Music · Code · Play

Many ways in.
One place to learn.

Musicians learning to code. Coders learning an instrument. People making games together. Find a small starting point that fits the tools and energy you have today.

Tarantula's many legs connect these paths within one community project. The Inpatient-inspired focus is neurodivergent-friendly learning: clear next steps, room to pause, and freedom to change direction.

Find your starting point Explore the learning loop

Early community prototype. The path finder works here. Source-checked Ren lessons and Cyber-G integration are still in development. This is an independent project; artist and instrument-maker participation is not established.

Start small

Find your fit

Try the original music/code exercise · Keep your place in a practice session · Prepare and share your own work in PIXIE

Choose what interests you. You can switch paths at any time. No diagnosis, account, instrument purchase, or public score is required.

01 / PLAY

Your first note

Use GarageBand's touch instruments on iPad, explore keyboard practice in Synthesia, or play along on an instrument you already have.

GarageBand · Synthesia

02 / RECORD

A take you can keep

Record and edit in GarageBand on iPad or Audacity on desktop. Save an audio copy locally before deciding whether to share it.

iPad export guide · Audacity

03 / CODE

Hear what your code does

Start with Sonic Pi. Change one note, pause, or rhythm. Its browser version offers a starting point; controller features vary by platform.

Sonic Pi introduction · Open Sonic Pi

04 / BUILD

One input. One action.

Connect a MIDI pad or button to the original music/code exercise, inspect its messages, and test one action. Keep keyboard/touch as a fallback.

Learn a controller input · Read its code

Each route also has a self-paced listening or reading option. Read the full pathway guide.

Shared learning loop

Watch. Understand. Try. Change.

Learn Tarantula with Johnson Download the mentor prompt

The tutor is a scripted conversational example running in your browser. No account or backend is required. Specific artist explanations still need verified source timestamps.

Planned lessons will use videos where Ren Gill explains his creative process. Questions will point to a checked timestamp. Practice will use our own exercises or verified public-domain material with permitted recordings.

Watch or read: explore one authorized source at your own pace.
Ask what it establishes: separate the artist's explanation from our interpretation.
Try one idea: play, listen, record, or code a short exercise.
Change and reflect: make one adjustment, describe it, and optionally save your work.

“My responses are limited to this source.”

“Not stated in this source” can be a correct answer. The guide will cite its evidence rather than inventing an artist's intentions. A scripted Johnson tutor example is now available for listening, original exercises and reflection. Source-checked quiz answers and open-ended AI responses are not implemented.

Why Tarantula and Inpatient?

The project grew from a fan chart for “Tarantula,” by Ren and Chris Webby. Its many paths now connect music, learning, coding and play. We design for different attention and access needs without asking people to disclose a diagnosis.

Watch the referenced Tarantula video on YouTube · Explore Inpatient World. This music video is a reference, not a verified process lesson.

For contributors

Finish one useful learning loop

Help someone move from a musical idea to a small working result. An original synthetic-tone exercise now provides editable note data, timed and untimed practice, and local chart export. The next lesson milestone remains one verified source and three evidence-backed questions.

Musicians: check the exercise, explanations, and musical usefulness.
Coders: connect the lesson, chart editing, local export, and calm feedback.
Players and accessibility reviewers: test touch, keyboard, readable steps, focus, and recovery.

Explore the Tarantula repository Read the developer scope

Use the gear you have: DJ2GO2, Tula, Shure and AirPods

Learn a pad/button in the MIDI exercise. Record original material with Tula in your chosen app, then bring a file to Creator OS practice. Shure and AirPods are listening routes; Apple accessibility settings remain under your control.

Equipment, AirPods accessibility and physical test guide. Input hardware, iPad/browser support and latency still require your test evidence. No new backend, purchase or microphone permission is required.

Cyber-G: play along first, validate input separately

Cyber-G can be an optional instrument alongside the lesson. USB audio and MIDI note events are different capabilities. Model, module, firmware, receiving app, and browser all need checking before automatic scoring or control is promised.

Start with GarageBand recording and local export, then test audio and keyboard MIDI separately. Safari browser MIDI access is not established by MIDI working in a native app.

Optional tools: notation, sound and controllers

MuseScore Studio supports the notation route; MuseHub offers optional sounds and effects. Desktop plugins are not automatically iPad-compatible. Use built-in sounds before adding dependencies.

Sonic Pi MIDI and OSC can connect controllers to sounds. Sonic Pi Web does not provide MIDI in Safari or browser OSC; use a supported app/environment for those experiments.

Legacy Clone Hero templates

song.ini and notes.chart remain unverified source templates. They are not a finished playable pack and supply no audio or artist permission. Validate metadata, timing, chart content and rights before reuse.

Clone Hero offers optional controller rhythm practice. Moonscraper edits charts. Game scores do not establish instrumental technique or musical understanding.

Contribution is voluntary and currently unpaid. Agree on scope, credit, public visibility and an exit path before work begins. Sponsorship does not buy participation, approvals, employment or ownership. Read the participation terms.

Same commitments as PIXIE · Separate project

Choice, evidence and care

Pause, replay, skip or change paths. No forced streaks, required rankings, or personal health disclosures. No accounts, forms sending data, or analytics are added to this page; external tools have their own policies.

Keep practice and recording local first. Audio.com is an optional sharing route after reviewing credits, permissions and publication settings. An unlisted recording is still accessible to anyone with its link.

Publicly viewable music is not public domain. Composition, arrangement, recording, chart and video rights need separate consideration. MIT covers original project material we can license; it does not license artist works or third-party software.

Read the lesson ethics and rights policy.

Hackathons & creative build opportunities

Checked October 4, 2026. Refreshed every two weeks. Choose an opportunity that supports the learning project; eligibility and requirements still need checking. Deadlines below use Chicago time.

InnovArt 2027 — online; due January 2, 2027 at 11:00 a.m. CST. Strong subject fit for music, creative coding, adaptive art and instrument tools. Eligibility unresolved: student-only badges conflict with broader overview/rules text. Submission and presentation required.
Qloo Agentic Hackathon — online; due October 30, 2026 at 10:45 p.m. CDT. Conditional fit for music discovery; requires meaningful Qloo API use, an agentic app, a working public demo and open-source code.
WarriorHacks 2.0 — online; due October 13, 2026 at 11:45 p.m. CDT. Community learning fit for eligible student contributors aged 13+; organizations are excluded.

Read requirements, source links and refresh policy. Listing an event does not establish affiliation or confirmed eligibility.