Last month we took a look at five important techniques for mastering live coding - in other words, we explored how we could use Sonic Pi to approach code in the same way we would approach a musical instrument. One of the important concepts that we discussed was practice. This month weâre going to take a deeper dive into understanding why live coding practice is important and how you might start.
The most important piece of advice is to make sure you practice regularly. As a rule I typically practice for 1-2 hours a day, but 20 mins is just fine when youâre starting out. Little but often is what youâre aiming for - so if you can only manage 10 minutes, thatâs a great start.
Practice tip #1 - start to develop a practice routine. Find a nice time in the day that works for you and try and practice at that time as many days of the week as you can. Before long youâll be looking forward to your regular session.
If you watch a professional musician performing on stage youâll likely notice a few things. Firstly, when they play they donât stare at their instrument. Their fingers, arms and bodies know which keys to press, strings to pluck or drums to hit without them having to think about it too much. This is known as âmuscle memoryâ and although it might sound like something only professionals can do - itâs just the same as when you first learned to walk or ride a bike - practicing through repetition. Live coders use muscle memory to free their minds from having to think about where to move their fingers so they can focus on the music. This is called touch-typing - typing without having to look at the keyboard.
Practice tip #2 - learn how to touch type. There are many apps, websites and even games which can help you achieve this. Find one you like the look of and stick at it until you can code without looking down.
The body of a musician is conditioned for playing their instrument. For example, a trumpet player needs to be able to blow hard, a guitar player needs to be able to grip the fretboard with strength and a drummer needs to be able to continually hit the drums for long periods of time. So, whatâs physical about live coding? Just like DJs, live coders typically perform whilst standing up and some even dance whilst they code! If you practice live coding whilst sitting at a desk and then have to get up and stand at a gig, youâll likely find the difference very difficult and frustrating.
Practice tip #3 - stand whilst you practice. The easiest way to do this is to use a standing height desk. However, if like me you donât have one at home, thereâs a couple of low-fi options. The approach I take is to use an ironing board which happens to work rather well. Another is to stack some boxes or large books on a normal desk and place your keyboard on top of that. Also, make sure you stretch before you start practicing and try and dance a little during the session. Remember, nobody is watching you, so have fun and youâll feel much more natural on stage.
Most instruments require some assembly and tuning before they can be played. Unless youâre a rockstar with a bus full of roadies, youâll have to set up your own instrument before your gig. This is often a stressful time and it is easy for problems to occur. One way to help with this is to incorporate the setup process into your practice sessions.
Practice tip #4 - treat setting up as an important part of your practice. For example, have a box or bag that you can keep your Raspberry Pi and keyboard in etc. Before each practice session, take out all the parts, connect everything, and work through the boot process until you have Sonic Pi running and can make sounds. Once youâve finished practicing, take the time to carefully pack everything away afterwards. This may take some time at first, but before long youâll be able to setup and pack everything away incredibly quickly without having to think about it.
Once youâve set up and are ready to start making music, you might find yourself struggling to know where to start. One problem many people face is that they might have a good idea of the kinds of sounds they want to make, but are frustrated that they canât produce them. Some people donât even know what kind of sounds they want to make! The first thing to do is not to worry - this is very common and happens to every musician - even if theyâve been practicing for a long time. It is much more important to be making sounds you donât like than not making any sounds at all.
Practice tip #5 - spend time making sounds and music you donât like. Try to make time to explore new sounds and ideas. Donât worry that it might sound terrible if itâs not the style youâre looking for. When youâre experimenting like this you increase the chance of stumbling over a sound or combination of sounds which you love! Even if 99% of the sounds you make are bad, that 1% might be the riff or intro to your new track. Forget the things you donât like and remember the parts you do. This is even easier when youâre making music with code - just hit save!
Many musicians can look at a musical score and hear the music in their head without having to play it. This is a very useful skill and itâs well worth incorporating into your live coding practice sessions. The important point is to be able to have some understanding of what the code is going to sound like. You donât need to be able to hear it exactly in your head, but instead itâs useful to know if the code is going to be fast, slow, loud, rhythmic, melodic, random, etc. The final goal is then to be able to reverse this process - to be able to hear music in your head and know what code to write to make it. It may take you a long time to master this, but once you do, youâll be able to improvise on stage and express your ideas fluently.
Practice tip #6 - write some code into Sonic Pi but donât hit the Run button. Instead, try to imagine what sound it is going to produce. Then, hit Run, listen, and think about what you got right and what you didnât. Keep repeating this until it become a natural part of your coding process. When I practice I normally have a good idea of what the code will sound like. However, I still am occasionally surprised, and then Iâll stop and spend some time thinking about why I was wrong. Each time this happens, I learn new tricks which allow me to express myself in new ways.
A common problem when practicing is to become distracted with other things. Practicing is hard and requires real discipline regardless of the kind of music youâre making - from jazz to classical to EDM. If youâre struggling to get started or make progress, itâs often too easy to hop on social media, or look something up on the internet etc. If youâve set yourself a target of 20 minutes of practice, itâs important to try and spend all that time being as productive as possible.
Practice tip #7 - before you start practicing remove as many distractions as possible. For example, disconnect from the internet, put your phone in another room and try to practice in a quiet place where youâre unlikely to be disturbed. Try to focus on coding music and you can return to your distractions when youâve finished.
When you are practicing, youâll often find your mind is full of new exciting ideas - new musical directions, new sounds to try out, new functions to write, etc. These ideas are often so interesting that you might stop what youâre doing and start working on the idea. This is another form of distraction!
Practice tip #8 - keep a practice diary by your keyboard. When you get an exciting new idea, temporarily pause your practice session, quickly jot the idea down, then forget about it and carry on practicing. You can then spend some quality time thinking about and working on your ideas after youâve finished practicing.
Try to establish a practice routine which incorporates as many of these ideas as possible. Try to keep the sessions as fun as possible but be aware that some practice sessions will be hard and feel a little like work. However, it will all be worth it once youâve created your first piece or given your first performance. Remember, practice is the key to success!