Pre-gramming is the preparatory language and code design a live coder does before performing, which merges composition with language design

When live coders choose a general-purpose language (SuperCollider, Python, Lua, C) rather than a domain-specific live coding language, they often simplify the expressive range or extend it with custom vocabulary as preparatory work before performance. This has been called pre-gramming — a preliminary preparation for live coding practice where language design inevitably merges with musical composition. Pre-gramming involves building helper functions, setting up sample libraries, defining patterns or scales, and creating the computational palette the performer will draw from live. It is distinct from pre-composing the piece: the pre-gramming defines the space of possibilities, not the outcome. Understanding pre-gramming clarifies that from scratch in live coding means from a blank code editor, not from zero preparation.

Examples

A live coder might spend hours before a show defining custom functions in SuperCollider. During the performance they call these as one-liners. The pre-gramming shaped the aesthetic; the performance is improvised within that space.

Assessment

Distinguish pre-gramming from pre-composition. Give an example of something that counts as pre-gramming and one thing that would cross into pre-composition of the performance.