Syntax Reference

Complete syntax reference for Relanote.

Comments

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; Single line comment

Literals

Intervals

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R     ; Root (unison)
M2    ; Major second
m3    ; Minor third
A4    ; Augmented fourth
d5    ; Diminished fifth
P5+   ; Perfect fifth, octave up
M3-   ; Major third, octave down

Absolute Pitches

Absolute pitch notation for specifying the key (root note):

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C4    ; Middle C (MIDI note 60)
D4    ; D above middle C
Bb3   ; B-flat below middle C
F#4   ; F-sharp above middle C
G3    ; G below middle C

Format: [Note][Accidental][Octave]

Note: C, D, E, F, G, A, B
Accidental (optional): # (sharp) or b (flat)
Octave: 0-9 (4 is the middle C octave)

Numbers

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42      ; Integer
3.14    ; Float

Strings

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"Hello, World!"

Booleans

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true
false

Variables

Let Binding

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let name = value

; With type annotation (optional)
let name: Type = value

Set Bindings

The set keyword is used for built-in configuration variables:

Key (Root Note)

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set key = C4     ; Root is middle C (default)
set key = Bb3    ; Root is B-flat below middle C
set key = G4     ; Root is G above middle C

All intervals are calculated relative to this pitch. If not specified, the default key is C4 (MIDI note 60).

Tempo

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set tempo = 120  ; 120 beats per minute (default)
set tempo = 80   ; Slower tempo
set tempo = 140  ; Faster tempo

Let...In Expression

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let x = 10 in
  x + 5    ; Returns 15

Blocks

Basic Block

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| note1 note2 note3 |

With Scale Degrees

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| <1> <2> <3> |

With Rests

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| <1> - <3> |

Note Duration

Individual notes, rests, and chords can have explicit durations using the :n syntax:

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| <1>:2 <2> <3> |      ; First note is 2 slots long, others are 1 slot
| <1>:4 - - - |        ; Note held for 4 slots
| <1>:2 -:2 <3>:2 |    ; Each element is 2 slots
| [R, M3, P5]:4 |      ; Chord held for 4 slots

The number after : represents how many "slots" the note occupies. Within a block, all slots share the block's total duration equally. So :2 means the note takes twice as long as a normal slot.

Examples:

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; Half notes and quarter notes
| <1>:2 <2>:2 |        ; Two half notes

; Dotted rhythm
| <1>:3 <2> |          ; Dotted quarter + eighth

; Whole note
| <1>:4 |              ; One whole note (4 slots worth)

; With articulations
| <1>^:2 <2>*:2 |      ; Accented half note, staccato half note

Scale and Chord

Scale Definition

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scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

Chord Definition

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chord MajorTriad = [ R, M3, P5 ]

Functions

Lambda Expression

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\x -> x + 1

\x, y -> x + y

Function Application

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f(x)
f(x, y)

Pipe Operator

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x |> f          ; Same as f(x)
x |> f |> g     ; Same as g(f(x))

Function Composition

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f >> g    ; Same as \x -> g(f(x))

Control Flow

If Expression

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if condition then
  true_expr
else
  false_expr

Match Expression

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match value with
  | pattern1 -> result1
  | pattern2 -> result2
  | _ -> default

Operators

Arithmetic

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a + b    ; Addition
a - b    ; Subtraction
a * b    ; Multiplication
a / b    ; Division

Comparison

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a == b   ; Equal
a != b   ; Not equal
a < b    ; Less than
a > b    ; Greater than
a <= b   ; Less or equal
a >= b   ; Greater or equal

Logical

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a and b
a or b
not a

Block Operations

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a ++ b   ; Concatenation

Articulations

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<1>'     ; Staccato
<1>^     ; Accent

Synth Definition

Basic Synth

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synth MyLead = {
  osc: Saw,
  env: { A: 0.02, D: 0.15, S: 0.7, R: 0.2 },
  filter: LowPass(3000, 0.3)
}

Synth Properties

Property	Values	Description
`osc`	`Sine`, `Square`, `Saw`, `Triangle`, `Noise`, `FM(...)`, `Wavetable(...)`, `Granular(...)`	Oscillator(s). Stack with `+`.
`env`	`{ A: s, D: s, S: level, R: s }`	ADSR envelope
`filter`	`LowPass(hz, q)`, `HighPass(hz, q)`, `BandPass(hz, q)`	Filter
`detune`	number (cents)	Unison detune across voices
`pitch_env`	`{ from: hz, to: hz, time: s }`	Pitch envelope (drums)
`mod`	`[ lfo(...), env(...), keytrack(...), velocity(...) ]`	Modulation matrix
`bitcrush`	`{ bits, rate }`	Per-voice bit reduction
`saturate`	number (0–1)	Per-voice saturation amount

Oscillator forms

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Sine
Square
Saw
Triangle
Noise(color: White | Pink)

; Stacked oscillators — `+` sums voices.
Saw(voices: 5) + Sine(level: 0.4, octave: -1)

; FM — two operators, the carrier the listener hears.
FM(op1: Sine, op2: Sine, op2_ratio: 3.5, op2_level: 0.6, feedback: 0.0)

; Wavetable — scan through single-cycle waves.
Wavetable(table: "vapor", voices: 3?)

; Granular — chop a sample bank.
Granular(source: "drone",
         grain_size: 0.08,
         density: 28,
         spray: 0.4,
         pitch_jitter: 0,
         reverse: false?)

Filter types

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LowPass(cutoff_hz, resonance)
HighPass(cutoff_hz, resonance)
BandPass(cutoff_hz, resonance)

Tuning declarations

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tuning EDO24            = equal { steps: 24 }
tuning JustIntonation   = ratios [ 1/1, 9/8, 5/4, 4/3, 3/2, 5/3, 15/8 ]
tuning WerckmeisterIII  = cents [ 0.0, -3.91, -7.82, ... ]
tuning BohlenPierce     = ratios_per_period { period: 3/1, steps: 13 }

set tuning = JustIntonation        ; activate globally
let passage = melody |> in_tuning EDO24    ; activate for one expression

Cents offsets on individual pitches use +Nc / -Nc:

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| <1> M3 -13.7c <5> |          ; just major third on top of the M3
| <3 +5c> <5 -7c> |            ; cents offset on a scale-degree reference
| C4 +50c |                    ; cents offset on an absolute pitch

Groove declarations

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groove Swing67 = offsets {
  length: 2,
  steps: [0.0, 0.17]
}

groove Dilla = offsets {
  length: 16,
  steps: [
     0.00,  0.04, -0.02,  0.05,
    -0.03,  0.06,  0.02,  0.07,
     0.00,  0.05, -0.02,  0.05,
    -0.04,  0.07,  0.02,  0.08
  ]
}

set groove = Dilla              ; activate globally
melody |> groove Swing67         ; per-track activation

Polyrhythm

a over b plays both sides simultaneously at independent periods. The figure realigns every lcm(slots(a), slots(b)) slots:

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| <1> <5> <8> |:3 over | [<1> m3 P5] [<4> m6 R] [<5> m7 P9] [<1> m3 P5] |:4

Effect declarations

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effect DubDelay = delay {
  time: "1/4", feedback: 0.55, mix: 0.35, filter: LowPass(3500, 0.2), saturate: 0.15
}

effect PlateLarge = reverb {
  size: 0.85, decay: 4.5, damping: 0.6, mix: 0.35, pre_delay: 0.04
}

effect BusGlue = compressor {
  threshold: -16, ratio: 2.5, attack: 0.030, release: 0.250, knee: 4, makeup: 2
}

effect DubRoom = chain [
  delay { time: "1/4", feedback: 0.45, mix: 0.3 },
  reverb { size: 0.7, decay: 3.5, damping: 0.55, mix: 0.4 }
]

melody |> effect DubDelay                ; apply by name

Mix block

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mix {
  ; Per-track effects.
  track "lead"  |> compress -10 4
  track "bass"  |> saturate 0.2

  ; Shared buses.
  bus Verb  = effect PlateLarge
  bus Tape  = effect TapeEcho
  bus Glue  = effect BusGlue

  ; Sends.
  track "lead"  |> send Verb 0.35 |> send Tape 0.20
  track "drums" |> send Glue 1.00

  ; Sidechain ducking.
  sidechain track "kick" -> track "bass" 0.6

  ; Master chain.
  master = effect MasterChain
}

Built-in Functions

Block Transformations

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melody |> reverse           ; Reverse the block
melody |> transpose P5     ; Transpose by interval
melody |> repeat 2         ; Repeat n times
melody |> map (\n -> n + P8) ; Transform each note

Synth Functions

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melody |> voice Lead       ; Apply synth preset
melody |> cutoff 1000      ; Set filter cutoff (Hz)
melody |> resonance 0.5    ; Set filter resonance (0-1)
melody |> detune 10        ; Set detune (cents)
melody |> adsr 0.1 0.2 0.7 0.3  ; Set envelope

Synth Presets

Classic:

Lead - Bright sawtooth lead
SoftPad - Warm sustained pad
FatBass - Thick detuned bass
Pluck - Short attack pluck
Strings - Slow attack strings
Organ - Harmonic sine organ

8-bit:

Chiptune - Classic square wave
Chip8bit - Pure square, fast decay
NES - Nintendo-style sound
GameBoy - Narrow pulse wave

Drums:

Kick - Kick drum
Snare - Snare drum
HiHat - Closed hi-hat
OpenHat - Open hi-hat
Tom - Tom drum
Clap - Hand clap