Together in cyberspace
A recent musical practice that has emerged as a result of the twenty-first century’s rapidly developing technological landscape is live coding. This is the act of writing computer code for generating music in front of an audience while the performer projects their screen. As the number of live coders performing together increases, so too does the number of screens required to project all of the ensemble’s code. This well-documented problem is addressed in this chapter, which introduces a live coding editor built for collaborative improvisation and reflects on its impact on group creativity and ensemble interaction. The editor Troop displays all performer’s code in one window, simplifying technical setup, and shares inter-performer communication with audiences. This case study explores technological design parameters that allow live-coding composers to collaboratively compose music in real time and discuss what means of interaction and collaboration these afford.