# Roadmap: AI Artiste

## Overview

AI Artiste is built in 8 phases that progress from foundation through complete artist and track workflows to linguistic quality and coherence systems. Phase 1 establishes the project skeleton (CLAUDE.md, reference files, templates). Phases 2-3 deliver artist creation. Phase 4 delivers core track production. Phases 5-6 add linguistic verification for French and English. Phase 7 integrates verification into the track workflow and adds style enrichment. Phase 8 builds the coherence engine that ensures every track aligns with its artist and grows the discography meaningfully. Each phase delivers a verifiable capability that the next phase builds on.

## Phases

**Phase Numbering:**
- Integer phases (1, 2, 3): Planned milestone work
- Decimal phases (2.1, 2.2): Urgent insertions (marked with INSERTED)

Decimal phases appear between their surrounding integers in numeric order.

- [x] **Phase 1: Foundation** - Project skeleton, CLAUDE.md, reference files, Suno specs, folder conventions
- [x] **Phase 2: Artist Creation Wizard** - Interactive step-by-step workflow that produces a complete artist bible
- [x] **Phase 3: Artist Data Structure** - Folder structure, song structure templates, reusable genre references
- [x] **Phase 4: Core Track Production** - Track creation workflow producing Suno-ready lyrics and production briefs
- [x] **Phase 5: French Linguistic Engine** - French-specific syllable counting, rhyme classification, pronunciation guidance
- [x] **Phase 6: English Linguistic Engine** - English-specific syllable counting and rhyme verification
- [x] **Phase 7: Track Enrichment and Verification Integration** - Style prompts, vocal metatags, integrated linguistic verification reports
- [x] **Phase 8: Coherence Engine** - Artist-track alignment, discography tracking, cross-track drift detection

## Phase Details

### Phase 1: Foundation
**Goal**: The project has a complete skeleton that Claude can navigate and that all future workflows depend on -- CLAUDE.md instructions, reference file structure, Suno format specs, and linguistic rule stubs.
**Depends on**: Nothing (first phase)
**Requirements**: None directly (infrastructure phase enabling all requirements)
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. CLAUDE.md exists at project root with instructions telling Claude to treat reference files as authoritative over training data
  2. `reference/` directory exists with subdirectories for linguistic rules, Suno specs, and templates
  3. `reference/suno/format.md` exists documenting Suno Custom Mode constraints (style prompt max 1000 chars, lyrics max 3000 chars, metatag format, section tags)
  4. `artists/` directory exists with a README explaining the per-artist folder convention
  5. Running any future skill file will find the reference files it needs already in place
**Plans**: TBD

Plans:
- [x] 01-01: CLAUDE.md and project-level configuration
- [x] 01-02: Reference file structure and Suno format specs
- [x] 01-03: Linguistic rule reference files (French and English stubs with core rules)

### Phase 2: Artist Creation Wizard
**Goal**: User can interactively create a virtual music artist from scratch, producing a complete artist bible that captures every dimension of the artist's identity.
**Depends on**: Phase 1
**Requirements**: ART-01, ART-02
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. User can invoke the artist creation skill and be guided through a step-by-step wizard collecting name, genre, subgenres, vocal identity, emotion palette, themes, personality, lore, and visual keywords
  2. Upon completion, the wizard produces a complete structured markdown bible at `artists/[name]/bible.md` containing all collected identity data
  3. The wizard validates that no critical fields are left empty before writing the bible
  4. User can review and confirm the bible before it is finalized
**Plans**: 2 plans

Plans:
- [x] 02-01: Bible template, discography template, and example bible (structural contracts)
- [x] 02-02: Wizard skill file (SKILL.md) and 6 step files for interactive artist creation

### Phase 3: Artist Data Structure
**Goal**: Every artist has a predictable folder structure and the system includes reusable song structure templates that the track workflow will use.
**Depends on**: Phase 2
**Requirements**: ART-03, ART-04
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. Each artist created by the wizard gets a dedicated folder with `bible.md`, `tracks/` subfolder, and `discography.md` stub
  2. Song structure templates exist in `reference/templates/` covering at least 5 genres (pop, rap, ballad, rock, electronic) with section ordering and metatag placement
  3. User can browse `reference/templates/` to see available song structures before creating a track
**Plans**: 2 plans

Plans:
- [x] 03-01-PLAN.md — Verify artist folder structure (ART-03) and update STRUCTURE.md
- [x] 03-02-PLAN.md — Song structure template library by genre (pop, rap, ballad, rock, electronic)

### Phase 4: Core Track Production
**Goal**: User can create a complete track for any existing artist, receiving singable lyrics with Suno section tags and a production brief ready to paste into Suno Custom Mode.
**Depends on**: Phase 3
**Requirements**: TRACK-01, TRACK-02, TRACK-05, TRACK-06
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. User can invoke the track creation skill specifying an artist name and a concept/mood, and receive a complete production brief
  2. Generated lyrics include proper Suno section tags ([Intro], [Verse], [Pre-Chorus], [Chorus], [Bridge], [Outro]) and are singable (not prose)
  3. The production brief respects all Suno constraints: style prompt under 1000 chars, lyrics under 3000 chars, correct metatag format
  4. User can choose French or English as the track language and lyrics are generated entirely in that language
  5. The production brief output is copy-pasteable into Suno Custom Mode without modification
**Plans**: 2 plans

Plans:
- [x] 04-01-PLAN.md — Track creation skill orchestrator (SKILL.md) and input collection step (Step 01)
- [x] 04-02-PLAN.md — Lyrics generation step (Step 02) and verification/save step (Step 03)

### Phase 5: French Linguistic Engine
**Goal**: The system can verify French lyrics for syllable accuracy and rhyme quality using language-specific rules, and provide pronunciation guidance for Suno rendering.
**Depends on**: Phase 1 (reference stubs), can run in parallel with Phase 4
**Requirements**: LING-02, LING-04, LING-05
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. System counts syllables per line in French lyrics applying e muet, dierese, synerese, and hiatus rules -- showing its work step by step
  2. System scores French rhymes using formal classification: pauvre (1 shared sound), suffisante (2), riche (3+), richissime (4+) based on phonetic analysis, not spelling
  3. System provides pronunciation guidance flagging high-risk French words for Suno (silent letters, liaisons, nasal vowels) and includes "All lyrics in French" in the style prompt
**Plans**: 3 plans

Plans:
- [x] 05-01-PLAN.md — French syllable counting: verification procedure, dierese/synerese lookup table (80+ words), validation self-checks
- [x] 05-02-PLAN.md — French rhyme classification: anti-orthographic procedure, pieges phonetiques, pre-classified rhyme table, suggestion workflow
- [x] 05-03-PLAN.md — French pronunciation guidance: 6-scan procedure, liaison tables, 40+ watchlist words, rewrite strategies

### Phase 6: English Linguistic Engine
**Goal**: The system can verify English lyrics for syllable accuracy and rhyme quality using English-specific rules.
**Depends on**: Phase 1 (reference stubs), can run in parallel with Phases 4-5
**Requirements**: LING-03
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. System counts syllables per line in English lyrics with awareness of stress patterns and common exceptions
  2. System identifies and evaluates rhyme quality in English lyrics (perfect rhyme, near rhyme, slant rhyme)
**Plans**: 2 plans

Plans:
- [x] 06-01-PLAN.md — English syllable counting: 6-step verification procedure with stress analysis, 35+ ambiguous-word lookup table, contraction table, -ed rules, heteronym notes, validation tests
- [x] 06-02-PLAN.md — English rhyme classification: IPA-first anti-orthographic procedure, orthographic trap tables, 30+ pre-classified rhyme pairs, suggestion workflow

### Phase 7: Track Enrichment and Verification Integration
**Goal**: Track production is enriched with auto-generated style prompts and vocal metatags, and every production brief includes a linguistic verification report assessing quality per section.
**Depends on**: Phase 4, Phase 5, Phase 6
**Requirements**: TRACK-03, TRACK-04, LING-01, LING-06
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. System auto-generates an optimized style prompt from the artist bible (5-8 tags, genre-first ordering, within 1000 char limit) without user manual input
  2. System suggests vocal delivery metatags per section ([Whispered], [Belted], [Raspy], [Breathy]) based on the artist's vocal style and each section's emotional arc
  3. System verifies rhyme quality in generated lyrics according to the track's language (French or English) and flags weak rhymes
  4. Production brief includes a per-section linguistic verification report with syllable counts and rhyme quality scores
**Plans**: 2 plans

Plans:
- [x] 07-01-PLAN.md — Style prompt auto-generation and vocal delivery metatag suggestion engine (Step 02 upgrade)
- [x] 07-02-PLAN.md — Linguistic verification integration into production brief (Step 03 upgrade)

### Phase 8: Coherence Engine
**Goal**: Every track is verified against the artist's identity and history before finalization -- genre, vocal style, themes, emotions all align, and cross-track patterns (repetition, emotional drift, narrative progression) are detected.
**Depends on**: Phase 4, Phase 7
**Requirements**: COH-01, COH-02, COH-03, COH-04, COH-05, COH-06, COH-07, COH-08
**Success Criteria** (what must be TRUE):
  1. System checks genre alignment, vocal style consistency, theme relevance, and emotion alignment between each new track and the artist bible -- and warns on mismatches before finalization
  2. Each generated track is automatically logged in `artists/[name]/discography.md` with title, date, themes, emotions, and language
  3. System warns when recent tracks over-index on a single emotion from the artist's palette
  4. System detects thematic and lyrical repetition across previous tracks and flags duplicates
  5. System suggests narrative progression ideas based on the artist's lore and track history
**Plans**: 3 plans

Plans:
- [x] 08-01-PLAN.md — Bible alignment checks: genre, vocal style, theme, emotion, and Regles de Coherence verification (Step 03 upgrade)
- [x] 08-02-PLAN.md — Enhanced discography logging with enriched stats (emotion distribution, theme counts, unexplored emotions)
- [x] 08-03-PLAN.md — Cross-track analysis: emotion drift detection, repetition warnings, narrative progression suggestions (Step 01 + Step 03 upgrade)

## Progress

**Execution Order:**
Phases execute in numeric order: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 (parallel with 4) -> 6 (parallel with 4-5) -> 7 -> 8

Note: Phases 5 and 6 (linguistic engines) can be developed in parallel with Phase 4 (core track production) since they depend only on Phase 1 reference stubs. Phase 7 integrates all three.

| Phase | Plans Complete | Status | Completed |
|-------|---------------|--------|-----------|
| 1. Foundation | 3/3 | Complete | 2026-04-10 |
| 2. Artist Creation Wizard | 2/2 | Complete | 2026-04-10 |
| 3. Artist Data Structure | 2/2 | Complete | 2026-04-10 |
| 4. Core Track Production | 2/2 | Complete | 2026-04-10 |
| 5. French Linguistic Engine | 3/3 | Complete | 2026-04-10 |
| 6. English Linguistic Engine | 2/2 | Complete | 2026-04-10 |
| 7. Track Enrichment and Verification Integration | 2/2 | Complete | 2026-04-11 |
| 8. Coherence Engine | 3/3 | Complete | 2026-04-11 |
