Octavian

Type-safe music theory utilities for working with notes, intervals, chords, and scales in TypeScript.

Installation

npm install octavian
pnpm add octavian
yarn add octavian
bun add octavian

[!NOTE] Works in Node 22+ (ESM), Bun 1.3+, and any browser bundler (Vite, webpack, Rollup). A single browser-safe ESM bundle is published — resolution is automatic via the exports map.

Design Goals

• Immutable value objects for Note, Chord, and Scale
• Runtime validation at every trust boundary
• Theory-first spelling for interval, chord, and scale construction
• Sharp-preferred simplification by default when a pitch is derived from raw MIDI or semitone math; flat-preferred available via 'flats' preference
• 100% test coverage with full validation gates

Quick Start

import { Chord, Note, Scale } from 'octavian';

const cSharp = Note.create('C#4');
const eb = cSharp.transpose('minorThird');
const cMajorSeven = Chord.create('C4', 'maj7');
const cMajor = Scale.create('C4', 'major');

console.log(String(eb)); // "E4"
console.log(cMajorSeven.notes.map(String)); // ["C4", "E4", "G4", "B4"]
console.log(cMajor.mode('dorian').toString()); // "D dorian"

Types

All public types are importable directly from 'octavian':

import type {
  NoteName,
  ChordSuffix,
  ScaleType,
  Interval,
  MidiKey,
  Frequency,
  Semitones,
  Octave,
  Tuning,
  CadenceType,
  HarmonicFunction,
  RomanNumeralLike,
  KeySignatureMode,
  IntervalConsonance,
  FiguredBass,
} from 'octavian';

Key exported type names:

• NoteName: A valid note spelling such as 'C#' or 'Bb'.
• ChordSuffix: A canonical chord suffix such as 'majorSeventh' or 'minorTriad'.
• ScaleType: A canonical scale type such as 'major' or 'melodicMinor'.
• Interval: A canonical interval name such as 'majorThird' or 'perfectFifth'.
• MidiKey: A branded number in the range 0..127.
• Frequency: A branded number in hertz.
• Semitones: A branded integer semitone distance.
• Octave: A branded octave value in the range -1..9. Use createOctave(n) to produce one.
• Tuning: A tuning reference, e.g. { reference: 'A4', frequency: createFrequency(440) }.
• CadenceType: A cadence label such as 'authentic-perfect', 'half', or 'phrygian'.
• HarmonicFunction: 'tonic' | 'predominant' | 'dominant'.
• KeySignatureMode: 'major' | 'minor'.
• IntervalConsonance: 'perfect-consonance' | 'imperfect-consonance' | 'mild-dissonance' | 'sharp-dissonance'.
• FiguredBass: An array of FiguredBassFigure objects representing a figured-bass stack.

Core Types

Notes

Note is the base value object for pitch spelling, MIDI conversion, and frequency conversion.

import { Note } from 'octavian';

const note = Note.create('Bb3');

note.note; // "Bb"
note.octave; // 3
note.midi; // 58
note.frequency; // 233.08... (always standard tuning A4 = 440 Hz)
note.chromaticIndex; // pitch class 0–11
note.enharmonics; // ["A#", "Cbb"]

Constructing notes

import { Note, createFrequency, STANDARD_TUNING } from 'octavian';

Note.create('C#4'); // from a note-name-with-octave string
Note.create({ note: 'C#', octave: 4 }); // from a structured object
Note.fromMidi(61); // "C#4" — sharp-preferred by default
Note.fromMidi(61, 'flats'); // "Db4" — flat-preferred
Note.nearestTo(440); // nearest equal-tempered note under standard tuning
Note.nearestTo(432, { reference: 'A4', frequency: createFrequency(432) }); // alternate tuning
Note.nearestTo(277.18, STANDARD_TUNING, 'flats'); // "Db4"

Transposition and movement

const c = Note.create('C4');

c.transpose('majorThird').toString(); // "E4"  — theory-correct spelling
c.transposeBy(1).toString(); // "C#4" — sharp-preferred by default
c.transposeBy(1, 'flats').toString(); // "Db4"
c.up().toString(); // "C5"
c.up(2).toString(); // "C6"
c.down().toString(); // "C3"
c.withOctave(5).toString(); // "C5"
c.simplify().toString(); // "C4" — sharp-preferred common spelling
c.simplify('flats').toString(); // flat-preferred common spelling

Comparison and distance

const a = Note.create('C4');
const b = Note.create('G4');

a.distanceTo(b); // "perfectFifth"
a.semitonesTo(b); // 7
a.equals(Note.create('C4')); // true
a.isEnharmonicTo(Note.create('B#3')); // true
Note.compare(a, b); // -1 | 0 | 1 (by MIDI key)

Frequency and tuning

note.frequency always returns the standard-tuning (A4 = 440 Hz) value. For alternate tunings, use frequencyAt or the free function noteToFrequency:

import { Note, noteToFrequency, createFrequency } from 'octavian';

const a4 = Note.create('A4');
const tuning432 = { reference: 'A4', frequency: createFrequency(432) };

a4.frequency; // 440 (always standard tuning)
a4.frequencyAt(tuning432); // 432
noteToFrequency(a4, tuning432); // 432
noteToFrequency('A4'); // 440 (accepts any NoteLike, defaults to standard tuning)

Serialization

const note = Note.create('C4');
note.toString(); // "C4"
note.valueOf(); // 60 (MIDI key — makes notes sortable and comparable as numbers)
note.toJSON(); // { note: "C", octave: 4, midi: 60, frequency: 261.63 }
Note.create(note.toJSON()); // round-trips via Note.create
[...note]; // [note, octave, midi, frequency] — iterable

Intervals

The library exports a full interval catalog and helpers for alias resolution.

import {
  INTERVALS,
  applyInterval,
  findCanonicalIntervalBySemitonesAndDegree,
  resolveInterval,
} from 'octavian';

resolveInterval('tone'); // "majorSecond"
resolveInterval('P5'); // "perfectFifth"
findCanonicalIntervalBySemitonesAndDegree(6, 5); // "diminishedFifth"
applyInterval(Note.create('F#4'), 'majorThird').toString(); // "A#4"
INTERVALS.majorSixth.symbol; // "M6"
INTERVALS.majorSixth.semitones; // 9
INTERVALS.majorSixth.quality; // "major"
INTERVALS.majorSixth.degree; // 6

Chords

Chord normalizes symbols and suffix aliases into a canonical suffix while keeping immutable note collections.

Use Chord.create(root, suffix) to construct a chord. To recreate a chord from serialized data, use Chord.fromJSON(serialized).

import { Chord, Note } from 'octavian';

const chord = Chord.create('C4', 'maj7');

chord.name; // "Cmaj7"
chord.symbol; // "maj7"
chord.suffix; // "majorSeventh"
chord.quality; // "major"
chord.root.toString(); // "C4"
chord.bass.toString(); // "C4"
chord.notes.map(String); // ["C4", "E4", "G4", "B4"]
chord.midi; // [60, 64, 67, 71]
chord.size; // 4

Inversions:

chord.invert().name; // "Cmaj7/E"
chord.invert(2).name; // "Cmaj7/G"
chord.inversion(1).name; // "Cmaj7/E"
chord.lowerFromTop(2).notes.map(String); // ["G3", "C4", "E4", "B4"]
chord.closeVoicing().notes.map(String); // close-position voicing

Chord editing stays catalog-backed:

Chord.create('C4', 'maj7').omit('majorSeventh').name; // "C"
Chord.create('C4', 'major').add('majorSeventh').name; // "Cmaj7"
Chord.create('C4', 'major').alter('perfectFifth', 'augmentedFifth').name; // "Caug"
Chord.create('C4', 'major').slash(Note.create('G3')).name; // "C/G"

Chord catalog helpers:

import { CHORDS, chordQualityForSuffix, createChordName, createSlashChordName } from 'octavian';

CHORDS.majorSeventh.intervals; // ["unison", "majorThird", "perfectFifth", "majorSeventh"]
chordQualityForSuffix('minorSeventh'); // "minor"
createChordName('C', 'maj7'); // "Cmaj7"
createSlashChordName('C', 'maj7', 'E'); // "Cmaj7/E"

Scales

Scale builds theory-correct spellings from a root note and normalized scale type.

import { Scale, Note } from 'octavian';

const scale = Scale.create(Note.create('C4'), 'major');

scale.notes.map(String); // ["C4", "D4", "E4", "F4", "G4", "A4", "B4"]
scale.root.toString(); // "C4"
scale.type; // "major"
scale.size; // 7

Navigation and relationships:

scale.relative('naturalMinor').toString(); // "A naturalMinor"
scale.parallel('naturalMinor').toString(); // "C naturalMinor"
scale.mode('lydian').toString(); // "F lydian"
scale.modes().map((m) => m.toString()); // all 7 modes
scale.rotate(2).toString(); // rotation by 2 positions
scale.next().toString(); // next scale root (semitone up)
scale.previous().toString(); // previous scale root

Degrees and chords:

scale.degree(1).toString(); // "C4"
scale.degree(5).toString(); // "G4"
scale.degreeOf(Note.create('E4')); // 3
scale.chord(5, 'seventh').name; // "G7"
scale.chords().map((c) => c.name); // triads for every degree
scale.seventhChords().map((c) => c.name); // seventh chords for every degree
scale.triad(1).name; // "C"

Ascending/descending helpers return notes from a given starting pitch:

scale.ascendingFrom(Note.create('C3')).map(String);
scale.descendingFrom(Note.create('C5')).map(String);

Scale catalog:

import { SCALES, resolveScaleType, scaleTypeForMode, isDiatonicModeFamily } from 'octavian';

SCALES.major.intervals; // ["unison", "majorSecond", "majorThird", ...]
resolveScaleType('ionian'); // "major"
scaleTypeForMode('dorian'); // "major"
isDiatonicModeFamily('lydian'); // true
isDiatonicModeFamily('blues'); // false

MIDI and Frequency

The library uses standard equal temperament with A4 = 440 Hz.

import {
  Note,
  STANDARD_TUNING,
  midiToFrequency,
  midiToNoteNameWithOctave,
  noteNameToMidi,
} from 'octavian';

STANDARD_TUNING; // { reference: 'A4', frequency: 440 }
Note.fromMidi(69).toString(); // "A4"
Note.fromMidi(61, 'flats').toString(); // "Db4"
Note.nearestTo(440); // Note at A4
midiToFrequency(69); // 440
midiToNoteNameWithOctave(69); // { note: "A", octave: 4 }
midiToNoteNameWithOctave(61, 'flats'); // { note: "Db", octave: 4 }
noteNameToMidi('A', createOctave(4)); // 69

For alternate tunings, pass a Tuning object:

import { createFrequency, noteToFrequency } from 'octavian';

const tuning432 = { reference: 'A4', frequency: createFrequency(432) };

Note.nearestTo(432, tuning432).toString(); // "A4" (nearest note under that tuning)
noteToFrequency('A4', tuning432); // 432

Parsing and Validation

import {
  isChordSuffix,
  isChordSymbol,
  isInterval,
  isNoteName,
  isNoteNameWithOctave,
  isScaleType,
  parseNoteName,
  parseNoteNameWithOctave,
} from 'octavian';

isNoteName('Db'); // true
isNoteNameWithOctave('Db4'); // true
isInterval('sharpEleven'); // true
isChordSuffix('minorTriad'); // true
isChordSymbol('m7b5'); // true
isScaleType('mixolydian'); // true

parseNoteName('C#'); // { note: "C#", natural: "C", accidental: "#" }
parseNoteNameWithOctave('Bb3'); // { note: "Bb", octave: 3 }

Invalid input throws TypeError (wrong shape) or RangeError (out-of-bounds value) from constructors and factory methods instead of failing silently.

Random Selection

For applications like ear-training, the library provides random-pick helpers with an injectable RNG for reproducible tests or seeded quizzes.

import { randomNote, randomInterval, INTERVALS } from 'octavian';

// Pick a random note in a MIDI range (inclusive, sharp-preferred spelling)
const note = randomNote({ range: ['C4', Note.fromMidi(72)] });

// Pick from an explicit pool
const rootNote = randomNote({ pool: ['C4', 'D4', 'E4', 'F4', 'G4', 'A4', 'B4'] });

// Pick a random interval from an explicit pool (aliases are normalized; duplicates weight the distribution)
const interval = randomInterval({ pool: ['majorThird', 'perfectFifth', 'minorSeventh'] });

// Inject a seeded RNG for reproducible results
import seedrandom from 'seedrandom'; // any [0,1) RNG
const rng = seedrandom('my-seed');
const seededNote = randomNote({ range: ['C4', 'C5'], random: rng });

Both functions require either range or pool — there is no default. The injected random function must return values in [0, 1).

Branded Type Constructors

The library exposes constructors for every branded primitive, which are needed when calling APIs that require branded types directly:

import {
  createOctave,
  createMidiKey,
  createFrequency,
  createSemitones,
  createChromaticIndex,
  OCTAVES,
  CHROMATIC_INDEXES,
} from 'octavian';

createOctave(4); // Octave (validated: must be -1..9)
createMidiKey(60); // MidiKey (validated: must be 0..127)
createFrequency(440); // Frequency (validated: must be > 0)
createSemitones(7); // Semitones
createChromaticIndex(0); // ChromaticIndex (0..11)
OCTAVES; // [-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] as const
CHROMATIC_INDEXES; // [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] as const

Note-Name Utilities

Low-level helpers for working with note spellings directly:

import {
  NATURALS,
  ACCIDENTALS,
  ALL_NOTE_NAMES,
  FLAT_PREFERRED_NOTE_NAMES,
  SHARP_PREFERRED_NOTE_NAMES,
  NATURAL_CHROMATIC_INDEXES,
  ACCIDENTAL_OFFSETS,
  buildNoteName,
  simplifyNoteName,
  enharmonicsForNoteName,
  normalizeChromaticIndex,
  noteNameToChromaticIndex,
} from 'octavian';

NATURALS; // ["C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "A", "B"]
ACCIDENTALS; // ["", "#", "b", "##", "bb"]
ALL_NOTE_NAMES; // all 35 note names (all naturals × all accidentals)
SHARP_PREFERRED_NOTE_NAMES; // 12-note chromatic scale, sharp spellings
FLAT_PREFERRED_NOTE_NAMES; // 12-note chromatic scale, flat spellings

buildNoteName('C', 1); // "C#"   (natural + accidental offset)
simplifyNoteName('Bbb'); // "A"  (sharp-preferred common spelling)
enharmonicsForNoteName('C#'); // ["Db", "Bx"] (all enharmonic spellings)
normalizeChromaticIndex(13); // 1 (wraps to 0..11)
noteNameToChromaticIndex('C#'); // 1

Chord and Scale Symbols

import { CHORD_SYMBOLS, resolveChordSuffix } from 'octavian';

CHORD_SYMBOLS; // ["m", "m7", "maj7", "dim", ...] — short display symbols
resolveChordSuffix('m7'); // "minorSeventh"
resolveChordSuffix('Δ7'); // "majorSeventh"

Key Signatures

import { KEY_SIGNATURES, keySignatureFor, keySignatureFromAccidentals } from 'octavian';

keySignatureFor('C', 'major');
// { tonic: 'C', mode: 'major', accidentalCount: 0, accidentals: [], order: 'none', ... }

keySignatureFor('F#', 'major');
// { tonic: 'F#', mode: 'major', accidentalCount: 6, accidentals: ['F#','C#','G#','D#','A#','E#'], order: 'sharps' }

keySignatureFromAccidentals(3, 'flats');
// { tonic: 'Eb', mode: 'major', ... }

KEY_SIGNATURES['C major'].accidentalCount; // 0
KEY_SIGNATURES['G major'].accidentals; // ['F#']

The catalog covers all 30 standard keys (15 major + 15 minor), including enharmonic pairs like C♯/D♭ major and A♯/B♭ minor. Theoretical keys (G♯ major, F♭ major, etc.) are present in KEY_SIGNATURES for reference but are not constructible as Key instances.

Key

Key models a tonal center with its diatonic scale, key signature, and relationships to neighboring keys.

import { Key } from 'octavian';

const cMajor = Key.create('C', 'major');

cMajor.tonic.toString(); // "C4"
cMajor.mode; // "major"
cMajor.toString(); // "C major"
cMajor.toJSON(); // { tonic: 'C', mode: 'major' }

Relationships

cMajor.relativeKey.toString(); // "A minor"
cMajor.parallelKey.toString(); // "C minor"
cMajor.dominantKey.toString(); // "G major"
cMajor.subdominantKey.toString(); // "F major"

Key.adjacentKeys(cMajor);
// { dominant: Key("G major"), subdominant: Key("F major") }

Key.enharmonicEquivalent(Key.create('F#', 'major')).toString(); // "Gb major"
Key.distanceInFifths(Key.create('C', 'major'), Key.create('G', 'major')); // 1

Diatonic chords

cMajor.diatonicChords().map((c) => c.name);
// ["C", "Dm", "Em", "F", "G", "Am", "Bdim"]

cMajor.diatonicSeventhChords().map((c) => c.name);
// ["Cmaj7", "Dm7", "Em7", "Fmaj7", "G7", "Am7", "Bm7b5"]

cMajor.contains(Note.create('E4')); // true
cMajor.contains(Chord.create('G4', 'dominant7')); // true

Transposition

cMajor.transpose('majorSecond').toString(); // "D major"
cMajor.transposeBy(7).toString(); // "G major"

Circle of Fifths

import {
  CIRCLE_OF_FIFTHS_MAJOR,
  CIRCLE_OF_FIFTHS_MINOR,
  circleOfFifths,
  distanceInFifths,
  adjacentKeys,
  enharmonicEquivalent,
  isOnCircleOfFifths,
} from 'octavian';

CIRCLE_OF_FIFTHS_MAJOR.map((k) => k.tonic);
// ['C', 'G', 'D', 'A', 'E', 'B', 'F#', 'Db', 'Ab', 'Eb', 'Bb', 'F']

circleOfFifths('C', 'major', 2);  // moves 2 steps clockwise → G major signature
distanceInFifths({ tonic: 'C', mode: 'major', ... }, { tonic: 'G', mode: 'major', ... }); // 1

isOnCircleOfFifths('F#', 'major'); // true
isOnCircleOfFifths('G#', 'major'); // false (theoretical key)

Key.adjacentKeys and Key.enharmonicEquivalent are the ergonomic wrappers for most use cases; the free functions above operate on raw KeySignatureInformation objects for catalog-level work.

Roman Numerals

import { RomanNumeral, romanNumeralFor, chordFromRomanNumeral } from 'octavian';

const rn = RomanNumeral.create('V7');
rn.degree; // 5
rn.quality; // "major"
rn.inversion; // "7"
rn.toString(); // "V7"

RomanNumeral.create('bVII').alteration; // "flat"

// Analysis: chord → Roman numeral
const cMajor = Key.create('C', 'major');
romanNumeralFor(cMajor, Chord.create('G4', 'dominant7')).toString(); // "V7"
romanNumeralFor(cMajor, Chord.create('E4', 'minor')).toString(); // "iii"

// Synthesis: Roman numeral → chord
chordFromRomanNumeral(cMajor, 'IV').name; // "F"
chordFromRomanNumeral(cMajor, 'V7').name; // "G7"

Harmonic Function

Classifies a chord's role within a key as tonic, predominant, or dominant.

import {
  harmonicFunctionFor,
  harmonicFunctionForNumeral,
  harmonicFunctionForAsAlias,
} from 'octavian';

const cMajor = Key.create('C', 'major');

harmonicFunctionFor(cMajor, Chord.create('C4', 'major')); // "tonic"
harmonicFunctionFor(cMajor, Chord.create('F4', 'major')); // "predominant"
harmonicFunctionFor(cMajor, Chord.create('G4', 'dominant7')); // "dominant"
harmonicFunctionFor(cMajor, Chord.create('D4', 'minor')); // "predominant"

// From a RomanNumeral directly (avoids re-parsing the chord)
harmonicFunctionForNumeral(RomanNumeral.create('ii'), 'major'); // "predominant"

// Alias form: returns 'subdominant' instead of 'predominant'
harmonicFunctionForAsAlias(cMajor, Chord.create('F4', 'major')); // "subdominant"

Returns null for non-diatonic chords or altered/applied numerals.

Figured Bass

import {
  figuredBassForChord,
  figuredBassInversionFor,
  figuredBassToChord,
  parseFiguredBass,
  formatFiguredBass,
} from 'octavian';

const cMaj = Chord.create('C4', 'major');
const cMajFirstInv = cMaj.invert();

figuredBassForChord(cMaj).length; // 0 (root position — empty stack)
figuredBassInversionFor(cMaj); // "5/3"
figuredBassInversionFor(cMajFirstInv); // "6"

const g7 = Chord.create('G4', 'dominant7');
figuredBassInversionFor(g7.invert()); // "6/5"
figuredBassInversionFor(g7.invert(2)); // "4/3"
figuredBassInversionFor(g7.invert(3)); // "4/2"

// Parse a figured-bass string into a figure stack
parseFiguredBass('6/4'); // [{ digit: 6 }, { digit: 4 }]
parseFiguredBass('♭7'); // [{ digit: 7, accidental: 'flat' }]
parseFiguredBass('6#'); // [{ digit: 6, accidental: 'sharp' }]

// Format a figure stack back to strings
formatFiguredBass([{ digit: 6 }, { digit: 4 }]);
// { stacked: ['6', '4'], inline: '6/4' }

// Reconstruct a chord from a bass note, figures, and key context
const cMajor = Key.create('C', 'major');
figuredBassToChord('E4', '6', cMajor).name; // "C/E" (C major, first inversion)
figuredBassToChord('G4', '6/4', cMajor).name; // "C/G" (C major, second inversion)

Interval Operations

import {
  invertInterval,
  simplifyInterval,
  compoundInterval,
  consonanceOf,
  isConsonant,
  isDissonant,
} from 'octavian';

invertInterval('perfectFifth'); // "perfectFourth"
invertInterval('majorThird'); // "minorSixth"
invertInterval('augmentedFourth'); // "diminishedFifth"

simplifyInterval('perfectEleventh'); // "perfectFourth"  (P11 → P4)
simplifyInterval('majorNinth'); // "majorSecond"    (M9 → M2)

compoundInterval('perfectFourth', 1); // "perfectEleventh"
compoundInterval('majorSecond', 1); // "majorNinth"

consonanceOf('perfectFifth'); // "perfect-consonance"
consonanceOf('majorThird'); // "imperfect-consonance"
consonanceOf('majorSecond'); // "mild-dissonance"
consonanceOf('minorSecond'); // "sharp-dissonance"

isConsonant('perfectFifth'); // true
isDissonant('augmentedFourth'); // true

Cadences

CadenceInput accepts a Roman numeral string ('V', 'iv6'), a RomanNumeral object, or a Chord.

import { Key, identifyCadence, identifyCadenceSequence } from 'octavian';

const cMajor = Key.create('C', 'major');

// Via Key methods
cMajor.identifyCadence('V', 'I'); // "authentic-perfect"
cMajor.identifyCadence('V', 'I6'); // "authentic-imperfect"
cMajor.identifyCadence('ii', 'V'); // "half"
cMajor.identifyCadence('IV', 'I'); // "plagal"
cMajor.identifyCadence('V', 'vi'); // "deceptive"

const aMinor = Key.create('A', 'minor');
aMinor.identifyCadence('iv6', 'V'); // "phrygian"

// Non-cadential pair
cMajor.identifyCadence('I', 'IV'); // null

// Via free functions (same Key as first argument)
identifyCadence(cMajor, 'V', 'I'); // "authentic-perfect"
identifyCadence(cMajor, Chord.create('G4', 'dominant7'), Chord.create('C4', 'major'));
// "authentic-perfect"

// Scan a full progression for cadences
cMajor
  .identifyCadenceSequence(['I', 'IV', 'I', 'ii', 'V'])
  .map((c) => `index ${c.index}: ${c.type}`);
// ["index 0: plagal", "index 3: half"]

identifyCadenceSequence(cMajor, ['I', 'IV', 'V', 'I']);
// [{ index: 1, type: 'half' }, { index: 2, type: 'authentic-perfect' }]

Development

Run the local quality gates with Bun:

bun run typecheck
bun run lint
bun test
bun run build
bun run validate