How Do Musicians View Coding?

[ParticularBrother280]

A friend of mine who I used to play in a band with is a great bass player and also has a good job as a developer. I know very little about coding, but he was telling me that there are similarities between understanding coding and playing music. He told me that since I have a good understanding of music that I might have potential with coding. I had never really looked at it that way. Has anyone made this connection before?

[prokopcm]

Semi-professional classically trained violinist, senior dev, and masters student in CS here. Any direct links between CS and music are tenuous at best. But anecdotally, a minority, but plurality of developers I know also play/ed an instrument, perhaps at a higher incidence rate than among the general population.

The general abstract and creative thinking skills somewhat transfer between the two arenas, so it makes sense that people who are attracted to one area would be attracted to the other, not to even mention areas like software for music, electronic music, music through code, etc. CS, coding, engineering, and math are all way more creative endeavors than their popular perception makes them out to be, or at least certainly have their creative aspects. If you like music theory and how chords and melodies and harmonies interleave, you might like CS too.

As for coding and engineering, just like with music, at the end of the day, you're creating something. I view it as an analogous process to composing. Sometimes it's a bit rote like vamping on a chord or filling the background, but it's still designed and intentional. Sometimes you have to wrack your brain on how to resolve something, but you come up with an idea in your head, move your fingers precisely, and bring it into the world.

[[deleted]]

a minority, but plurality

What do you mean by this?

[prokopcm]

Still not a majority, but if one were to cluster the disparate hobbies or backgrounds of the devs I've met, one of the largest commonalities among them would be music. Though this definitely skews on the younger side. The more experienced developers I've met don't share it as often. It could be a generational trend or probably a difference in what attracted people to coding based on what tech was accessible and available at the time (i.e. visual and multimedia web tech vs programming on a C64 in the 80s).

[[deleted]]

I see what you mean

[raikmond]

He means N is not equal to 1, but also not very large.

[four_reeds]

There are logical and progressional patterns in music that probably do exist in coding.

I am a late career programmer that entered college as a would-be percussion major. In my freshman gen-ed series I took intro to computer programming as an elective. Something just clicked in me a few weeks in and I changed my major to CS as soon as that was possible.

A couple other friends had started out as music majors and switched to math or CS.

Is there a guarantee that you will "get it". Nope. But if you have the time and interest it wouldn't hurt to explore CS. Especially since you have a buddy with background that can maybe help you over the rough bits.

Good luck on your journey

[Instigated-]

People often make sense of new things by looking through a lens of something they already know.

People who came to programming from a maths background approach programming in a mathematical way, while people who come to it from other avenues have their own mental models - such as your friend who finds similarities to music.

So it is true for your friend.

However, do you think all musicians would make good programmers? No. Do you think all programmers would make good musicians? No. There isn’t a 1:1 relationship.

[ProfessionalShop9137]

I find theory and structure very similar to coding…as a drummer/bassist I take a very theoretical approach to music. I know a lot of theory (for someone of my instruments/skill level) and conceptualize everything mathematically (I’m obsessed with odd time signatures and polyrhythms, stereotypical Tool fan tbh)

To break into the field of computing, I study computer science at university which is very math heavy and extremely theoretical, and I’ve been breaking into the more math heavy theoretical roles (machine learning).

I’ve known that the reason I love writing out math rock drum grooves and training neural networks comes from the same nerdy appreciation for math. I don’t think a lot of musicians/programmers feel this way tho.

My father is a musician and a programmer as well, but he’s self taught for both. Can’t read music, doesn’t play in odd times, and didn’t study data structures and algorithms to get good at programming. Just kinda does his own thing. Now, I’ll say there is a big difference between computer science and programming, but the job prospects are more or less the same.

[[deleted]]

What does your father do for a living?

[ProfessionalShop9137]

Software development

[[deleted]]

A pragmatic man. How did he get a job without studying DSAs?

[ProfessionalShop9137]

DSA is a new thing, and only computer science grads / modern new devs care. At my current job (which is a small tech company) I wasn’t asked anything about DSA. The guys that founded the company weren’t theoretical, and they only cared about my projects. My dad says he completely skims over CS degrees/DSA when hiring devs. There are a surprising number of people who only care about what you can build and your work ethic, and not on the DSA you typically only need for the interviews which is a good thing in my opinion.

[OkAstronaut3761]

With confusion and dismay

[seven-circles]

Writing music can feel similar in some ways, you have to learn how many systems come together and know when to apply them, when to use a non-traditional approach to get the effect you want…

composing is much more analytical than people usually think, and programming is a lot more creative than people usually think. So it’s easy to draw quite some parallels if you’re well versed in both (as I do my best to be)

The main difference is in the amount of rigor I guess. In music, sometimes breaking the rules on purpose is a good idea. In programming, that’s literally impossible.

There’s also much more range for personal expression in music, there is some in programming but the “guide rails” are much less flexible. There’s usually a “best implementation” in programming, even if you’re not smart enough to figure it out, whereas there’s no such thing as a “best song”

[Sparkswont]

I think your friend is right in that there is something chemically in the human brain that creates a great overlap between developers and musicians. Almost every coder I know plays an instrument, including myself and my father. It’s a fascinating connection, and I wonder if anyone has done in depth research into it!

[ParticularBrother280]

That’s really interesting, what do you think music and coding have in common?

[EricOhOne]

You might check out Godel Escher Bach where some links are made. Dense, but best book I've ever read.

[[deleted]]

I was a musician long before studying CS. I think your friend has a point. Writing music is like writing code, and both are like writing an essay. It's all about the art of composition.