Creating Notes

Learn how to add new notes to your composition.

Methods of Creating Notes

Method 1: From the Variable Widget

1. Select an existing note in the workspace
2. The Variable Widget appears with the "Add Note / Silence" section
3. Choose a type: Note or Silence
4. Choose a position:
   • At End: New note starts when the selected note ends (for sequences)
   • At Start: New note starts at the same time as the selected note (for chords)
5. Optionally edit the pre-filled Frequency, Duration, and Start Time fields
6. Click Create Note

Method 2: Load a Module

1. Open the Module Bar
2. Drag a module onto the workspace
3. The module's notes are loaded

Method 3: Edit Module JSON Directly

For advanced users, notes can be added by editing the module JSON:

{
  "notes": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "frequency": "base.f * (3/2)",
      "startTime": "base.t",
      "duration": "1",
      "color": "rgba(255, 100, 100, 0.7)",
      "instrument": "sine-wave"
    }
  ]
}

Legacy JavaScript syntax (also supported)

{
  "notes": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "frequency": "module.baseNote.getVariable('frequency').mul(new Fraction(3, 2))",
      "startTime": "module.baseNote.getVariable('startTime')",
      "duration": "new Fraction(1)",
      "color": "rgba(255, 100, 100, 0.7)",
      "instrument": "sine-wave"
    }
  ]
}

Note Properties

Every note has these core properties:

Property	Required	Description
id	Yes	Unique identifier (auto-assigned)
frequency	Yes	Pitch as a ratio or expression
startTime	Yes	When the note begins
duration	Yes	How long the note plays
color	No	Display color (default assigned)
instrument	No	Sound to use (default: sine-wave)

Default Values

When you add a note via the Variable Widget, it inherits sensible defaults from the selected note:

At End (default)

frequency: [selected].f
startTime: [selected].t + [selected].d
duration: [selected].d

The new note:

• Starts immediately after the selected note ends
• Has the same frequency as the selected note
• Has the same duration as the selected note

At Start

frequency: [selected].f
startTime: [selected].t
duration: [selected].d

The new note:

• Starts at the same time as the selected note (for building chords)
• Has the same frequency as the selected note
• Has the same duration as the selected note

Building Sequences

To create a melody (notes playing one after another):

1. Select the BaseNote or an existing note
2. In the Variable Widget, keep position set to "At End" (default)
3. Edit the Frequency field to set the pitch for the new note
4. Click Create Note
5. Repeat: select the new note and add another

Each note's start time automatically references the previous note's end time.

Building Chords

To create a chord (notes playing together):

1. Select the root note
2. In the Variable Widget, change position to "At Start"
3. Edit the Frequency field (e.g., [1].f * (5/4) for a major third above Note 1)
4. Click Create Note
5. Select the root again and repeat for additional chord tones (e.g., [1].f * (3/2) for perfect fifth)

All chord notes share the same start time as the root.

Note ID Assignment

• IDs are auto-generated sequentially (1, 2, 3, ...)
• ID 0 is reserved for the BaseNote
• IDs are stable - deleting a note doesn't renumber others
• References use IDs: [5].f (or legacy: module.getNoteById(5).getVariable('frequency'))

WARNING

Avoid manually editing note IDs in JSON. Duplicate IDs cause undefined behavior.

Tips

1. Start from presets: Load an interval or chord module as a starting point
2. Use dependencies: New notes automatically depend on the selected note
3. Build incrementally: Add one note at a time, test with playback
4. Check dependency lines: Colored lines show dependencies (orange=frequency, teal=startTime, purple=duration)