Live coding's legitimacy depends on building music from a blank slate in real time — not from pre-prepared patches or stems

A core imperative of live coding performance, as described in the TOPLAP manifesto-adjacent discourse and embodied in ixi lang’s design, is performing ‘from a relatively blank slate.’ This means the audience should be able to witness the entire creative process unfolding, not see a performer trigger pre-composed material. Code projection makes this visible. The from-scratch constraint differentiates live coding from live performance with DAWs or prepared arrangements, and connects it to improvisational traditions in jazz and free improvisation. The challenge this creates — getting interesting results quickly from nothing — is precisely why purpose-built live coding languages like ixi lang, TidalCycles, and Sonic Pi exist.

Examples

ixi lang’s goal of creating ‘a tune with rhythm and melody within a few seconds from the performance starting.’ TidalCycles’ emphasis on getting a groove running in one or two lines. Contrast with Ableton live sets where tracks are often pre-arranged.

Assessment

Why is code projection important to the blank-slate claim in live coding? What would the audience be unable to verify without it?