Chrome Music Lab

What it is

Chrome Music Lab is a collection of interactive music experiments from Google Creative Lab that run in any browser. The stated goal is to make learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments. There is no account to create: open an experiment and start playing, on a phone, tablet or laptop.

The best known is Song Maker, a simple grid sequencer where you click notes into place and share the result as a link. Kandinsky, inspired by the painter who compared painting to music, turns whatever you draw into sound, whether it's a circle, a line or a scribble. Spectrogram shows a picture of sound, the frequencies it is made of and how they change over time, and you can switch on the mic to see your own voice. Other experiments cover rhythm, chords, arpeggios, harmonics and sound waves.

Why we picked it

It is built around colors, grids and sound rather than text, so almost anyone can get something out of it in five minutes. A kid can write a first melody; an adult can finally see what overtones are. Everything uses open web technology, and the source code for many of the experiments is on GitHub.

It works equally well as a toy and as a teaching tool. Teachers have long used it to connect music with science, math and art, and it shows.

Where to start

• Open Song Maker, build a short loop, then switch instruments.
• In Kandinsky, draw a face and listen to it sing.
• Turn on the mic in Spectrogram, whistle, then say a few words.
• If you have kids around, hand them the site for half an hour with no instructions.

Who it's for

Kids and parents, music and science teachers, and anyone who wants to try composing without an instrument or notation.

Quick answers

Do I need an account? No, the experiments open instantly.

Do I need to read music? No, everything works with visual grids and drawings.

Who made it? Google Creative Lab; source code for many experiments is on GitHub.