Syntax Reference

Complete syntax reference for Relanote.

Comments

; Single line comment

Literals

Intervals

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):

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

42      ; Integer
3.14    ; Float

Strings

"Hello, World!"

Booleans

true
false

Variables

Let Binding

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)

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

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

Let...In Expression

let x = 10 in
  x + 5    ; Returns 15

Blocks

Basic Block

| note1 note2 note3 |

With Scale Degrees

| <1> <2> <3> |

With Rests

| <1> - <3> |

Note Duration

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

| <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:

; 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

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

Chord Definition

chord MajorTriad = [ R, M3, P5 ]

Functions

Lambda Expression

\x -> x + 1

\x, y -> x + y

Function Application

f(x)
f(x, y)

Pipe Operator

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

Function Composition

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

Control Flow

If Expression

if condition then
  true_expr
else
  false_expr

Match Expression

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

Operators

Arithmetic

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

Comparison

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

a and b
a or b
not a

Block Operations

a ++ b   ; Concatenation

Articulations

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

Synth Definition

Basic Synth

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	Oscillator waveform
env	{ A: s, D: s, S: level, R: s }	ADSR envelope
filter	LowPass, HighPass, BandPass	Filter type with cutoff and Q
detune	number (cents)	Oscillator detune

Filter Types

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

Built-in Functions

Block Transformations

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

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