Sketches

A sketch is merely your canvas.

It is the project you are working in and storing your files in a more technical sense.

Setup

Your setup() function is run once when you first start your project and allows you to define the size of your screen, frame rate, and anything else to set up your environment.

void setup() {
  size(640, 360); //set size of screen
  strokeWeight(20.0); //set stroke width of anything being drawn
  stroke(255, 100); //define a single stroke when our sketch runs
}

Draw

Your draw() function will repeat over and over again forever until your sketch is stopped at the frame rate specified.

//From Topics/Animation/Animated Sprite
void draw() { 
  float dx = mouseX - xpos;
  xpos = xpos + dx/drag;

  // Display the sprite at the position xpos, ypos
  if (mousePressed) {
    background(153, 153, 0);
    animation1.display(xpos-animation1.getWidth()/2, ypos);
  } else {
    background(255, 204, 0);
    animation2.display(xpos-animation1.getWidth()/2, ypos);
  }
}

A Complete Sketch

 * 
 * Hue is the color reflected from or transmitted through an object 
 * and is typically referred to as the name of the color (red, blue, yellow, etc.) 
 * Move the cursor vertically over each bar to alter its hue. 
 */
 
int barWidth = 20;
int lastBar = -1;

void setup() 
{
  size(640, 360);
  colorMode(HSB, height, height, height);  
  noStroke();
  background(0);
}

void draw() 
{
  int whichBar = mouseX / barWidth;
  if (whichBar != lastBar) {
    int barX = whichBar * barWidth;
    fill(mouseY, height, height);
    rect(barX, 0, barWidth, height);
    lastBar = whichBar;
  }
}

NOW GO CREATE!