Hexaphone - iOS Keyboard Icon
Download Hexaphone - iOS Keyboard

Hexaphone - iOS Keyboard

Hexaphone is now free and open source!
Category Price Seller Device
Music Free Impresario Digital iPhone, iPad, iPod

https://github.com/glenn-barnett/hexaphone/

Hexaphone is a musical keyboard for iOS designed for real-time performance and improvisation. It provides a simplified musical scale, background drum loops, a unique Motion Filter, song recording and sharing, and audio export via AudioCopy or WAV file.

Hexaphone was created to give musicians a flexible tool that's small enough to fit in your pocket, but powerful enough to deliver big, expressive musical performances.

Most iPhone instruments are hindered by the small screen size. The keys are too small, which means it's easy to play a wrong note. Hexaphone embraces the small screen size, solving the space problem by providing a simplified, six-note keyboard. The six notes are selected based on the type of music you want to play. The "wrong notes" are removed from the screen entirely, freeing up room for bigger keys across more octaves.

Choose a six-note scale based on the type of music you want to play (Blues, Dance, Trance, and many more), fire up a beat, and off you go!

Using samples from a Nord Lead 3, Hexaphone produces a wide range of sounds, including funky 70's tones, overdriven synth sounds, and modern pads.

Hexaphone's one-of-a-kind Motion Filter is a 24db resonant lowpass filter that you control by tilting the device - producing an effect similar to a wah-wah pedal.

Hexaphone allows you to record your melodies, synchronized to the beat. You can lay down a quick bassline, record it, and then play along with it as you add a melody, chords, etc.

Play along with 16+ included drum loops - or play your iPod in the background. (Double-tap home button for iPod Controls)

Hexaphone allows you to share your recordings with other users via small data files, or export WAV audio via AudioCopy or iTunes Document Sharing.

Features:

* High performance graphics and sound - grace notes, complex rhythms and staccato expressions all come through clearly

* Multi-touch support - up to five simultaneously

* 11 Scales which allow you to change which notes are on the keyboard - 6 notes per octave over 5 octaves (31 total notes):
* Blues (Hexatonic)
* Dance
* Trance
* Minor (2 variants)
* Major (2 variants)
* Plus: Lydian, Mixolydian, Phrygian Dominant and Chromatic

* 16 Patches which change the sound of the keys:
* Power Square: Gritty synth tone
* Power Saw: Heavy distortion
* Tonewheel: Cool organ tone
* Funky Square: Wah-wah sound
* Trance Pad: Ideal for chords
* Plus many more!

* 16+ Drum Loops to play over
* 5 Hip Hop
* 3 Chillout
* 4 Rock
* 4 Dance

* Keyboard shows 13 notes at a time, slides with your touch, and snaps to half-octave increments

* All notes can be labeled with their musical interval - minor 7th, root, major 3rd, tritone, etc.

* Record your playing into files, and then play along with it. Manage your recordings - save, rename, delete.

* Tunable to any key, so you can play along with other instruments

Hexaphone is best enjoyed through the headphone jack to bring out the bass sounds.

Hexaphone was designed to run on all iPhones, but it really shines with the 3GS and iPhone 4. 3G users can improve performance by turning off the KEY ILLUM feature.

For live performances, use Airplane Mode to avoid interruptions.

Reviews

Clever interface, eminently playable, highly recommended
astachel

I've been using the app for a while now and find the keyboard layout to be very clever, and offers a lot of mobility around the keyboard, as well as smearing notes for dissonance. The scales selection makes it playable for non-musicians/novice musicians, but not at the expense of someone who knows what they are doing. My 6 year old nephew can already lay down some great riffs on it! The samples sound great (passable on the iPhone built-in speakers, but fantastic on headphones or plugged into an amp). The octave selection seems to have been designed with performance in mind as it responds quickly. Drum loops are perfect for jamming. Love the retro look. I've been more inclined to try drumming and percussion apps on the iPhone and have found latency to be a big concern that affects the performance (relegates those apps to toys vs. instruments). The responsiveness of this app is superb elevating it to a truly playable instrument.


Awesome!
RacerX1492

Fantastic app. Very playable. Sampled sounds are great. Love the design and layout.


Time to get the band back together
Jeff with a J

This would be the best 99 cents I've spent in a long time, if it weren't for the fact that I let a friend play with it and now he won't give my iPhone back to me. He's just standing here playing some ridiculously good music, giggling like a school girl. His name is Marc, and apparently he likes this app too.


WAWESOME APP
Ocean Mama

This app rox. U should totally buy it. This is wawesome! (half wow half awesome)


So much fun!
hd23408

I love this app. You can pick it up and make music without knowing what the hell you're doing, but there are plenty of advanced features (mixolydian scale! tonewheel patch! recording!!) that make sure you never get bored. Really great learning tool, too - a fun way to learn your intervals. Or just mess around with the loops for a few hours. Love. This. App.


Improvisation to the masses
SushiBoyAD

Most people will never get to a point on an instument that will allow them to enjoy the creative and improvisational aspects of music. This app rewrites the rules of classical instruments (knowing which notes to play when) and brings an opportunity for music creation and improvisation to anyone with an iPhone/iPad, an ear, and a couple of fingers. Such a simple and brilliant idea, and executed far better than anything else out there.


OK
soundoggy

It does what its supposed to do. Just needs a few more features to become 5 stars. 1) ability to import and play your own samples, as the included samples are limited, 2) ability to import your own loops, 3) MIDI out or save MIDI files.


Hexellent!
Biffo Bumpyhair

Great app!


Interesting
the1azn8

It's very hard to play anything that sounds off. Very fun.


Dumb
BKTMan

Doesn't have much substance.


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