Sonic Pi vs TidalCycles vs Strudel: A Live Coder's Comparison

The live coding scene has evolved tremendously, with three major platforms leading the charge: Sonic Pi, TidalCycles, and Strudel. After extensive time with each, I’m breaking down their strengths, quirks, and ideal use cases for different types of creative coders.

The Contenders

Sonic Pi: The Gateway Drug

Language: Ruby
Created: 2012 by Sam Aaron
Philosophy: Education-first, performance-ready

TidalCycles: The Pattern Powerhouse

Language: Haskell
Created: 2009 by Alex McLean
Philosophy: Functional programming meets algorithmic composition

Strudel: The Web-Native Evolution

Language: JavaScript
Created: 2022 by Felix Roos et al.
Philosophy: TidalCycles patterns in the browser

Learning Curve Comparison

Sonic Pi: Gentle Slope

# Your first loop - immediately understandable live_loop :drums do sample :bd_haus sleep 1 sample :sn_dolf sleep 1 end

Pros: Ruby’s readable syntax, excellent documentation, built-in tutorial
Cons: Can become verbose for complex patterns
Best For: Beginners, educators, linear thinkers

TidalCycles: Steep but Rewarding

-- Concise but dense d1 $ s "bd sn bd sn" # gain (range 0.8 1.2 $ slow 4 sine)

Pros: Incredibly expressive pattern language, functional programming concepts
Cons: Haskell syntax barrier, SuperCollider dependency
Best For: Functional programming enthusiasts, pattern complexity lovers

Strudel: Familiar Territory

// JavaScript with TidalCycles patterns s("bd sn bd sn").gain(sine.range(0.8, 1.2).slow(4))

Pros: No installation hassles, familiar JavaScript syntax, instant gratification
Cons: Newer ecosystem, fewer community resources
Best For: Web developers, collaborative live coding, beginners wanting TidalCycles power

Performance Capabilities

Sonic Pi: Stage-Ready Reliability

• Strengths: Rock-solid timing, excellent error recovery, visual feedback
• Live Performance: Built for it - errors don’t crash the show
• Latency: Low, predictable
• Best Features: live_loop system, automatic sync, built-in effects

TidalCycles: Maximum Expressiveness

• Strengths: Unparalleled pattern manipulation, SuperCollider’s synthesis power
• Live Performance: Powerful but requires expertise to handle gracefully
• Latency: Variable depending on SuperCollider setup
• Best Features: Pattern transformations, polyrhythmic capabilities

Strudel: Web-First Innovation

• Strengths: Zero setup, shareable sessions, real-time collaboration
• Live Performance: Surprisingly capable, browser-based reliability
• Latency: Web Audio API dependent, generally acceptable
• Best Features: Instant sharing, visual pattern representation, collaborative editing

Code Style Comparison

The Same Drum Pattern in Each System

Sonic Pi (Verbose but Clear):

live_loop :drums do at [0, 2] do sample :bd_haus, amp: 0.8 end at [1, 3] do sample :sn_dolf, amp: 0.6 end at (0..15).step(0.25) do sample :hat_bdu, amp: 0.3 if one_in(3) end sleep 4 end

TidalCycles (Concise and Dense):

d1 $ stack [ s "bd ~ bd ~" # gain 0.8, s "~ sn ~ sn" # gain 0.6, s "hat*16" # gain 0.3 # degradeBy 0.7 ]

Strudel (JavaScript-Familiar):

stack( s("bd ~ bd ~").gain(0.8), s("~ sn ~ sn").gain(0.6), s("hat*16").gain(0.3).degradeBy(0.7) )

Ecosystem and Community

Sonic Pi

• Community: Large educational focus, raspberry pi integration
• Resources: Excellent built-in help, active forums
• Extensions: Limited but growing
• Documentation: Outstanding, tutorial-focused

TidalCycles

• Community: Academic and underground algorave scene
• Resources: Dense documentation, requires dedication
• Extensions: Rich SuperCollider ecosystem
• Documentation: Comprehensive but challenging

Strudel

• Community: Growing rapidly, web-developer friendly
• Resources: Modern docs, interactive examples
• Extensions: JavaScript ecosystem compatibility
• Documentation: Clear and interactive

When to Choose What

Choose Sonic Pi If:

• You’re new to live coding
• Teaching/learning programming through music
• Want reliable live performance
• Prefer readable, verbose code
• Need excellent error handling

Choose TidalCycles If:

• You love functional programming
• Want maximum pattern complexity
• Need SuperCollider’s synthesis power
• Enjoy dense, expressive code
• Are comfortable with steeper learning curves

Choose Strudel If:

• You want zero installation friction
• Come from web development background
• Need real-time collaboration
• Want TidalCycles patterns without Haskell
• Like modern, interactive development environments

My Personal Take

After years with each platform:

For Learning: Start with Sonic Pi, its educational design is unmatched
For Complexity: TidalCycles remains the pattern king
For Accessibility: Strudel is revolutionizing how we approach live coding
For Performance: Sonic Pi’s reliability wins for high-stakes shows
For Collaboration: Strudel’s web-native approach is game-changing

The Future Landscape

The evolution of these platforms shows the maturation of live coding:

1. Sonic Pi continues strengthening its educational mission while adding professional features
2. TidalCycles remains the research frontier, pushing pattern language boundaries
3. Strudel is democratizing access and enabling new forms of collaborative creation

Conclusion

There’s no “best” choice - only the right tool for your situation. The beauty of the live coding community is that these platforms push each other forward, and many performers use multiple systems.

My advice? Try all three. Start sessions in Sonic Pi, explore complex patterns in TidalCycles, and collaborate in Strudel. The cross-pollination of ideas between platforms often leads to the most interesting music.

The live coding future is multi-platform, and we’re all better for it.

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What’s your platform preference? Share your live coding setup in the comments!