That Music You're Dancing To? It's Code

I was photographed for this New York Times article about live coding and Sonic Pi. Demetrius Freeman captured me performing, with the code visible on screen as I typed. It was unusual to have the focus on me rather than the music, but the photos show the process clearly—you write code, run it, and music happens.

What draws me to live coding is its accessibility. You don't need years of practice or expensive equipment. The code is projected on the wall during performances, so there's no mystery about how it works. As Evan Raskob noted in the article, it has that punk rock quality where you see it and think "I could do that." The barrier to entry is low, and the community welcomes experimentation.

The article captures something important about code: it doesn't have to be limited to business applications. Sam Aaron created Sonic Pi as a teaching tool, but it became something else—a way to make music that's open to anyone willing to learn a few commands. Most code is used for business purposes, but that's not all it can be. Code can be expressive and creative, just like writing can be poetry or music.