Orca - Livecoding Tool

adrianf · 2019-05-18T16:16:23.630Z

I like this idea! if I may add, how about something like vim-bindings - edit/normal mode?

synthetivv · 2019-05-18T16:21:57.786Z

this is the #1 thing I’ve wanted since I started trying out Orca. hjkl movement when not in insert mode, ctrl-A and ctrl-Z to increment/decrement, dap or similar to cut a whole block…

(edit: needless to say that’d be an enormous rabbit hole to go down, but… wouldn’t it be amazing? )

GoneCaving · 2019-05-18T16:24:00.501Z

Some ridiculously simple coding on the Norns leads to a rather enjoyable bit of noodling.

neauoire · 2019-05-18T16:25:11.566Z

@glia @synthetivv Do you know about find:? If you press cmd/ctrl p, you can move to a specific place like, c-P aV will warp the cursor to the declaration of the a variable. The find: hotkey used to be /, if you have an older version.

You can also use cmd/ctrl arrows to jump 8 cells at once. I don’t want to add emacs/vim type hotkeys to the master branch, but you can add it yourself if you like.

trickyflemming · 2019-05-18T16:27:32.238Z

@neauoire I had an idea for an operator, but I’m not sure if it’s technically possible. I haven’t looked much at Orca’s code at all.

I was thinking that it would be very useful to have modulation of the tempo/frame rate. I’ll use ^ in this example.

I think it could be something like (mult) ^ (div), so 2^1 would double the frame rate, 1^2 would halve it, 3^2 would multiply it by 1.5, etc. Live cycle rate modulation is a great feature in TidalCycles for breaking up beats into unpredictable fragments.

neauoire · 2019-05-18T16:32:53.897Z

To do that, you need to point the UDP port to Orca itself, click UDP dropdown and select Orca, and use the bpm: command.

.....C2...
D1...12T24
*;bpm:140.

synthetivv · 2019-05-18T16:44:55.749Z

I’ve definitely thought about adding some vim-style bindings myself – I’ll give it a try when I can. Thanks for creating this totally amazing system, by the way.

its_your_bedtime · 2019-05-18T16:49:23.010Z

i think faster navigation is ok with encoders and minimap, what i thought about grid ops is something like grid read which output bang on button press and grid write for some kind of storage/led indication.

neauoire · 2019-05-19T01:24:20.483Z

First time performing live with Orca.

mlogger · 2019-05-19T01:29:39.757Z

Could you explain how to do the ROT easter egg?

neauoire · 2019-05-19T01:30:17.883Z

Select a bunch of things,
cmd k, and type rot:13.
Profit.

mlogger · 2019-05-19T01:44:35.464Z

Thanks for the ROT info!

This is maybe a big ask and tricky to achieve - I’d like to assign a midi controller to different parts of a patch. Is there anyway to do that? For example, a slider, assigned to a particular curser, that controls the note selection or clock rate or random size, to manually change numbers - something like a midi learn type thing.
I just want to add some kind of human element to all the automation, using an external controller, and sort of steer a patch in certain direction, instead of using a keyboard and mouse. More for a live improv type thing were you adjust 8 sliders and it can turn a patch upside down, then quickly back again.

neauoire · 2019-05-19T08:23:08.570Z

It’s possible to do that right now with the & operator, it’s how I use it. Ideally there would be a MidiCC In operator, but I haven’t gotten around to doing it yet, and I don’t have a controller to test it either.

I was thinking about getting one of these small aka controllers and building that new operator for it.

mlogger · 2019-05-19T10:09:15.244Z

OK i see, & = Receive MIDI note in from, i guess a piano keyboard…or monome grid?
Yes, I was thinking more of MidiCC in, so each slider could do a different job

joe_biomassa · 2019-05-19T12:28:44.581Z

Hi! Just getting familiar with the amazing Orca.
One question — i can’t seem to be able to read variables if their write operator is NOT to the north/west of the read operator. Is there some order of execution in place?
Also, did something replace the pre-Euclid “U-turn” U op functionality?

sorry about the noob questions

thanks!

adrianf · 2019-05-19T14:11:52.014Z

I just read this the other day, I think this is the relevant post: Orca - Livecoding Tool - #198 by neauoire

neauoire:

Orca runs from the top left, to the bottom right.

Olivier · 2019-05-19T14:41:03.773Z

I’ve been using desktop Orca this week with Ableton (amazing), though it has definitely stressed how little I know about MIDI in general. I’ve got Orca triggering voices and samples, but is it possible to send MIDI values from Orca to control things like the start/end points of a sample, or the frequency of a delay in Ableton? I’ve read the MIDI CC section in the Orca docs, but can’t quite tell if that applies to what I’m trying to do.

alanza · 2019-05-19T15:11:52.468Z

Yeah, although it might be a little more fiddly to set up? CMD+M in Ableton will bring up MIDI mapping mode. The easiest way to assign a control to a parameter is to click it in Ableton, and then wiggle the knob (MIDI CC source) you wanna assign it to. You could try mimicking that with Orca by clicking the parameter and then writing a little thing to send a CC message.

Tyler · 2019-05-19T16:10:34.948Z

@neauoire I can’t manage to receive UDP messages from orca in pilot. I’m sending to port 49161, and manual messages in pilot work just fine. Any idea why they might not be getting through?

bookmil · 2019-05-19T17:43:06.692Z

Can you post your orca script/screen?