published
updated
%date
start
to start tidal cycles:
run scide (or run the SuperCollider IDE) in terminal to start SuperCollider server
execute the following code in scide:
{{{supercollider include("SuperDirt") SuperDirt.start }}}
open a new terminal and run tidalvim
you should now be running tidal, use ctrl+E to pass lines to tidal from vim
basics
when you add more sounds to each cycle, it speeds up, the time of the cycle remains constant
----- is the buffer to super collider, there are 9 opened by default in tidal
/ --- the "command" to run
v v
d1 $ sound "bd:2 bd bd ~"
^ ^ ^
\ \ --- is a rest note
\ --- is the sound that is going to be played; play the 3rd (0 indexed) sound in bd
--- magical $ notation
subsequences
using [] we can create sub sequences that run "together" in the same step of each cycle this can be done recursively
using this we can achieve nice compound time signatures:
{{{tidalcycles d1 $ n "[0 2 1] [4 4 5]" # s "drum" }}}
alternative notation:
{{{tidalcycles d1 $ n "0 2 1 . 4 4 5" # s "drum" }}}
= speeding, slowing, repeating =
- is the same as a subsequence (s "kick*2" == s "[kick kick]") ! is the same as repeating the sound (s "kick!2" == s "kick kick") / "divides" the step into n steps and alternates them
we can combine these to shorten lengthy things:
{{{tidalcycles s "[kick [lo hi]/2]*2" == s "kick lo kick hi" }}}
polyphony
, allows us to have multiple "tracks" in the same pattern but they must be in a subsequence!
{{{tidalcycles d1 $ s "[bd sn, lo hi lo lo]" }}}
{{{tidalcycles d1 $ s "bd ~ sn ~" d2 $ s "lo hi lo lo" }}}
are the same
{} changes tidalcycles to make the steps align instead of the cycles aligning
effects & commands
stut - create echos {{{tidalcycles d1 $ stut 4 0.5 (-0.1) $ s "bd sn" }}}
adding a samples directory
File > Open Start Up File > Add line ~dirt.loadSoundFiles("path/to/directory/*");
pipes
|> is the same as #, it takes values from the right and structure from the left
| indicates which side to take structure from
and the arrow indicates which side to take values from
hence with the following combinations
{{{ |> <| |<
| }}}
we can mix and match any combinations