SqncR

AI-Native Generative Music for MIDI Devices

Talk to your studio. Create organic, evolving music through conversation with AI.

What is SqncR?

SqncR (Sequencer) is an MCP server for generative music. You sit in your IDE, enable the MCP server, tell it about your setup, and it generates music while you code. It works with hardware MIDI devices, Sonic Pi, and VCV Rack 2.

Code in VS Code on your left monitor
Chat with Copilot or Claude on your right monitor
Say "ambient drone, 87 BPM, darker" — your synths start playing
Keep coding while the music evolves

Status: V1 Complete ✅

5 milestones delivered · 586 tests · 30+ MCP tools

Milestone	Scope
M0	Aspire infrastructure, OpenTelemetry, ServiceDefaults
M1	MCP server, MIDI generation engine, core tools, music theory
M2	Sonic Pi integration, VCV Rack patch generation
M3	Session persistence, scene presets, variety engine, smooth transitions
M4	Instrument abstraction, device profiles, multi-channel generation, setup tools

Quick Start

# 1. Clone
git clone https://github.com/bradygaster/SqncR.git
cd SqncR

# 2. Install .NET 9 SDK (or later — global.json uses rollForward: latestMajor)
#    https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download

# 3. Install a virtual MIDI driver + a synth
#    loopMIDI  → https://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html
#    Sonic Pi  → https://sonic-pi.net/
#    VCV Rack  → https://vcvrack.com/

# 4. Build
dotnet build SqncR.slnx

# 5. Run the MCP server (stdio transport)
dotnet run --project src/SqncR.McpServer

Connect from VS Code / GitHub Copilot

The repo ships .vscode/mcp.json — Copilot discovers SqncR automatically after cloning.

Connect from Claude Desktop

Add to %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) or ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS/Linux):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sqncr": {
      "command": "dotnet",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "C:/path/to/SqncR/src/SqncR.McpServer"]
    }
  }
}

Architecture

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'primaryColor': '#333', 'primaryTextColor': '#fff', 'lineColor': '#888', 'secondaryColor': '#222', 'tertiaryColor': '#111'}}}%%
flowchart LR
    Client["MCP Client\n(Copilot / Claude)"]
    Server["SqncR.McpServer\n30+ tools"]
    Engine["GenerationEngine\nSqncR.Core"]
    MIDI["Hardware MIDI\n(loopMIDI, synths)"]
    SP["Sonic Pi\n(OSC)"]
    VCV["VCV Rack 2\n(.vcv patches)"]

    Client -- stdio JSON-RPC --> Server
    Server --> Engine
    Engine --> MIDI
    Server --> SP
    Server --> VCV

    style Client fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#888,color:#fff
    style Server fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#888,color:#fff
    style Engine fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#888,color:#fff
    style MIDI fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#888,color:#fff
    style SP fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#888,color:#fff
    style VCV fill:#1a1a2e,stroke:#888,color:#fff

Projects

Project	Purpose
`SqncR.Core`	Generation engine, music theory, rhythm patterns, instruments, persistence
`SqncR.Theory`	Scale/mode library, note parsing
`SqncR.Midi`	DryWetMidi MIDI I/O
`SqncR.SonicPi`	OSC client, Ruby code generation
`SqncR.VcvRack`	Patch templates, launcher
`SqncR.McpServer`	MCP server (stdio), all tool definitions
`SqncR.Testing`	Spectral analysis, canary tests
`SqncR.AppHost`	Aspire orchestrator
`SqncR.ServiceDefaults`	Shared OTel + resilience config

MCP Tools

Core

Tool	Description
`ping`	Health check — confirms the MCP server is alive
`list_devices`	Lists available MIDI output devices
`open_device`	Opens a MIDI output device by index or name
`start_generation`	Starts music generation (tempo, scale, rootNote, pattern, octave, variety)
`modify_generation`	Modifies parameters without stopping (supports `smooth` transitions)
`stop_generation`	Stops playback and silences all notes
`get_status`	Returns current engine state (tempo, scale, pattern, channels)

Session Persistence

Tool	Description
`save_session`	Saves current generation state as a named session
`load_session`	Restores a previously saved session
`list_sessions`	Lists all saved sessions

Scene Presets

Tool	Description
`save_scene`	Saves current state as a named scene preset
`load_scene`	Loads a scene preset (user or built-in)
`list_scenes`	Lists all scenes (user-saved + built-in)
`delete_scene`	Deletes a user-saved scene

Instrument Setup

Tool	Description
`setup_instrument`	Conversational setup — creates profile, registers instrument, auto-assigns channel
`describe_instrument`	Detailed description including CC mappings
`list_setup_instruments`	Lists registered instruments grouped by role
`remove_setup_instrument`	Removes instrument, sends AllNotesOff, optionally deletes profile

Instrument (Engine)

Tool	Description
`add_instrument`	Adds an instrument to the generation engine
`remove_instrument`	Removes an instrument from the generation engine
`list_instruments`	Lists all instruments and their roles/channels

Sonic Pi

Tool	Description
`setup_software_synth`	Creates a Sonic Pi instrument with synth engine + optional FX chain
`play_sonic_pi_note`	Plays a single note (accepts note names or MIDI numbers)
`sonic_pi_live_loop`	Creates and sends a `live_loop` with note sequence at specified BPM
`stop_sonic_pi`	Stops all running Sonic Pi code
`sonic_pi_status`	Checks whether Sonic Pi is reachable via OSC

VCV Rack

Tool	Description
`generate_patch`	Generates a `.vcv` patch from a template (basic, ambient, bass)
`launch_vcv_rack`	Launches VCV Rack 2 with a patch file
`stop_vcv_rack`	Stops the running VCV Rack process
`vcv_rack_status`	Returns VCV Rack running state and MIDI port
`list_templates`	Lists available patch templates

Health

Tool	Description
`get_health`	Health snapshot — tick latency, active notes, memory, uptime, missed ticks
`all_notes_off`	Panic button — sends note-off for all active notes

📖 Full MCP Integration Guide → — tool signatures, parameters, example conversations, and troubleshooting.

Key Features

Multi-channel generation — assign instruments to roles and MIDI channels
Role-based instruments — Bass, Pad, Lead, Drums, Melody with per-role behavior
Smooth transitions — tempo and scale changes glide over bars instead of snapping
Variety engine — conservative, moderate, or adventurous variation levels
Session persistence — save/load complete generation state (JSON, ~/.sqncr/sessions/)
Scene presets — instant-recall named configurations with 3 built-in presets
10 drum patterns — rock, house, hip-hop, jazz, ambient, breakbeat, half-time, shuffle, latin-clave, bossa-nova
17 scales/modes — Major, Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Pentatonic Major/Minor, Blues, Whole Tone, Diminished, Chromatic, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Ionian, Aeolian, Locrian
Device profiles — persistent JSON profiles with CC mappings and velocity curves (~/.sqncr/devices/)
Sonic Pi integration — OSC-based synth control, live loops, FX chains
VCV Rack integration — patch generation from templates, headless launch
Spectral analysis testing — frequency-domain validation of generated output
Per-device telemetry — OpenTelemetry spans for every MIDI message and generation decision
Polyrhythms — layered drum patterns with per-voice velocity and probability

Example Conversation

You: "What MIDI devices do I have?"
→ list_devices
  Found 1 MIDI output device(s):
    [0] loopMIDI Port

You: "Open it and set up a Sonic Pi pad synth"
→ open_device(deviceName: "loopMIDI")
  Opened MIDI device: loopMIDI Port
→ setup_instrument(name: "Pad", type: "SonicPi", role: "Pad")
  ✅ Instrument 'Pad' set up — Ch 1, SonicPi, range 24-108

You: "Start something ambient in A minor, 90 BPM, moderate variety"
→ start_generation(tempo: 90, scale: "minor", rootNote: "A3", pattern: "ambient", variety: "moderate")
  Started generation: 90 BPM, A Minor (root A3), ambient pattern, octave 4, variety moderate

You: "Make it bluesier, smooth transition"
→ modify_generation(scale: "blues", smooth: true)
  Modified generation:
    Scale → A Blues (smooth)

You: "Save this as 'late-night-coding'"
→ save_session(name: "late-night-coding")
  Session 'late-night-coding' saved.

You: "Stop"
→ stop_generation
  Generation stopped.

Project Structure

src/
  SqncR.AppHost/           # Aspire orchestrator
  SqncR.Core/              # Generation engine, rhythm, instruments, persistence
  SqncR.Cli/               # CLI entry point
  SqncR.McpServer/         # MCP server + 30+ tool definitions
  SqncR.Midi/              # DryWetMidi MIDI I/O
  SqncR.ServiceDefaults/   # Shared OTel + resilience
  SqncR.SonicPi/           # Sonic Pi OSC integration
  SqncR.Testing/           # Spectral analysis, test helpers
  SqncR.Theory/            # Scales, modes, note parsing
  SqncR.VcvRack/           # VCV Rack patch generation + launcher

tests/
  SqncR.Core.Tests/
  SqncR.Integration.Tests/
  SqncR.Midi.Tests/
  SqncR.SonicPi.Tests/
  SqncR.Testing.Tests/
  SqncR.Theory.Tests/
  SqncR.VcvRack.Tests/

Built-In Presets

Scene Presets

Scene	Description
`ambient-pad`	Slow, atmospheric, sparse percussion
`driving-techno`	Four-on-the-floor, high energy
`chill-lofi`	Relaxed hip-hop feel

Device Profiles

Profile	Type	Role	Channel
`moog-sub37`	Hardware	Bass	1
`roland-juno`	Hardware	Pad	2
`sonic-pi-default`	SonicPi	Melody	1

Documentation

MCP Integration Guide — full tool reference, parameters, and examples
Blog: Building SqncR — From Zero to Generative Engine
Blog: Software Synths — Sonic Pi & VCV Rack
Blog: Stream-Ready Stability, Variety & Persistence
Blog: Know Your Gear — Instruments & Multi-Channel

Technology Stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	.NET 9, C#
Orchestration	.NET Aspire
MCP SDK	ModelContextProtocol (stdio transport)
MIDI	Melanchall.DryWetMidi
Observability	OpenTelemetry (traces + metrics → Aspire Dashboard)
Math	MathNet.Numerics
Compression	ZstdSharp

Testing

586 tests across 7 test projects.

Unit tests — engine, theory, patterns, instruments, persistence
Integration tests — end-to-end MCP tool flows
Spectral analysis — frequency-domain validation of generated audio
Canary tests — early-warning failure detection
Failure recovery — engine resilience under intermittent MIDI failures

dotnet test SqncR.slnx

Contributing

Contributions welcome! The repo uses:

Branch strategy: main is the default branch
.NET conventions: nullable enabled, implicit usings, TreatWarningsAsErrors (src/ only)
Test coverage: new features should include tests

License

TBD

Maintainer: Brady Gaster (@bradygaster)

Built with: Music theory, MIDI magic, and conversational AI ✨🎹🎵

SqncR

Specs

README

SqncR

What is SqncR?

Status: V1 Complete ✅

Quick Start

Connect from VS Code / GitHub Copilot

Connect from Claude Desktop

Architecture

Projects

MCP Tools

Core

Session Persistence

Scene Presets

Instrument Setup

Instrument (Engine)

Sonic Pi

VCV Rack

Health

Key Features

Example Conversation

Project Structure

Built-In Presets

Scene Presets

Device Profiles

Documentation

Technology Stack

Testing

Contributing

License