Workshop: Live coding with Mercury
by Timo Hoogland


Specifications: No programming or musical experience required. Bring your own laptop and headphones

System requirements:
- Mac 10.11+ / Windows 10 / Linux:
- Intel Core i5 processor (or faster recommended)
- 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended)
- Google Chrome (or other Chromium based web browser)

Language: English

Description:
During this workshop, you will learn to create electronic music with computer code and algorithms using the programming environment “Mercury”.

mercury.timohoogland.com

Mercury is a minimal and human-readable language that focusses on quick expression in composing, performing and communicating live coded music. Mercury is a great environment to get introduced to the amazing worlds of live coding, creative coding, algorithmic composition, electronic music and the Algorave scene. In Mercury, all elements of the language are designed around making code more accessible for the performer and the audience.

This motivation stretches down to the coding style itself, which uses clear descriptive names for functions and a clear syntax. Furthermore, the environment runs in the browser, so it is available to you at all times. Mercury provides the artist-programmer with an extensive library of algorithms to generate sequences, sounds and music.

Goals

Starter Goals
• Learn to play a sample
• Change the timing of the played sound
• Make lists as rhythms and use probabilities
• Generate lists with functions

Intermediate Goals
• Learn to play a synth
• Make lists as melodies and rhythms for the synth
• Generate lists of melodies and rhythms with functions

Advanced Goals
• Combine functions to generate more complex melodic and rhythmical structures
• Add effects for sound designing
• Sequence parameters of effects and other functions
• Include visuals coded with Hydra
• Control synths with external devices via OSC
• Sequence other applications via MIDI output

Schedule (by approximation):

• Introduction to livecoding and showcase some works (15 minutes)
• Syntax Explanation, Work on starter goals (30 minutes)
• Play and explore possibilities with rhythms (30 minutes)
• Break (15 minutes)
• Work on Intermediate goals (30 minutes)
• Play and explore!
• Individual help/questions
• Optional move to Advanced goals (45 minutes)