Computational Music Analysis: Python and music21 for Beginners

Have you ever wanted to bridge the gap between music theory and computer science? This text-based course introduces you to the fascinating world of computational musicology, where code meets composition. You will learn how to represent, analyze, and manipulate musical scores programmatically. By writing clean Python code, you will transition from manual score analysis to automated corpus studies, unlocking deep insights into musical patterns, structures, and styles. What you'll learn: Understand core concepts of symbolic music representation and computational musicology; Parse and manipulate digital sheet music using Python and the music21 library; Analyze musical features like harmony, rhythm, and counterpoint programmatically; Search musical corpora for specific patterns, intervals, and melodic structures; Generate simple musical passages and algorithmic compositions using code; Apply modern Python best practices, including type hints, to organize your music analysis scripts. The course starts with foundational definitions of music theory and symbolic representations before guiding you through hands-on coding exercises. You will progress from analyzing individual notes to processing entire musical collections and understanding the basics of algorithmic generation. This course is designed for curious musicians, musicologists, and programmers with basic Python knowledge who want to explore music through a computational lens. No advanced mathematics or deep music theory background is required. Start your journey into computational music analysis and learn to see music from a whole new perspective.