# Consistency

The fourth major topic in mapping is consistency.

# Definition

Consistency can be defined as: the idea that patterns used for a part of the song should be similarly designed for every instance of a musically similar section of the song.

Key word: should, this is important to note

# Adaptive Consistency

Suppose you have two sections of a song that are exactly the same, how would you approach these two sections? Differently? The same?

The correct answer is the map them similar to each other, but not different enough that your mapping values have changed, and not similar enough that it is a copy and paste of each other. It's nice to establish a sense of familiarly in your patterns to specific parts of the song, so that when that same part of the song comes up again, it reminds the player of the pattern that you created for that section, and can anticipate playing a very similar rhythm.

Of course, being consistent to a tee is not ideal, such as copying and pasting a map. From a mapping standpoint, and to an extent, a player standpoint, playing the exact same thing for the same sections is boring and uninspiring. So, when a section of the song repeats, the best way to handle this would be to vary your map in ways that don't drastically change how you previously interpreted the song: adaptive consistency.