ReasonTouch Completion Blueprint
Chapter 6 — The Resolve Path
Version 1.0 (Draft)
1. Introduction
If the Continue Path is responsible for extending a musical thought, the Resolve Path is responsible for bringing that thought to a convincing conclusion.
Resolution is one of the defining characteristics of Western harmony.
Listeners instinctively recognise when music has “come home.”
A successful Resolve Path therefore does considerably more than place a tonic chord at the end of a progression.
It creates the expectation, preparation, and release that together produce a satisfying cadence.
The Resolve Path is consequently one of the most musically significant planning modules within ReasonTouch.
2. Musical Purpose
When the user presses Resolve, they are usually communicating one of several intentions:
- Finish this phrase.
- End the section.
- Return home.
- Complete the cadence.
- Close the musical idea.
- Prepare for silence.
- Prepare for a new section.
These intentions all share a common objective:
Increase harmonic stability.
Unlike Continue, which deliberately preserves momentum, Resolve intentionally reduces uncertainty.
3. The Philosophy of Resolution
Good resolution is rarely sudden.
Instead, music generally follows a process:
Instability
↓
Preparation
↓
Dominant Tension
↓
Release
↓
Rest
The planner therefore aims to create a controlled decrease in harmonic tension rather than an abrupt stop.
4. High-Level Workflow
The Resolve Path follows exactly the same architectural pipeline established in Chapter 5.
User presses Resolve
↓
Acquire Context
↓
Analyse Progression
↓
ProgressionAnalysis
↓
Pairing Engine
↓
Determine Resolution Type
↓
Resolve Strategy
↓
Generate Candidate Cadences
↓
Evaluate
↓
Rank
↓
Explain
↓
Present
Only the planning strategy changes.
Everything else remains identical.
5. Resolution Types
The Pairing Engine should determine the most appropriate type of resolution.
Examples include:
Perfect Authentic Cadence
V → I
Maximum stability.
Suitable for:
- ending songs
- ending choruses
- ending movements
Imperfect Authentic Cadence
V → I
(with inversion or alternative voicing)
Still stable, but less final.
Plagal Cadence
IV → I
Gentle.
Often associated with reflective endings.
Deceptive Cadence
V → vi
Appears to resolve before deliberately avoiding closure.
Useful when postponing an ending.
Half Cadence Completion
...
↓
V
Useful for ending a verse while encouraging continuation.
Modal Resolution
Examples:
♭VII → I
iv → I
bVI → I
These provide colour while maintaining musical coherence.
6. Cadence Planning
Once the resolution type has been selected, the planner constructs a cadence plan.
Example:
Goal
Perfect Authentic Cadence
↓
Target
I
↓
Required Function
Dominant
↓
Possible Route
ii → V → I
Notice that the destination is planned before any chords are generated.
7. Harmonic Stability
Unlike Continue, the Resolve Path actively seeks to maximise stability.
Typical stability curve:
Current Phrase
0.42
↓
Preparation
0.55
↓
Dominant
0.30
↓
Resolution
0.98
The momentary increase in instability before the cadence is intentional.
Without tension there is no satisfying release.
8. Candidate Generation
Multiple cadential solutions should always be produced.
Example:
Candidate 1
Dm
↓
G
↓
C
Candidate 2
F
↓
G7
↓
Cmaj7
Candidate 3
Am
↓
Dm
↓
G
↓
C
Candidate 4
Bb
↓
F
↓
C
Each reaches the destination differently.
9. Resolution Evaluation
Candidates should be evaluated against criteria specific to closure.
Cadential Strength
How convincing is the ending?
Harmonic Stability
Does the final chord genuinely feel resolved?
Voice Leading
Are individual voices resolved smoothly?
Phrase Symmetry
Does the cadence balance the opening phrase?
Stylistic Suitability
Would this cadence sound appropriate in the selected style?
Emotional Character
Examples:
Triumphant
Gentle
Reflective
Suspended
Bittersweet
10. Ranking Results
The planner ranks cadences according to confidence.
Example:
| Rank | Resolution | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ii–V–I | 97% |
| 2 | IV–V–I | 93% |
| 3 | IV–I | 89% |
| 4 | V–vi | 84% |
The user therefore receives several musically valid endings rather than one fixed answer.
11. Explanation Generation
Each cadence should explain its musical purpose.
Examples:
Completes a perfect authentic cadence.
Resolves dominant tension onto the tonic.
Uses a plagal cadence for a softer ending.
Delays final resolution through deceptive motion.
Educational explanation remains a defining characteristic of ReasonTouch.
12. Interaction with Progression Pairing
The Resolve Path never independently determines whether the music should end.
Instead, the Pairing Engine supplies that decision.
Example:
Relationship
Resolution
↓
Cadence
Perfect Authentic
↓
Strategy
Resolve
This separation keeps planning independent from generation.
13. Relationship to Song Structure
The planner should eventually recognise where the resolution occurs.
Examples include:
End of Verse
↓
Partial resolution
End of Chorus
↓
Strong authentic cadence
End of Song
↓
Maximum stability
Bridge
↓
Delayed resolution
This allows identical harmonic material to serve different structural purposes.
14. Future Expansion
Later versions may introduce:
- Jazz cadences
- Gospel endings
- Classical cadences
- Modal endings
- Extended dominant chains
- Tritone substitutions
- Chromatic approaches
- Secondary dominants
These become additional planning strategies rather than architectural changes.
15. Existing Components
The audit identified several systems already capable of supporting this pathway.
Existing components include:
- KeyDetector
- ProgressionAnalysis
- HarmonicFunction
- CadenceType
- ChordSuggestionEngine
- GeneratedProgression
The Resolve Path primarily integrates these components rather than replacing them.
16. Success Criteria
The Resolve Path is considered complete when it:
✔ Uses ProgressionAnalysis exclusively.
✔ Plans a cadence before generating chords.
✔ Produces multiple resolution candidates.
✔ Measures harmonic stability.
✔ Explains every cadence.
✔ Ranks candidates by confidence.
✔ Shares infrastructure with the Continue Path.
✔ Requires no duplicated analytical logic.
17. Architectural Importance
The Resolve Path demonstrates that the architecture can support different musical objectives without changing the underlying framework.
Continue and Resolve differ only in planning philosophy.
Everything else remains identical.
This confirms that the architecture is scalable.
18. Looking Ahead
Once Continue and Resolve are complete, the architecture has validated two opposing musical objectives:
- continuation
- closure
The remaining pathways operate between these two extremes.
Some extend.
Some intensify.
Some surprise.
Some transform.
Together they form the complete compositional reasoning engine envisioned during the audit.
Next Chapter
Chapter 7 — The Build Tension Path
The following chapter examines how ReasonTouch deliberately increases harmonic energy, postpones resolution, and creates anticipation through controlled tension planning, dominant preparation, modal borrowing, and intelligent phrase design.
End of Chapter 6