Dictionary
Welcome to the Reactional Music Dictionary! This section is designed to help you understand the key terms we use across the Platform, Composer, Plugin/API for Unity or Unreal, and our general music discussions. Whether you're working in sound design, game development, or using our API, this dictionary will give you clear, easy-to-understand definitions.
What You'll Find:
- Reactional Platform: Key terms related to creating and managing music projects, themes, and tracks on the Reactional Platform.
- Reactional Composer: Terms used in the music production process, such as DAWs, instruments, and effects. that you may encounter while working in the Composer Tool
- Reactional Plugin/API: Technical terms used in the Reactional API and Plugin, with examples to help you understand the APIs function-calls better. And to help you integrate the API in your preferred Engine like Unity or Unreal.
- Musical Definitions: General music terms we often use in discussions with our users and customers.
Reactional Platform
Project
On the Platform, a Project refers to the environment where users can create and manage music compositions, Themes, and Tracks.
Track
Audio files, such as MP3 or WAV, depending on the quality settings, that can be played on the Platform. These may include licensed or recorded music.
Theme
Reactional’s proprietary interactive music format, where every note is composed by humans and then generated in realtime, enabling the music to dynamically interact with gameplay.
Part
In traditional music, a section refers to a distinct part of a composition. In Reactional, it represents different musical components of a Theme, allowing real-time swaps to adjust the emotional tone (e.g., more intense Action, Danger, or Victory), matching specific moments in your game.
Stinger
A short, impactful musical phrase used to highlight a moment. Unlike standard sound effects, Reactional stingers always remain in pitch with the currently playing Track.
Macro
A Macro is an adjustable parameter in the form of a visual knob on the Platform, that allows users to modify values in real-time, affecting how specific musical elements behave during runtime.
Density
A macro knob that controls the richness of a Theme by adjusting the number of instruments being played, either making the sound fuller or more sparse.
Energy
A macro knob that adjusts the tempo or loudness of a Theme, allowing for dynamic shifts in intensity during gameplay.
Progress
A macro knob used to control the progression of a Theme, allowing users to switch between different musical parts in real-time.
Bundle
A collection of music assets including Themes and Tracks, which can be downloaded and integrated into a game from the Platform.
Reactional Composer
Reactional Track Format
Metadata that contains all necessary information for the engine to adapt any Track for interactive use later in the game.
DAW
Digital Audio Workstation, software used for music production. Reactional uses Reaper, but other examples include Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or Cubase.
Instrument
Musical instruments in a Theme, such as bass, drums, synths, or any other MIDI instruments.
MIDI
A music data format used to create Themes, containing details such as instruments, notes, duration, and volume.
Effect
Audio processing tools like reverb, delay, or distortion used to modify the sound of instruments in a Theme within the Composer tool.
Key
The tonal scale of a piece of music, such as C Minor or F Major.
Performer
Channels in the Composer tool that hold musical data, which is then sent to instruments for playback.
Section / Part
Separate sections of a piece of music in the Composer Tool, like Intro, Action, or Victory.
Tempo
In music, tempo is measured in beats per minute, determining the speed at which a song is played.
Interactive Block
A plugin designed to alter how music behaves interactively within the Composer tool.
LFO
Low-Frequency Oscillator, used to modulate audio parameters like Pitch or volume over time.
VST
Virtual Studio Technology, a software interface that integrates synthesizers and effects into DAWs, enabling the use of third-party instruments like synths and samplers.
Region
A defined section or area within a DAW project.
Marker
Specific points in a DAW project used for navigation or reference.
Diatonic Scale Runs
A sequence of notes following the diatonic scale, often used in musical compositions to create smooth, melodic runs.
Reactional Plugin/API
Stinger
A short, impactful musical phrase used to highlight a moment. Unlike standard sound effects, Reactional stingers always remain in pitch with the currently playing Track.
Part
In traditional music, a section refers to a distinct part of a composition. In Reactional, it represents different musical components of a Theme, allowing real-time swaps to adjust the emotional tone (e.g., more intense Action, Danger, or Victory), matching specific moments in your game.
Sample Rate
The number of audio samples captured per second, measured in Hertz (Hz). Common sample rates include 44.1kHz and 48kHz, which affect the audio quality and clarity.
BPM
In music, tempo is measured in beats per minute (BPM), determining the speed at which a song is played.
Beat
The basic unit of time in music, the pulse that listeners tap their feet to, typically determined by the tempo.
Bar
Also called a measure, a bar is a group of beats (often 4) in Western music. A common time signature is 4/4, meaning four beats per bar.
Quant
Quantization helps make sure that sounds happen exactly on time. In Reactional’s API, Quant ensures that the Action happens on the nearest beat of that specific Quant.
Offset
A difference in time compared to another event in the music, used to shift sounds slightly forward or backward to sync them.
Control
In the API, a control or macro refers to the Knob parameters from the Platform, which can be adjusted to influence musical elements, such as tempo or density, dynamically.
Playback
Refers to the state of a Track being played. In the Reactional API, this is the command issued before any action can be performed on a Theme, Playlist, or Music System. Reactional.Playback.Theme.Play()
Trigger
An event or command that initiates a specific musical action or change in the Reactional system, such as playing a stinger or changing a part.
Beatclock
An internal timer that keeps track of beats and bars in a project, based on the BPM. It can also convert this timing into actual seconds when needed.
Musical Definitions
Key
The key of a song is like the "home base" for all the notes. It makes sure that all the instruments sound good when they play together. In music theory, the key refers to the tonal center of a piece, indicating the scale (e.g., C Major, A Minor) used for the composition.
Hot Swap
Refers to swapping out Tracks in the game without stopping the playback of the Theme. Originally a feature in some DAWs that allows switching sounds, samples, or instruments without stopping.
Proprietary Format
Our file format that is owned by Reactional and not publicly available for modification or use without permission.
Soundtrack
The music composed or licensed for a game or movie, typically forming the background score or thematic material.
Realtime
When we talk about realtime, we refer to instant response from our Theme to an action in a game. Actions or processes that occur immediately as input is provided, without noticeable delay.
Track Metadata
Data that provides information about a Track, such as song title, artist, album, genre, or technical details like file format and sample rate in music files.
Pitch
Pitch refers to the frequency of a note, determining how high or low it sounds. It is one of the fundamental attributes of sound and is used in realtime adjustments of Themes to ensure musical harmony.