Published rules · resonance-features/1
How modes work
Resonance Modes are built from measurements of the audio itself, not mood labels or editorial picks. This page is generated from the same rules the queue builder runs, so it cannot drift from the code.
What we measure
- Tempo (BPM)
- How strongly the sound pulses at each tempo between 60 and 180 BPM, from the onsets in the audio. Ambiguous pulses are left blank rather than guessed.
- Key and mode
- Which of the 12 notes the music centres on, major or minor, matched against standard key profiles. Shown with its Camelot wheel number (8B = C major, 8A = A minor).
- Energy
- How loud the track is moment to moment (RMS level against a fixed reference), averaged over the track. The same measurement per time slice drives the energy contour.
- Brightness
- Where the sound's centre of gravity sits in the spectrum, from dark and warm (0) to bright and airy (1).
- Dynamic range
- The gap between the loudest peaks and the average level: breathing, uncompressed recordings measure higher.
How a queue is built
- A track qualifies when its tempo, energy and brightness all sit inside the mode's ranges. Tracks that have not been measured are never picked.
- Qualifying tracks are scored: 50% for how close they sit to the centre of each range, 20% for the mode's preferences (instrumental tracks, major or minor keys), 30% for your taste (the artists and genres you play) or, signed out, for what is popular this month.
- The queue is then ordered for smooth listening: the next track stays within the mode's tempo step and a neighbouring key on the Camelot wheel where the catalogue allows.
- Modes with a diversity of 0.4 or more never play one artist twice in a row; higher diversity spaces artists further apart.
- Your exclusions (Settings → Taste) always apply. Nothing in a mode is paid placement.
- A queue holds up to 30 tracks.
Deep Focus
Steady, low-glare music that stays out of the way.
- Tempo 60–100 BPM, energy in the lower half, darker tonal balance.
- Instrumental tracks are preferred; vocals are allowed when everything else fits.
- Consecutive tracks stay within 12 BPM and a related key.
- Tempo
- 60–100 BPM
- Energy
- 0.00–0.45
- Brightness
- 0.00–0.50
- Preferred musical mode
- none
- Instrumental preference
- 0.6
- Diversity
- 0.2
Flow
Momentum without spikes: a steady pulse to work inside.
- Tempo 100–125 BPM, moderate energy, no sharp dynamic jumps between tracks.
- Tempo drifts by at most 6 BPM from one track to the next.
- Tempo
- 100–125 BPM
- Energy
- 0.35–0.70
- Brightness
- 0.20–0.80
- Preferred musical mode
- none
- Instrumental preference
- 0.3
- Diversity
- 0.3
Creative
Wide-ranging and bright: contrast to spark new thoughts.
- Any tempo; bright tonal balance and mid-to-high energy qualify.
- Maximum variety: artists, keys and tempos are spread as far apart as the catalogue allows.
- Tempo
- 60–180 BPM
- Energy
- 0.30–0.90
- Brightness
- 0.40–1.00
- Preferred musical mode
- none
- Instrumental preference
- 0.0
- Diversity
- 1.0
Decompress
Slow, warm and open. Let the day drain out.
- Tempo at or below 90 BPM, low energy, warm tonal balance, major keys preferred.
- Instrumental tracks get a small bonus; nothing else is weighted.
- Tempo
- 60–90 BPM
- Energy
- 0.00–0.35
- Brightness
- 0.00–0.45
- Preferred musical mode
- major
- Instrumental preference
- 0.2
- Diversity
- 0.3
High Energy
Fast, loud and bright. Move.
- Tempo at or above 120 BPM and energy in the top third; brightness welcome.
- Tracks are ordered to build: tempo and energy rise across the first half of the queue.
- Tempo
- 120–180 BPM
- Energy
- 0.65–1.00
- Brightness
- 0.30–1.00
- Preferred musical mode
- none
- Instrumental preference
- 0.0
- Diversity
- 0.4
See also How recommendations work.