Music Theory for Programmers
Ranked 3 of 7 music learning apps by recommenders
A web article that teaches music theory from first principles through code, praised as an intuitive bridge for programmers and a good starting point.
A web article that teaches music theory from first principles through code, praised as an intuitive bridge for programmers and a good starting point.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 76%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Builds music theory from first principles
“I enjoyed the programmer's approach to build it up from first principles.”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” “this will give you a foundational understanding of music that you can reason about instead of memorising”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” Intuitive for programmers learning music
“this approach to understanding music feels much more intuitive to some (like the author, and myself)”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” “deriving intervals and chords and then hearing the code produce them is a pretty effective bridge”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” “TFA is a good programming-nerd oriented introduction to the matter”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” Good starting point for beginners
“And the current article is a great starting point.”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” “TFA is a good programming-nerd oriented introduction to the matter”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Thin on tonic and diatonic scales
“Pretty good, could use more on the tonic, how it’s defined for a diatonic set of 7 notes.”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” “it doesn't explain very well why we generally use diatonic instead of chromatic scales”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” Only basic, fun-page level depth
“It's a fun webpage about a programmer dipping their toes in the very most basic elements of music”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers” “trivializing music down to a few not-so-important facts”
Comment from 6 Sep 2026 in “Music Theory for Programmers”
Other music learning apps people recommend
The four most recommended other music learning apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piano by ear memory game | 35 | 17 | 67% | 4 | — | Approved |
| OnKey | 23 | 4 | 85% | 1 | — | — |
| Music Theory for ProgrammersThis page | 13 | 4 | 76% | 2 | — | — |
| Soundslice | 9 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Vocal Guide | 7 | 4 | 64% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
17 of the 20 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“That article fails badly on that count.”
“deriving intervals and chords and then hearing the code produce them is a pretty effective bridge”
“It was written to serve a fundamentally different purpose.”
“Change the melody array to anything at all and it will still fit”
“TFA is a good programming-nerd oriented introduction to the matter”
“I still enjoyed going through it, for what it is.”
“It didn’t do a full explanation of equal temperament”
“it doesn't explain very well why we generally use diatonic instead of chromatic scales”
“And the current article is a great starting point.”
“this approach to understanding music feels much more intuitive to some (like the author, and myself)”
“It's a fun webpage about a programmer dipping their toes in the very most basic elements of music”
“I enjoyed the programmer's approach to build it up from first principles.”
“more helpful music theory than that whole JavaScript visuals page”
“Pretty good, could use more on the tonic, how it’s defined for a diatonic set of 7 notes.”
“This is a music theory lecture with code examples.”
“trivializing music down to a few not-so-important facts”
“this will give you a foundational understanding of music that you can reason about instead of memorising”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.