Transition Map
Definition
The Transition Map defines which stories can naturally move to which other stories, and what triggers those movements.
If the Story Matrix tells you “where you are,” the Transition Map tells you “where you can go from here.”
Why a Map Exists
Not every story can transition to every other story. In real techno performances, certain progressions are natural and others are jarring or physically impossible. A “Fade” (light + falling) cannot jump directly to “Escalation” (heavy + rising) without passing through intermediate states — the kick has to get heavier and the variance has to reverse direction, which takes time and passes through other matrix cells along the way.
The Transition Map encodes these natural progressions. It prevents the model from producing impossible or incoherent story sequences.
Transition Triggers
Every transition in the map is triggered by a change in one of the confirmed values. There are three categories of trigger:
PRESENCE TRIGGER
─────────────────────────────────────────────
The Presence gate opens (kick disappears) or closes (kick returns).
This is the most dramatic trigger — it changes the fundamental
state of the model (Foundation present vs. absent).
VARIANCE TRIGGER
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Variance direction changes (e.g., stable → rising, rising → falling).
This is the most common trigger — it reflects energy shifts in the
mix while the kick remains.
WEIGHT TRIGGER
─────────────────────────────────────────────
Weight crosses a band boundary (e.g., medium → heavy) and holds.
This is the most gradual trigger — it reflects the DJ mixing into
a track with a different kick character.Sustain shifts can also trigger transitions, but they more commonly change the character of the current story (e.g., groove_heavy_mid → groove_heavy_dry) rather than moving to a different matrix cell entirely.
Example Map: Common Techno Arcs
The following map illustrates one set of common transitions in techno. This is not the complete graph and is not prescriptive — implementations should define their own maps based on the stories they use and the genre they target.
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
▼ │
┌──────────┐ │
┌───▶│ GROOVE │◀──────────────────────┐ │
│ │ (heavy, │ │ │
│ │ stable) │ │ │
│ └────┬─────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ variance presence │ │
│ rises gate opens │ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ │ │
│ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ │
│ │ ESCALATION│ │ BREAKDOWN │ │ │
│ │ (heavy, │ │ (absence) │ │ │
│ │ rising) │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────┬─────┘ └─────┬─────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ presence variance │ │
│ gate opens rises │ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ │ │
│ ┌────────────────┐ │ │
│ │ ANTICIPATION │ │ │
│ │ (absence, │ │ │
│ │ rising) │ │ │
│ └───────┬────────┘ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ presence │ │
│ gate closes │ │
│ │ │ │
│ ▼ │ │
│ ┌──────────┐ │ │
│ │ DROP │────────────────┘ │
│ │ (heavy, │ (variance stabilizes, │
│ │ rising/ │ returns to groove) │
│ │ stable) │ │
│ └──────────┘ │
│ │
│ weight drops variance falls │
│ over time │
│ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ │
│ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │
│ │ DRIVE │ │ WIND_DOWN │──────────┘
│ │ (medium, │ │ (heavy, │ (variance
│ │ stable) │ │ falling) │ stabilizes)
│ └─────┬─────┘ └───────────┘
│ │
│ weight rises
│ │
└─────────┘Reading the Map
Each arrow represents a valid transition. The label on the arrow is the trigger — the confirmed state change that causes the transition.
A story cannot transition along an arrow that doesn’t exist. If the model detects a state that would require an impossible transition, it means an intermediate story was skipped (possibly because the change happened faster than the temporal thresholds could track) and the model should jump to the nearest valid state.
Common Arcs
The Standard Build-Drop Cycle
This is the most recognizable arc in techno — the structure that drives peak-time sets.
groove → escalation → breakdown → anticipation → drop → groove
Duration: typically 4-8 minutes for the full cycle.
groove (2-4 min): Locked-in groove, stable energy.
escalation (1-2 min): Filter opens, layers add, tension builds.
breakdown (30s-2 min): Kick drops out. Atmospheric section.
anticipation (15-30s): Energy builds during breakdown. Noise rise,
filter sweep, snare roll — the classic build.
drop (instant): Kick returns with full weight. Maximum impact.
groove (continues): Energy settles back into locked groove.The Slow Burn
Common in deep techno, minimal sets, and opening DJs.
minimal → drive → groove → groove → groove
Duration: can span 30+ minutes.
The set starts light and slowly gains weight as the DJ mixes into
heavier tracks. No dramatic breakdowns, no drops — just a gradual
deepening. Weight rises slowly, variance stays stable.
The story changes not through dramatic triggers but through the
weight band boundaries being crossed over time.The Wind_down
How sets end, or how energy is deliberately reduced after a peak.
groove → wind_down → cool → fade → (silence)
Duration: 5-15 minutes.
After the peak, variance starts falling. Layers strip away.
Weight gradually drops as the DJ mixes into lighter tracks.
Eventually the kick itself fades (presence drops) and the
story becomes null — silence, or ambient wash, or the next DJ.The Double Build
A more dramatic variation where the first build is a fake-out.
groove → escalation → drop → escalation → breakdown → anticipation → drop
The first "drop" isn't preceded by a breakdown — the kick stays
and the energy just intensifies further. Then the real breakdown
hits, creating a more dramatic contrast.The Extended Breakdown
Common in atmospheric and ambient techno.
groove → breakdown → breakdown → breakdown → drop
The kick drops out and stays out for an extended period (2-4 minutes
or more). Variance may rise and fall within the breakdown without
the kick returning. The model stays in "breakdown" (or shifts to
"anticipation" if variance rises) throughout.
This is where "no foundation = no story" might apply — if the
breakdown becomes truly formless ambient, the model may output
story = null until the kick returns.Transitions Between Absence and Presence
The most structurally significant transitions are between stories with Foundation present and stories without it.
ANY story with Foundation → ABSENCE
─────────────────────────────────────
Trigger: Presence gate opens (kick gone for N beats)
This is always dramatic. The anchor disappears.
Visual systems should respond to this as a major structural event.
ABSENCE → ANY story with Foundation
─────────────────────────────────────
Trigger: Presence gate closes (kick back for N beats)
Which story enters depends on:
- The returning kick's Weight (sampled immediately)
- The current Variance direction (carried from the absence period)
If the kick returns heavy with rising variance → Drop
If the kick returns heavy with stable variance → Groove
If the kick returns light with stable variance → Minimal
etc.Building Your Own Map
The map shown above is one example. To build a map for your specific context:
-
Start with the stories from your Story Matrix. Only stories you’ve defined can appear in the map.
-
For each story, ask: “What can change from here?” The possible changes are: variance direction shifts, presence gate opens/closes, weight crosses a band, sustain shifts.
-
For each possible change, determine which story it leads to. Look up the new state in the matrix.
-
Draw the arrows. Each arrow is a trigger + destination.
-
Identify impossible transitions. If two stories are far apart in the matrix (e.g., “Fade” and “Escalation”), they can’t transition directly. There must be intermediate stories.
-
Test against real sets. Play techno sets through the system and watch the story transitions. Do they make sense? Do they match what you hear? Adjust the map where reality diverges from theory.
Related Pages
- Story — the parent concept
- Story Matrix — how stories are determined
- Presence — the gate that triggers presence-based transitions
- Variance — the direction changes that trigger variance-based transitions
- Temporal Thresholds — how triggers are confirmed