Welcome
TidalCycles is free/open source softwre, that allows you to make patterns with code, whether live coding music at algoraves or composing in the studio.
It includes language for describing flexible (e.g. polyphonic, polyrhythmic, generative) sequences. It also has an extensive library of patterning functions, for transforming and combining them.
Tidal is highly composable in that pattern transformations can be easily combined together, allowing you to quickly create complex patterns from simple ingredients.
Tidal does not make sound itself, but is designed for use with the featureful SuperDirt synth, and can control other synths over Open Sound Control or MIDI. Whether you're using SuperDirt or a synth, every filter and effect can be patterned and manipulated independently with Tidal patterns.
Tidal is embedded in the Haskell language, although you don't have to learn Haskell to learn Tidal - most tidal coders have little or no experience in software engineering.
Userbase
This website is a wiki, which means that as well as enjoying these resources, you can improve and add to them.
This is a work-in-progress, but will soon be the go-to resource for documentation, links and community projects around TidalCycles live coding environment, for the Tidal version 1.0.0 release.
Installation
- Installation (0.9.x) - for the currently published version of Tidal
- Installation - for upcoming version 1.0.0
- Installation troubleshooting
- Configuration
Documentation
- The Tidal Tutorial
- Reference - all the reference material, incomplete but getting there!
- Functions - the big list of functions (and other keywords)
- Tidal workshop worksheet - for beginners+
- Kindohm video tutorials
Contributing coffee
If you'd enjoy TidalCycles, please consider contributing a coffee or two to Alex! He's put countless hours into making Tidal 1.0.0, and one-off or regular coffees help speed up both its development and documentation.
Community
For community support, join the #tidal channel on talk.lurk.org, or the tidal mailing list.
Other interesting talk.lurk.org channels:
- #tidal-install - in-depth help with installing tidal takes place here
- #tidal-snippets - where you can share interesting/weird tidal patterns
- #tidal-innards - we don't like separating end-user live coders from tidal developers too much, but discussion around the tidal 'innards' goes on here
- #tidal-doc - coordination around the tidal documentation effort
For tidal development, see the github repo.
Events
- TidalCycles BoF 2019 - at ICLC 2019, Madrid
- TidalClub Sheffield
Related links
- TOPLAP - the home of live coding
- There's a lot of other fine live coding environments! See the TOPLAP long list of them.
- Algorave - algorithmic dance culture
Meta
- Help:How to contribute to this wiki
- Ideas for this wiki