Getting started

The shortest path from zero to a piece of music. We'll write a few lines of relanote, see why "relative" matters, and render the result.

By the end you'll have written:

1. An interval — the relationship between two notes.
2. A scale-degree melody — pitches expressed by what they relate to.
3. A pipe-driven transformation — composition the way you'd compose code.
4. A MIDI file you can drop into any DAW.

If you don't have relanote installed locally, follow the Installation guide, or open the Showcase and listen in the browser first.

Your first program

Create tutorial.rela:

; My first Relanote program!
scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

| <1> <3> <5> |

Run it:

relanote run tutorial.rela

You should see output showing three intervals: the root, major third, and perfect fifth. This is a major triad!

Understanding the Output

Block {
  slots: [
    Note { interval: R (0 semitones) },
    Note { interval: M3 (4 semitones) },
    Note { interval: P5 (7 semitones) }
  ]
}

Relanote shows you the internal representation. Notice how intervals are measured in semitones from the root.

Adding a Scale

Let's use scale degrees instead of raw intervals:

; Define a major scale
scale Major = { R, M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, M7 }

; Use scale degrees
let melody = | <1> <3> <5> |

melody

<1>, <3>, <5> refer to the 1st, 3rd, and 5th degrees of the scale. This is the same major triad, but now expressed in terms of scale degrees!

Creating a Melody

Let's make something more interesting:

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

; A simple melody
let melody = | <1> <2> <3> <4> <5> <5> <3> <4> <5> <5> <1> |

melody

This creates a familiar melody using the major scale.

Render to MIDI

Let's hear it! Render to a MIDI file:

relanote render tutorial.rela -o melody.mid

Open melody.mid in your favorite music software (GarageBand, Logic, Ableton, etc.) to hear your creation!

What's Next?

• Your First Melody - Create a complete melody with rhythm
• Building Chords - Learn to create chord progressions
• Creating a Song - Put it all together

Quick Reference