TidalCycles can pick one of several patterns at random each cycle to add variation

TidalCycles provides a way to play, from a group of alternatives, one chosen at random per cycle - a lightweight source of variety without writing out an explicit sequence. Instead of deterministically alternating (as angle brackets do), the random-choice picks unpredictably each cycle, so a set repeats its material in a shuffled order over time. McLean introduces it as recently-added syntax for playing ‘one of them at random’, noting it is a nice way of adding variety. This complements deterministic per-cycle selection (<>) and probabilistic gating (sometimes/rarely): it is choice among whole patterns rather than gating of one.

Examples

d1 $ s "[bd sn | hh*4 | ~ cp]"
-- each cycle plays one of the three alternatives at random

Assessment

Contrast random per-cycle choice with <a b c> selection: which repeats predictably, and when would you prefer each in a live set?