Arrange Tape

Arrange Tape

This skill composes an arrangement for a tape — the performance plan for how elements are introduced, removed, and layered over time.

What is an arrangement?

A tape's .scd defines all the musical elements (Pdefs, Ndefs, effects, sidechains). An arrangement defines when each element plays and stops, turning a static loop into a track with structure.

Arrangements use CCArrangement — a declarative class where you list sections as [name, bars, elements] arrays. The class handles all Pdef/Ndef start/stop diffing and uses TempoClock.schedAbs for drift-free timing.

Process

Step 1: Understand the tape

Read the tape's .md and .scd files to understand:

• What elements exist (all Pdef/Ndef names)
• The tempo (needed to calculate total duration)
• The vibe/genre (informs pacing and conventions)
• Effects and sidechains (may need to be activated/deactivated per section)

Step 2: Plan the arrangement with the user

Propose a section-by-section plan. Use standard arrangement conventions for the genre. Common structures:

Dance/electronic (~2-4 min):

• Intro → Build → Drop → Break → Drop 2 → Outro

Ambient/textural:

• Emerge → Develop → Peak → Dissolve

Hip-hop/R&B:

• Intro → Verse → Hook → Verse 2 → Hook → Outro

For each section, specify:

• Name and length in bars
• Which elements are active during that section
• Any parameter changes (effect tweaks, filter sweeps, etc.)

Present the plan as a table or outline and get user approval before writing code.

Step 3: Write the arrangement

IMPORTANT: The arrangement does NOT go into the tape's .scd file. Tape .scd files define elements only — no arrangement logic. Instead, do one of:

Option A: Live performance — Execute via cc_execute during a session.

Option B: Separate file — Write to tapes/<name>-arrangement.scd if the user wants to save it.

The arrangement code follows this pattern:

// First, execute the tape's .scd to define all elements
// (but remove .play from each Pdef/Ndef — arrangement controls when they start)

// Then execute the arrangement:
CCArrangement([
    [\intro, 8, [\kick, \hat]],
    [\build, 8, [\kick, \hat, \bass, \rim]],
    [\drop, 16, [\kick, \hat, \bass, \rim, \lead, \pad]],
    [\break, 8, [\hat, \pad]],
    [\drop2, 16, [\kick, \hat, \bass, \rim, \lead, \pad]],
    [\outro, 8, [\kick, \hat]],
]).play;

Each section is [name, bars, elements]:

• name — a symbol identifying the section (posted to console automatically)
• bars — how many bars this section lasts
• elements — which Pdefs/Ndefs should be playing during this section

The class automatically diffs element lists between sections — elements not in the next section are stopped, new elements are started. You never need to manually call .play or .stop on individual Pdefs.

Optional action function: Add a 4th element for custom per-section logic (effect changes, parameter tweaks):

[\drop, 16, [\kick, \hat, \bass, \lead], { ~cc.fx.route(\lead, \delay) }]

Rules:

• List all active elements per section — the class computes what to start/stop
• Build tension by layering elements gradually — don't start everything at once
• Breaks should strip down to 2-3 elements, then rebuild
• Outros should remove elements gradually, with the most fundamental element (usually kick) last
• The final section's elements are automatically stopped when the arrangement ends

Step 4: Update the tape's .md

Add or update the ## Arrangement section in the tape's .md to document what was composed:

## Arrangement (~<duration>)

1. **<Section>** (<bars> bars) - <description of active elements>
2. **<Section>** (<bars> bars) - <description of active elements>
...

Include approximate total duration calculated from tempo and total bars:

• duration_seconds = total_bars * beats_per_bar * (60 / tempo)

Interaction with tape playback

When playing a tape that has an arrangement:

1. Execute the tape's .scd blocks to define all elements, but don't play them — either remove .play calls or stop everything after defining
2. Execute the arrangement to perform the piece

When playing a tape without an arrangement:

• Execute blocks in order as normal (elements start immediately)

MIDI clock sync

If the user wants to sync external gear, enable MIDI clock before playing the arrangement. CCArrangement automatically sends MIDI clock start/stop when CCMIDIClock is enabled:

~cc.midi.connect("My Device", \out);
CCMIDIClock.enable(~cc.midi.output);

Once enabled, any CCArrangement.play sends MIDI Start + 24 ppqn clock ticks, and stop/finish sends MIDI Stop. No changes to the arrangement code are needed.

Tips for good arrangements

• Genre conventions matter — tech house builds slowly over 8-16 bar sections; DnB drops hit harder with shorter builds
• Tension and release — alternate between adding and removing elements
• Frequency balance — don't introduce all low-end at once; don't strip all high-end at once
• Effects as arrangement tools — bypass/enable effects between sections for contrast
• The break is the arrangement — the most important moment is what you take away, not what you add
• Odd numbers feel natural — 12-bar drops and 6-bar breaks can feel more interesting than perfect powers of 2