Write a new Strudel track or extend an existing one from a brief. Use when the user wants to compose, draft, sketch, or add a track to the album in this repo, or asks for a Strudel pattern in a given vibe/genre/reference.
Generate 2-3 variations of an existing Strudel pattern for A/B comparison. Use when the user wants to explore alternatives, hear different takes, says "give me options", "try a different version", "variations on this", or wants to evolve a track without committing yet.
Generate a brand-new song by reading the whole skill rack and composing in one artist's style — chasing TIMELESS, catchy, instant-classic tunes, not pastiche. Use when the user says "turn the crank", "/turn-the-crank", "crank one out", "make a song in someone's style", or wants a fresh generated track for the album. Claude picks the artist. Bonobo-style layering crescendo; drums only if the song wants them, with a kit that FITS (Travis-Barker busy style is one option, not a default). Sparse→bloom arc (track 01 "dawn" is one example, not a required template — size the arc to the song).
The craft of memorable melody — motif construction & development, contour, melodic rhythm, call-and-response, earworm hook science, tension notes & resolution, register/range, and the common failure modes (wandering lines, no anchor, unresolved tension that just sits there). Use when writing a melody, making it catchier, building a hook, the melody feels aimless or forgettable, or you need a motif to develop across a track.
Complete reference for every sound our Strudel tracks can use — the loaded sample banks (VCSL orchestral mallets/winds, ~50 drum kits, mridangam, the full TidalCycles Dirt set, eddyflux/crate world percussion, amen breaks), the 128 General MIDI soundfont instruments (gm_violin, gm_cello, gm_string_ensemble, gm_flute, gm_choir_aahs, gm_pad_*, gm_lead_*…), the built-in synths + FM, and how to load more (github: packs, shabda→Freesound, the open-strudel-samples explorer). Use when picking a voice, reaching for instrument variety, or when a sound isn't playing.
Load a Strudel pattern into strudel.cc via agent-browser, play it, and verify it parses and runs without error. Use after composing or editing any track in this repo, or when the user says "test the track", "does this work", "play it", or wants to verify a Strudel pattern.
The craft of building sonic worlds — drones, noise beds, field recordings, granular texture, reverb and delay as architectural depth (the z-axis), the atmospheric glue layer that separates a dry sketch from an immersive environment, and the vinyl crackle/tape hiss "air" that makes digital feel lived-in. Use when a track sounds dry, sterile, or flat; when you want to add a drone or pad bed; when a field recording should glue a section; when the mix has no depth or front-to-back space; when a breakdown feels empty; when you want to make it feel like a place not just a pattern; or when someone says "it sounds cold/lifeless/2D". Siblings [[strudel-sound-design]] [[strudel-effects]] [[strudel-mixing]] [[strudel-sample-library]]; also connects [[strudel-sampling]] [[strudel-automation]] [[strudel-bass]] [[strudel-emotion]] [[strudel-pro-tips]].
The 3D spatial-reasoning skill for Blender music videos — the thing that was missing when a PS1 scene took a day to art-direct. Camera projection (world_to_camera_view frame-checks, FOV fill math), composition (scale, layers, parallax, silhouette, bold-not-timid), how to decompose a REFERENCE IMAGE into shapes+camera+palette+motion, the dawn failure-mode checklist, and straight-code shape builders (fill-frame wall, arc shell, parallax corridor, silhouette skyline, camera-relative skybox). Use BEFORE and DURING any Blender world build, whenever a shape "doesn't read," reads too small, won't fill the frame, or doesn't match a reference. Pairs with [[blender-styles]], [[blender-music-video]], [[blender-video-iteration]].