Atoms

A WGSL fragment function can reuse the vertex stage's output struct as its input type, ensuring @location consistency automatically

A WGSL fragment shader is an @fragment function that returns a vec4f RGBA color tagged @location(0) for the first color attachment

A WGSL vertex shader is an @vertex function that takes @location inputs from the vertex buffer and returns a @builtin(position) vec4f

A whole Hydra chain compiles to one GPU shader that computes every pixel in parallel

a.bins gives Hydra's un-normalised FFT values and a.prevBins gives the previous frame's, enabling delta-based reactivity

a.fft is updated once per rendered frame at ~60 Hz — sub-frame transients are averaged away, making onset detection impossible

a.fft values are not clamped to 0–1 and can exceed 1 under normal use, so bounded visual parameters must be clamped in the sketch

a.setScale() and a.setCutoff() map FFT bin values to 0–1 via a noise gate and a ceiling threshold

a.setSmooth() prevents strobe artifacts by exponentially averaging consecutive FFT frames in Hydra

A/B a compressor with makeup gain matched to the bypass level to hear compression without loudness bias

A/B-ing a loudness-maximized master against the original source at matched level reveals the depth that maximization destroys

Ableton Link synchronizes tempo across apps by group adoption rather than a central master clock

Ableton's Live Object Model exposes Live's internals to Max for Live for programmatic control

Ableton's Slice to New MIDI Track converts a break into a drum rack of individually triggerable slices

AbletonOSC is installed as a MIDI remote script that exposes Live's full API over OSC

AbletonOSC pushes an int beat number to the client on every beat via start_listen/beat

AbletonOSC uses a fixed port pair: commands arrive on 11000, replies go out on 11001

AbletonOSC's start_listen/stop_listen pattern subscribes to Live property changes and delivers them as push messages

Accurate note playback timing matters more than random micro-timing variation for groove

Acid house triggered the UK's 1988 Second Summer of Love and a decade of rave culture

Acoustic foam at first-reflection points reduces high-frequency comb filtering at the mix position

ADBDR's two decay slopes model a piano better than ADSR's flat sustain

add() transposes pattern notes by a numeric amount, treating letter names as numbers

Adding a layer forces you to re-save older presets, since they have no data for the new layer

Adding a resistor between two circuit board points introduces controlled cross-connections that can produce musically useful malfunctions

Adding a reversed, stereo-widened tail to a Hardstyle kick creates the genre's characteristic 'swelling' sustain layer

Adding a second sine octave at double frequency and half amplitude adds fine detail to procedural patterns

Adding a short pitch drop at note attack gives a bass synth a transient-like percussive punch

Adding distortion to a sine-wave sub-bass makes it audible on small speakers

Adding feedback to a delay line creates decaying echoes whose rate is set by the gain multiplier

Adding Perlin noise to a spiral's radius each step produces organic, irregular loop shapes

Adding pitch envelope or LFO modulation removes the robotic quality from synthesised grime hooks

Adding symmetry to a random grid triggers human pattern recognition and produces apparent faces or structures

Additive rhythm builds unusual time signatures by combining groups of 2 and 3 eighth-note cells

Additive synthesis builds complex timbres by summing sine waves at chosen frequencies and amplitudes

Additive synthesis builds sound by independently controlling the level of each harmonic partial

Additive synthesis in SuperCollider stacks SinOsc UGens with harmonic ratios and independent amplitude envelopes

Additive synthesis is inherently inexpressive because changing one partial parameter has little perceptible effect

Additive synthesis reconstructs sounds by summing sine wave partials; resynthesis verifies the accuracy of spectral analysis

Adjacent colors at exactly equal light intensity lose their visible boundary — the edge vanishes

ADSR envelope in Strudel shapes each note's amplitude over four stages: attack, decay, sustain, release

ADSR envelopes in Sonic Pi shape both amplitude and duration of each triggered note

ADSR envelopes require a gate argument; trigger arguments cause immediate release on ADSR

Afro house emerged in post-apartheid South Africa by fusing house with kwaito and African polyrhythms

AfroFuturism encodes counter-cultural Black identity through cosmic/celestial mythology, a lineage Detroit Techno inherits

After ~2010 hardstyle split into euphoric hardstyle and raw hardstyle (rawstyle)

After EQing a new track, check it has not masked more important earlier parts

Algorithmic pattern transformations (transposition, reversal, rotation, phase offset, etc.) are the compositional vocabulary of live coding

Aliased high-frequency sine waves produce pseudo-random variation suitable for per-instance seeding

Aligning the kick drum with the bassline's main notes locks the low end into a coherent groove

All compositional relationships reduce to two principles: parallel (side-by-side reinforcement) and contrast (opposition)

All couplings requiring onset, tempo, beat-phase, or per-instrument signal share one root blocker and are not achievable with the 4-bin bridge

Almost any timbral intent reduces to five axes: spectral tilt, harmonic complexity, amplitude envelope, modulation movement, and space/width

Alternating phrases between two voices fills space and creates dialogue without adding density

Ambient harmony uses drone or pedal-tone beds with unresolved extended chords

Ambient house emerged from clubs where DJs couldn't sustain full vocals all night without bringing crowds down from peak states

Ambient melody, if present, is a sparse motif or scale-constrained random walk drifting high above the pad

Ambient music descends from drone but permits perceptual withdrawal where drone demands immersion

Ambient music prioritizes timbre, space, and evolution over rhythm and progression

Ambiguous figure-ground — each region readable as either foreground or background — deepens the psychedelic effect