SHARP: Exploring Version Control Systems in Live Coding Music

Version control systems, which have proven essential for software engineering, can also provide value to creative and artistic practices. In this paper, we explore version control in the creative domain of live coding music, a generative performance practice where programmers edit and run code live to generate audiovisual artifacts. To that end, we developed SHARP, a lightweight version control system that live coders can use during performances as well as in preparation or practice sessions. We conducted a user study where live coders used SHARP for several weeks, wrote diary entries reflecting on their sessions, recorded a performance using SHARP, and participated in exit interviews. We found that SHARP enabled participants to engage with musical form on the fly in novel ways. In addition, the study revealed multifaceted perspectives on how and when versioning can be useful in the context of live coding. Our results inform the design of versioning systems for live coding and more generally for performance and generative arts practices.