Exploring Alda

Posted on by Alwin Mathew

What is Alda?

Alda is a text-based, open-source programming language designed for musicians to compose music in a text editor without needing complex graphical user interface (GUI) software.

The Alda music programming language was created by Dave Yarwood in 2012. Interestingly, he was a classically trained musician long before he was a competent programmer

Why Alda?

In contrast to working with complex GUI applications available at the time, Dave Yarwood found that programming pieces of music in a text editor is a pleasantly distraction-free experience.

How it Works

The process is beautifully simple:

  1. Write the notes in a text file using Alda’s syntax
  2. Run the file through the Alda interpreter
  3. Hear the music come to life

Key Features

Alda uses the General MIDI sound set — giving you access to over 100 instruments.

Basic Syntax

  • Pitch: The letter represents the pitch. c is C, d is D, e is E, and so on.
  • Duration: The number indicates how long it lasts in beats. In Alda, smaller numbers mean longer notes—it’s backwards from how we normally think!
  • Octave: The octave number tells Alda how high or low to play. c4 is middle C, c5 is one octave higher, c3 is one octave lower.

Handy Shortcuts

  • > moves you up one octave
  • < moves you down one octave

Chords and Rests

  • The forward slash / is your chord maker. It tells Alda to play notes at the exact same time.
  • Rests use r instead of a note name. The same duration rules apply.

Visual Aid

The vertical bar | does absolutely nothing to the sound. It’s just there to help you read the music more easily.

Demo

Here is the short demo I made using Alda!

It is a fairly simple Piano composition

Code

This is the code that I ran for the Demo Video !!

piano:
  c4 d4 e4 f4 | g4 a4 b4 > c5
  < b4 a4 g4 f4 | e4 d4 c2
  
piano:
  c4 e4 g4 > c5 | e5 d5 c5 < b4
  a4 c5 e5 g5 | a5 g5 e5 c5
  
piano:
  c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 | f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5
  g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 | c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4
  
piano:
  c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 | f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5
  g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 | c4/e4/g4 r2 r4
  
piano:
  c4 e4 g4 > c5 | < b4 g4 e4 c4
  c4 e4 g4 > c5 | < b4 g4 e4 c2 r2

piano:
  c4 e4 g4 > c5 | e5 d5 c5 < b4
  a4 c5 e5 g5 | a5 g5 e5 c5
  
piano:
  c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 | f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5
  g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 | c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4
  
piano:
  c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 | f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5
  g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 | c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4

piano:
  c4 d4 e4 f4 | g4 a4 b4 > c5
  < b4 a4 g4 f4 | e4 d4 c2
  
piano:
  c4 e4 g4 > c5 | < b4 g4 e4 c4
  c4 e4 g4 > c5 | < b4 g4 e4 c2 r2
  
piano:
  c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 | f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5 f4/a4/c5
  g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 g4/b4/d5 | c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 c4/e4/g4 r2 r2

piano:
  c4/e4/g4 r2 | r1

piano:
  c4 r2 | r1

Alda represents a beautiful intersection between programming and musicianship—proof that sometimes the simplest tools can inspire the most creative work.

Thank You!!!