event logic and temporal hierarchy
instruments can further compose to higher-level structures of arbitrary complexity.
a track sequences configurations for a single instrument over time. it schedules onsets, which are discrete time points at which an instrument is triggered with a given configuration.
track onsets: time, ... instrument(instrument_configuration(t))
tracks define the lowest-level temporal structure in musical arrangement.
a riff coordinates multiple tracks to form a polyphonic or layered musical phrase. tracks within a riff are typically aligned in time but may differ in density, instrument, or configuration space.
a rifftrack sequences a single riff over time. this enables reuse and repetition of musical material with or without variation. it may include temporal transforms such as transposition, time-stretching, or amplitude scaling applied per riff instance.
a song combines multiple rifftracks over time to form a complete musical structure. rifftracks may be layered, interleaved, or independently varied, allowing both vertical and horizontal musical complexity.
onsets are discrete time markers that trigger sound events. they define the when of a sound and serve as the foundational layer for timing structures in digital music systems. onsets are manipulated and represented in various ways for compositional control and signal generation.
onsets are typically defined by the time intervals between them. these intervals may be uniform or irregular.
structural operations on onset sequences include:
onsets can be encoded using different representations, each with different implications for editing, performance, and algorithmic manipulation:
1
represents an onset, and 0
represents a restrhythm is the temporal structure of music, defined by expected patterns of change over time. it is most often expressed through onsets, durations, accents, and occasionally pitch or amplitude envelopes, especially when these evolve in regular or thematically significant ways.
at its core, rhythm introduces expectation - a sense of continuity or recurrence. multiple rhythmic expectations can coexist, interact, and persist simultaneously, allowing complex structural layering such as parallelism, serialism, and polyrhythm.
expectation & coherence: rhythmic coherence arises from repeated patterns and their variation.
parallelism: simultaneous occurrence of similar patterns
serialism: rigidly ordered sequences of rhythmic values
polyrhythm: superimposition of two or more rhythmic cycles with distinct periodicities
adherence: how closely patterns follow or deviate from an established grid or motif
rhythms are categorized by how they relate to the underlying meter:
both methods can be layered or mixed to form rich hybrid structures.
in the context of digital synthesis and signal-based models: