Music with code: Getting Started with Sonic Pi

I’m going to introduce you to making music with code, without assuming any knowledge of either.

Sonic Pi is a great way to learn either music or code. It’s also great if you’d like to play around with music without having to spend any money.

Let’s jump right in!

Get started by downloading and installing Sonic Pi. If you are on Windows or Mac you can download the installers from the Sonic Pi website. If you are on Ubuntu a community member has created a deb file for easier installation.

Once you’re all set up, you’ll see something like this.

Sonic Pi Program

You’re now ready to make your first sounds!

Making a sound

Type the following into the text area:

play 60