# Contrast

The third major topic in mapping is something known as contrast.

# Definition

Contrast can be defined as: the idea that varying sections within a song should play different relative to each other. In fact, the concept of contrast builds off of what you learned about emphasis. In addition to emphasis, contrast takes into consideration one more factor: rhythm density

# Rhythm Density

If you recall earlier, you read about what rhythm is, which is the arrangement of circles, sliders, and spinners to represent the song. Rhythm density talks about how many circles, sliders, and spinners are used to represent the song, or sections of a song.

How many is rather a simple idea. Five circles in a row or one slider that spans the length of same five circles, which would be "easier" to play? In 99.9% of the cases, one slider would be easier because there are less objects to click (one compared to five). That's the idea of rhythm density.

# Creating Good Contrast

Generally speaking, calmer sections of the music should have less emphasis and be less rhythmically dense than more intense sections of the music, and more intense sections of the music should have more emphasis and be more rhythmically dense than the calmer sections. In fact, you should utilize the idea of active versus passive rhythm when considering rhythm density; sections that require clicking and sections that don't require as much clicking is still a form of constrast.

Suppose you kept a map's fundamentals constant throughout the entire map, meaning that the entire maps' rhythms are roughly equal in all sections in density, the emphasis for everything is constant. It just would not be a good map. From a mapping standpoint, the map should reflect what is happening within the map, but if everything within the map is held constant, then it would be a poor representation of the song. Creating good contrast in a map is extremely important, and cannot be neglected when beatmapping.