THE NITETIME ORGAN SYSTEM
=========================

PUBLIC SYSTEM TOUR // SEPTEMBER 2026

The NITETIME.NET organ is a real instrument connected to a software
broadcast system. Music can enter as a ready-made MIDI file or begin as
sheet music that is converted into one. The system then catalogs the result,
chooses what should play, sends the performance to the physical organ and
publishes synchronized information for the broadcast overlay.

The system has four broad layers:

    INTAKE       MIDI files and score conversion
    CATALOG      identity, metadata, curation and history
    PLAYBACK     selection, performance and organ control
    PRESENTATION overlay graphics and note visualization

The public-facing idea is simple:

    music -> catalog -> rotation -> organ -> broadcast

The engineering underneath is deliberately cautious. A file must be valid
enough to play, a description must be separated from verified facts, and
background analysis must not interrupt the music already on the air.


THE MUSIC LIBRARY
=================

The library is recursively scanned for Standard MIDI Files. Both common MIDI
filename extensions are accepted, including mixed capitalization. Spaces,
subdirectories and unusual filenames are ordinary cases rather than errors.

The system identifies content by a SHA-256 digest of the file bytes. The
filename is not the identity. If the same file appears in two places, it is
one catalog song with two known locations. If two arrangements sound like
the same composition but have different file contents, they remain separate
arrangements.

This distinction is useful and imperfect. It prevents accidental duplicates
from multiplying, but it also means alternate versions can be selected as
different pieces. Composition-level grouping is a future improvement.


WHAT THE CATALOG KNOWS
======================

The catalog stores technical information separately from descriptive
interpretation.

Technical metadata can include:

    MIDI format and track count
    timing resolution
    tempo events and calculated duration
    time signatures
    track names and text
    copyright text
    used channels
    program changes
    note-on count

Playback history records whether a performance finished normally, was
skipped, stopped during shutdown, exceeded its safety limit or failed to
start.

Manual corrections and automatic analysis are separate records. A manual
correction is authoritative. An AI suggestion is never allowed to silently
rewrite an approved credit.


THE PHYSICAL CONNECTION
=======================

The controller discovers the intended USB MIDI destination by its stable
device name. This avoids treating a changing hardware number as permanent.
An explicit operator override remains available for unusual hardware
changes, but the normal design is name-based discovery.

The performance path is:

    controller -> MIDI player -> USB MIDI interface -> Lowrey organ

After a performance ends, the controller sends an all-channel MIDI panic:
notes are released, sustain is cleared and controllers are reset. This is
the software equivalent of making sure no key is still being held down by a
ghost.


THE PUBLIC STATE
================

The system publishes a small read-only live state for the overlay. It can
describe the current song, the next song, playback status, duration,
technical MIDI telemetry and the resolved visual profile.

The state is replaced atomically at transitions. The overlay therefore sees
complete snapshots rather than half-written JSON. A companion note timeline
contains timestamped note, release and sustain events for the current song.

This is a display surface, not a public control surface. It is designed to
tell viewers what the station is doing without allowing viewers to operate
the host.


THE DESIGN RULE
===============

The organ may be automated, but the system should remain legible:

    technical facts stay technical
    guesses stay guesses
    human corrections remain authoritative
    playback remains independent of analysis
    public state remains read-only
    failures remain recoverable

That is how a free wooden organ becomes a reliable nighttime station.

NITETIME.NET // THE ORGAN IS PLAYING