Live coding Music with Cagire

Cagire is a free and open-source digital musical instrument. It combines a step sequencer, a synthesizer, and a creative programming environment. Cagire is designed for composition as well as performance and improvisation. It offers a unique approach to live coding, where code is directly integrated into the operation of a sequencer. Each step can contain a short program, written in a language inspired by Forth, which executes when the playhead reaches it. This interaction between programming and sequencing allows users to build and transform rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic structures in real time, without interrupting the flow of sound. Sequences can overlap, evolve according to algorithmic rules, incorporate randomness, and give rise to generative compositions. Thanks to its built-in audio engine, Cagire also allows users to synthesize, record, loop, and transform sounds. Its compatibility with MIDI and OSC protocols opens the instrument up to interaction with synthesizers, software, and other electronic devices, enabling the creation of hybrid stage setups where code becomes the central instrument of performance.

This workshop offers an immersive experience in this environment. Through a series of hands-on experiments, participants will discover how to produce and manipulate sounds, build rhythmic sequences, work with samples, and incorporate randomness and generative elements into their improvisations. They will gradually become familiar with the Cagire programming language as well as Doux, its built-in sound synthesis engine. The workshop emphasizes experimentation, listening, and play. Everyone will be able to explore the instrument at their own pace, guided by their own curiosity and interests, before taking part in a group improvisation.

No prior knowledge of programming, music, or sound synthesis is required. The workshop is open to artists and musicians as well as anyone curious to discover new ways of creating with a computer. Participants will leave with a free, standalone instrument and the knowledge needed to continue their explorations.

Raphaël Maurice Forment is a musicologist, improvisational musician, and developer. He works in live coding and, more broadly, in experimental music, Do It Yourself, and digital arts. He holds a Ph.D. in musicology and writes and maintains open-source software. He is the author of several live coding environments: Sardine, Topos, Cagire, etc. He performs in France and throughout Europe under the name BuboBubo. He is a member of the collectives TOPLAP (https://toplap.org) and Cookie Collective (https://cookie.paris). He administers several websites, including livecoding.fr.

His work is published on his personal website: https://raphaelforment.fr.