Rayon

Audio Live Coding Documentation

Getting Started
Keyboard Shortcuts
Products (Synthesizers)
Modifiers (Effects)
Parameters
Cart Wheels (Drums)
Global Modes
Store Features
Breaks & Transitions
Shoplifting System
Performance Settings
Story Mode

Getting Started

Rayon is a browser-based audio synthesis environment that uses shopping metaphors for live coding music. Products become synthesizers, shopping carts provide rhythm, and retail concepts control musical parameters.

Quick Start

Open supermarket.html in a modern browser
Click "Enable Sound" to start the audio context
Type commands in the editor and press Ctrl+Enter to run

Tip

Type story mode to start a guided tutorial that teaches you the basics step by step.

Basic Example

[0] add beer              // Add a synth to slot 0
[1] add fresh salad       // Add a modified synth to slot 1
my cart has square wheels // Add drums

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+Enter	Run the current line
Ctrl+Shift+Enter	Run all lines in the editor
Esc	Stop all sounds and clear products
Tab	Accept autocomplete suggestion
↑ / ↓	Navigate autocomplete suggestions

Products (Synthesizers)

Products are synthesizers assigned to slots [0] through [9]. Each slot can hold one synth at a time.

Adding Products

[N] add [modifiers] product [parameters]

Available Products

Product	Sound Description
beer	Mellow FM synth - smooth jazzy tones
salad	Crisp pluck synth - fresh texture
ham	Rich fat sawtooth - savory depth
milk	Soft pluck synth - liquid smooth
chips	Crispy sawtooth with filter sweep
pizza	Triangle wave FM synth - warm tones
oil	Low frequency sine wave - liquid bass
wine	Detuned poly synth - complex layers
cheese	Warm FM synth - smooth harmonics
soda	High pitched membrane synth - fizzy
bread	Warm duo synth - soft and full
cereal	Crunchy granular synth - textured
chocolate	Rich square wave AM synth - sweet
candy	Bright sawtooth mono synth - sugary
energy_drink	Buzzy FM synth - energetic
coffee	Dark filtered sawtooth - caffeinated
butter	Creamy detuned duo synth - smooth
eggs	Plucked string with bright attack
pasta	Soft poly synth - Italian warmth
rice	Short noise bursts - grainy texture

Removing Products

[N] remove    // Remove product from slot N
remove all    // Clear all slots

Beat-Synced Transitions

When you replace a product in an occupied slot, the change happens on the next bar for smooth musical transitions. A progress indicator shows when the change will occur.

Modifiers (Effects)

Add modifiers before the product name to apply effects.

Pitch Modifiers

Modifier	Effect
fresh	Higher pitch, brighter sound
old	Lower pitch, darker sound

Filter Modifiers

Modifier	Effect
strong	Lowpass filter, deeper tone
flavorless	Highpass filter, thin sound

Effect Modifiers

Modifier	Effect
cheap	Bitcrusher effect, lo-fi digital
expensive	Reverb effect, spacious sound
processed	Chorus effect, thick texture
industrial	Distortion effect, harsh tone
overpriced	Phaser effect, swirling motion
vomit	Chebyshev waveshaper, extreme distortion
artisanal	Tremolo effect, amplitude wobble
bargain	Feedback delay, echoing repeats
luxury	Long reverb, premium space
artificial	Vibrato effect, pitch wobble
mass-produced	Heavy bitcrusher, ultra lo-fi
addictive	Ping-pong delay, stereo bounce
packaged	Rhythmic tremolo with filter
glass	Shimmering echo effect

Examples

[0] add fresh expensive wine     // High pitch wine with reverb
[1] add old industrial ham       // Low pitch ham with distortion
[2] add cheap processed cheese   // Bitcrushed cheese with chorus

Parameters

Nutriscore (Key Change)

Change the musical key of a product.

[0] add beer nutriscore A    // Beer in key of A
[1] add salad nutriscore C   // Salad in key of C

Available keys: A, B, C, D, E

Shelf Life (Note Duration)

Control how long each note plays.

Value	Duration
shelflife today	Very short (32n)
shelflife week	Short (16n)
shelflife month	Medium (8n)
shelflife year	Long (4n)
shelflife forever	Very long (1n)

Escalator (Arpeggiator)

Create arpeggiated patterns.

[0] add beer escalator up fast
[1] add wine escalator bounce slow

Patterns: up, down, bounce, zigzag, express, checkout

Speeds: slow, normal, fast, rush, broken

Volume Control

[0] add beer volume loud
[1] add wine volume 50       // 0-100 scale
[2] add cheese volume mute

Presets: max, loud, soft, quiet, whisper, min, mute

Open Products

Products marked as "open" play unpredictably (~60% of the time).

[0] add open beer

Cart Wheels (Drums)

The shopping cart provides drum patterns. Different wheel types create different rhythms.

my cart has [type] wheels

Wheel Type	Rhythm Style
square	Steady 4/4 beat
broken	Glitchy irregular rhythm
premium	Smooth swing rhythm
defective	Chaotic polyrhythm
bargain	Simple minimal beat
luxury	Complex jazz rhythm
heavy	Kick-heavy techno pattern
chrome	Crisp digital beats
turbo	Fast breakbeat rhythm
plastic	Synthetic artificial drums
wobbly	Dubstep wobble bass
squeaky	Hi-hat focused shuffle
rubber	Bouncy funk rhythm
smooth	Liquid drum'n'bass flow
rusty	Industrial metallic
vintage	Classic 808/909
stolen	Erratic unpredictable
golden	Luxurious trap hi-hats
no	No rhythm (stops drums)

Global Modes

Modes apply effects to all sounds globally.

[mode] mode on/off

Mode	Effect
discount	Detunes everything slightly - unstable, lo-fi feel
inflation	Pitch gradually shifts upward over time
consumerism	Adds delays and echo to everything
black_friday	Chaotic distortion and random volume changes

Store Features

Recording (Checkout)

checkout           // Start recording
finish checkout    // Stop and save recording

Seasons

Apply seasonal audio themes to all products.

season halloween   // Spooky effects
season christmas   // Festive holiday
season summer      // Bright vibes
season winter      // Cold crisp sounds
season easter      // Bouncy spring
season valentines  // Romantic ambience
season normal      // Reset to default

Announcements

Text-to-speech PA system announcements.

announcement cleanup    // "Cleanup on aisle 3"
announcement closing    // "Store closing soon"
announcement sale       // Special offer
announcement [text]     // Custom message

Rush Hour

rush hour on    // Tempo increases frantically
rush hour off   // Return to normal

Coupons

apply coupon BOGO       // Buy one get one - duplicates products
apply coupon 50OFF      // Half speed
apply coupon FREESHIP   // Spacious reverb
apply coupon VIP        // Luxury effects

Product Decay

decay on         // Products gradually expire
decay off        // Stop decay
preserve beer    // Protect specific product from decay
spoil all        // Instantly spoil all products

Tempo Control

it's closing time   // Speed up tempo
it's opening time   // Slow down tempo

Barcode Scanner

scan barcode 123456   // Generate products from digits

Store Layout / Map Compose

store layout   // Open spatial view
map compose    // Spatial sequencer mode

Breaks & Transitions

Breaks

Command	Effect
checkout line	Fade to silence
lunch break	Drums stop, music softens
lunch break off	Resume full energy
store closing	Everything fades away
cleanup time	Only muzak remains
intermission	Pause briefly
coffee break	Quick fade out/in
smoke break	Step outside briefly

Transitions

Command	Effect
conveyor belt	Products roll in sequence
conveyor belt fast/slow	Speed variants
sliding doors	Stereo pan sweep
elevator music	Muffled distant sound
smooth transition	Crossfade between groups
fade to silence	Gradual fade to quiet
fade to soft	Fade to background level
fade to full	Fade to full volume
morph to [product]	Transform all products

Shoplifting System

A risk/reward game mechanic for stealing products.

Stealing

shoplift beer           // Attempt to steal
steal chips             // Alternative syntax
pocket candy            // Another alternative
five finger discount wine

Security Levels

security level low       // 30% catch rate
security level medium    // 50% catch rate
security level high      // 70% catch rate
security level paranoid  // 95% catch rate

Chase Mode

security chase on    // Activate pursuit mode
security chase off   // End the chase
shoplifting stats    // View theft statistics

Performance Settings

Performance Modes

performance mode performance   // Optimized for stability
performance mode quality       // Maximum audio fidelity
performance mode balanced      // Balance of both

Statistics

performance stats   // Show voice count and audio dropouts

Story Mode

A guided tutorial campaign that teaches you Rayon step by step.

story mode

Story mode takes you through progressive chapters that unlock features and teach the supermarket metaphor through narrative gameplay.

Tip

Your progress is automatically saved. You can continue where you left off by typing story mode again.

Product Combos

Certain product combinations trigger special effects:

Combo	Products	Effect
Party	beer + chips	Friday night mode
Morning	milk + cereal	Morning routine
Jazz	wine + cheese	Sophisticated jazz
Lunch	bread + ham	Lunch break
Sugar Rush	energy_drink + candy	Hyperactive
Zen	oil + salad	Health conscious