Slub's practice establishes that source code can be simultaneously the score, the instrument, and the performance

Collins et al.’s description of early Slub articulates a position going beyond using code to make music: code is alive in Slub and in their computers, and hopefully also in their sound and the audience too. As far as Slub are concerned, code IS music. This collapses the conventional separation between score (written), instrument (physical), and performance (temporal). The live coder’s source code functions as all three simultaneously, which explains the community’s insistence on projection: hiding the screens removes the score/instrument from view.

Examples

Slub at Paradiso 2001 (first live coding performance at a major club). McLean projecting Tidal code alongside audio. The Transmediale prize for Auto-Illustrator — Adrian Ward’s code as critique of software aesthetic choices.

Assessment

Explain ‘code IS music’ by tracing what Collins et al. mean by code ‘executing in their minds’. How does this differ from a composer who mentally hears their score while writing it? What are the implications for audience experience?