Tags and folders
Floe has 2 complimentary features for browsing, searching and filtering: tags and folders. These apply to a few different features of Floe: presets, instruments and impulse responses.
For developers, there are best practises for how to use tags and folders to offer the best experience for the user.
On this page, we use the term ‘item’ to mean either preset, instrument or impulse response: these all use tags and folders in a similar way.
Folders
Folders are used to group items under a common heading. Items are often displayed in folders, even when other filtering has been applied.
Folders should be categories that relate to the theme or objective of the library. For example, for Lost Reveries, we wanted to explore the technique of using three complimentary timbres to layer into a full-spectrum sound, so we choose folders: “Low”, “Mid” and “Air”. Another example might be a library of field recordings, folders might be “Urban/London”, “Urban/York” or “Nature/New Forest”.
Folders may contain slashes to represent a hierarchy, just like a filepath. For example: “Piano/1978 Steinway”. Use this to specify broad categories that narrow down to specific categories. It’s not usually best to have more than 2 levels of hierarchy.
It’s best to have 5 to 30 items per folder. Folders with not many items clutter the GUI and don’t offer much value. Folders with too many items loose their focus.
Folders might overlap with tags but, in general, they are more abstract and can use phrases that only make sense in the context of the library as a whole. However, if it makes sense to group items under a common heading such as ‘Percussion’ (a common tag), then that’s fine too — but you should also add this as a tag.
Tags
Tags are the properties of an item. They are used for filtering and searching items across all libraries. Therefore, tags should normally come from the standard pool of tags so that there is a common language that enables standard usage across all libraries. Custom tags are allowed, but they should only be used for a good reason.
Add as many relevant tags as possible.
Tags are case-insensitive.
Instrument tags
Instrument tags are set in the sample library’s Lua file when calling floe.new_instrument. However, writing tags manually is quite laborious.
Floe has a utility that allows you to use the GUI to select tags. It will write these tags as Lua code, ready to be included in your floe.lua file.
Lua/instrument_tags.lua:
-- This file is generated by Floe's tag builder.
return {
["Air - Restless Canopy"] = { "ambient", "bittersweet", "breathy", "dreamy", "ethereal", "nostalgic", "resonant", "smooth", "synthesized", "texture", },
-- ...
}
floe.lua:
local instrument_tags = dofile("Lua/instrument_tags.lua")
-- ...
local instrument_name = "Air - Restless Canopy"
local instrument = floe.new_instrument(library, {
name = instrument_name,
tags = instrument_tags[instrument_name],
-- ...
})
This Tag Builder is found by clicking on the 3-dots menu at the top of Floe, and then selecting “Library Developer Panel”.
The tag builder works for whatever instrument is loaded in the first layer of Floe. As you click on tags, the generated Lua code will be placed in the library’s folder in a subfolder called Lua.
Standard tags
We take a pragmatic approach to defining this set of standard tags. Rather than try to be completely comprehensive and technically accurate, we instead aim to strike a balance between correctness and common usage within the music production space. The goal of tags is to help users find the item they need. You can suggest edits to this list via Github or other means.
For best results setting tags, go over each of the following questions and add all tags that apply to the item.
1. 🔊 Sound source: Where did the sound come from?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
acoustic | Originating from a real instrument |
field recording | Environmental or location recordings |
found sounds | Real objects not traditionally used for music |
hybrid | Combines acoustic/vocal sounds with processed/synthesized elements |
synthesized | Generated by algorithms or circuits |
vocal | Originating from a human voice |
It’s strongly recommended to specify a sound-source for instruments and impulse responses. This is sometimes not applicable for presets.
2. 🎻 Real instrument category: Does it fit in a real instrument category?
brass, cello, choir, double bass, drums, electric bass, folk, guitar, keyboard, organ, percussion, piano, plucked strings1, strings2, struck strings3, tonal percussion, violin, wind.
These are mostly relevant for acoustic or hybrid sounds, but can be used for synthesized sounds that emulate these instruments.
3. 👥 Number of players: How many players are involved?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
solo | Single player |
ensemble | Multiple players |
This is typically used for acoustic sounds. Synthesized sounds usually don’t have this tag.
4. ➡️ Sound type (long duration): What type of sound is it?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
pad | Sustained, pitched background harmonic element |
texture | Sustained atmospheric element, typically less of a musical pitch than pad |
soundscape | Complex and rich sonic environment |
underscore | Background tones or sequences for underneath dialogue |
noise | Non-pitched and constant, similar to white noise |
5. ↔️ Sound type (short duration): What type of sound is it?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
hit | Single impactful sound with pitch and percussive elements |
keys | Piano or keyboard-like |
oneshot | Non-looping single sound, typically not for playing chromatically |
pluck | Short melodic notes |
stab | Extra-short melodic notes |
6. 🔁 Sound type (sequence or pattern): What type of sound is it?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
arp | Arpeggiated pattern of notes |
sequence | Sequenced pattern timbre changes |
loop | Sampled repeating phrase |
7. 🎛️ Sound type (role in a track): What type of sound is it?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
lead | Foreground melodic element |
bass | Low-frequency foundation |
riser | Building tension element |
downer | Descending tension element |
sound fx | Special effect sound |
transition | Section change element |
8. 🪵 Material: Is it made from a specific material?
glass, ice, metal, plastic, rubber, stone, wood.
This is typically used for non-standard instruments in the acoustic or found sounds categories.
9. 🏛️ Reverb type: What reverb type is it?
cathedral, chamber, church, hall, large room, open air, small room, studio, unusual.
Strongly recommended for impulse responses. Not applicable for instruments or presets.
10. 🙂 Mood (positive): What mood does the item evoke?
bright4, dreamy, ethereal, hopeful, nostalgic, peaceful, playful.
It’s usually recommended to specify moods for synthesised instruments and presets. Not typically used for well-known acoustic instruments.
11. 😟 Mood (negative): What mood does the item evoke?
aggressive, chaotic, dark5, disturbing, eerie, melancholic, menacing, tense.
It’s usually recommended to specify moods for synthesised instruments and presets. Not typically used for well-known acoustic instruments.
12. 😐 Mood (mixed): What mood does the item evoke?
bittersweet, hypnotic, mysterious, quirky, subdued.
It’s usually recommended to specify moods for synthesised instruments and presets. Not typically used for well-known acoustic instruments.
13. 🎭 Mood (thematic): What mood does the item evoke?
dramatic, dystopian, epic, experimental, fantasy, heroic, noir, romantic, thriller, horror, sci-fi, western.
It’s usually recommended to specify moods for synthesised instruments and presets. Not typically used for well-known acoustic instruments.
14. 🎶 Pitch: What are its pitch characteristics?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
multi-pitched | Contains multiple distinct notes |
non-pitched | Lacks identifiable musical pitch |
dissonant | Contains harmonically clashing pitches |
Useful for non-typical sounds that have notable pitch characteristics. A sound is assumed to possess a musical pitch unless otherwise stated.
15. 🚂 Timbre (modulation): What is its timbre like?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
pulsing | Rhythmic modulation |
evolving | Changing over time |
glitched | Digital error artefacts |
grainy | Fine textural irregularities |
16. 🎷 Timbre (real instrument tone): What is its timbre like?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
brassy | Like brass instruments |
breathy | Containing air noise, like wind instruments |
strings-like | Characteristic resonance of string instruments |
reedy | Characteristic of reed instruments |
choir-like | Characteristic of choral voices |
organ-like | Characteristic of an organ |
17. 🎚️ Timbre (synthesis technique): What is its timbre like?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
analog | Warm, imprecise, vintage character |
FM | Frequency modulation synthesis |
granular | Granular synthesis |
physical modelling | Simulating real-world physics |
18. 💎 Timbre (frequency): What is its timbre like?
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
airy | Open, spacious, light |
circuit bent | Characteristic of modified electronic devices |
cold | Thin, clinical, lacking warmth |
digital | Clean, precise, computer-generated character |
distorted | Overdriven, crushed, non-linear |
full-spectrum | Wide frequency range |
fuzzy | Indistinct, soft-edged, unclear |
glassy | Clear, fragile, transparent |
gritty | Rough, textured, unpolished |
harsh | Abrasive, aggressive high frequencies |
hissing | Sibilant, white noise |
lo-fi | Intentionally degraded quality |
lush | Full, rich, densely layered |
metallic | Resonant, hard, bright, like metal |
muddy | Unclear low-mid frequencies |
muffled | Dampened high frequencies |
nasal | Strong mid-range resonance |
noisy | Contains noise components, imperfect. If the sound is 100% noise use noise instead. |
pure | Free from noise, clean sine-like quality |
resonant | Strong resonant peaks in frequency |
rumbly | Low frequency non-pitch sustained noise |
saturated | Subtly distorted, harmonically enhanced |
smooth | Even, consistent, without sharp edges |
thin | Lacking in fullness, narrow frequency range |
warm | Rich in harmonics, pleasant mid-range |
19. 🎵 Genre: What genres might this item fit best into?
80s, EDM, IDM, ambient, blues, chillout, chiptune, cinematic, disco, downtempo, drum & bass, dubstep, electronic, folk (genre), funk, future bass, glitch, hip-hop, house, industrial, jazz, lo-fi6, metal (genre), orchestral, pop, rock, synthwave, techno, trance, trap, vaporwave, world.
Specifying at least one genre is recommended for all presets and instruments.