Melody Composer

Compose original melodies and render them as playable audio files (MIDI and WAV).

Creative Philosophy

A melody is a journey through emotional space, not an algorithm. Before writing any notes:

1. •Identify the emotional core - what feeling should this melody evoke?
2. •Choose musical materials (scale, tempo, contour) that serve that emotion
3. •Develop ideas through variation, not random generation

Reference references/creative-approaches.md for compositional strategies.

Composition Workflow

Step 1: Define Musical Intent

Determine these parameters:

• •Emotion/Character: serenity, melancholy, joy, mystery, determination, longing
• •Tempo: BPM (60-80 calm, 90-120 moderate, 120+ energetic)
• •Mode/Scale: see references/music-theory.md
• •Form: A (8-16 bars), ABA, AABA, or through-composed

Step 2: Design the Melody

Build from a motivic seed:

1. •Create a short motif (3-5 notes) that captures the essence
2. •Develop it: repeat, sequence (transpose), invert, extend
3. •Shape the contour - build to a climax ~62% through, then resolve
4. •Vary rhythms to avoid monotony

Melodic guidelines:

• •Mostly stepwise motion, occasional leaps
• •Large leaps resolve by step in opposite direction
• •Phrase endings on stable scale degrees (1, 3, 5)
• •Leave breathing room - silence is part of melody

Step 3: Generate the Composition

Create a JSON specification with one or more voices:

{
    "title": "Composition Title",
    "tempo": 90,
    "time_signature": [4, 4],
    "voices": [
        {
            "name": "Melody",
            "instrument": 0,
            "channel": 0,
            "notes": [
                {"pitch": 60, "duration": 1.0, "velocity": 80, "start": 0.0}
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "Bass",
            "instrument": 32,
            "channel": 1,
            "notes": [
                {"pitch": 36, "duration": 2.0, "velocity": 70, "start": 0.0}
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Voice fields:

• •name: voice identifier (for MIDI track name)
• •instrument: General MIDI program number (see below)
• •channel: MIDI channel 0-15 (use different channels per voice)
• •notes: array of note events

Note fields:

• •pitch: MIDI note number (60 = middle C, each semitone +1)
• •duration: length in beats (1.0 = quarter note at tempo)
• •velocity: loudness 0-127 (typical: 60-100)
• •start: beat position where note begins

Common GM instruments:

• •0: Acoustic Grand Piano
• •4: Electric Piano
• •24: Nylon Guitar
• •32: Acoustic Bass
• •40: Violin
• •42: Cello
• •48: String Ensemble
• •56: Trumpet
• •73: Flute
• •88: New Age Pad

Step 4: Render Audio

Run the composition script:

echo '<json>' | python3 scripts/compose.py output_name --wav

This creates both .mid (MIDI) and .wav (synthesized audio) files.

Quick Reference

MIDI pitches (octave 4): C=60, D=62, E=64, F=65, G=67, A=69, B=71

Common scales from C (60):

• •Major: 60, 62, 64, 65, 67, 69, 71
• •Minor: 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 70
• •Pentatonic major: 60, 62, 64, 67, 69
• •Dorian: 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 70

Emotional intervals:

• •Minor 3rd (3 semitones): sadness
• •Major 3rd (4): joy
• •Perfect 5th (7): power, stability
• •Minor 6th (8): longing

For complete theory, see references/music-theory.md.