Metatone apps are mobile computer-musical instruments inspired by the world of contemporary percussion. Just tap and swipe to start creating your own percussive soundscape!
Apps
- MetaLonsdale is a collaborative musical instrument created for Everything Nothing Projects Gallery in Canberra, Australia. Tapping and swiping the screen controls an array of field recordings and percussive sounds!
- BirdsNest is an iPad-instrument recalling the forest sounds of a Northern Swedish summer. Tap and slide to make music with bird calls, percussion sounds, and field recordings!
- Snow Music is an instrument for performing the sound of snow and ice from Piteå, Sweden. Tap the snow to create short snow sounds, swipe to slide on the snow and ice.
- PhaseRings is a ring-based instrument for performing expressive music with touch gestures. Anyone can create a beautiful piece of music with our sound schemes and generative composition engine!
There are currently four Metatone apps available for free in the iTunes App Store. While each app is a self contained musical instrument they share a touch-interface inspired by simple interactions with percussion instruments. Tap to play a short note - swipe to create a continuous sound. Each app contains a palette of sounds for creating a specific kind of soundscape, from the snow and ice in Northern Sweden to a Canberra café. Click on the app pages above for more information.
Music
Ensemble Metatone plays improvised and experimental music using Charles Martin’s iPad-instruments and percussion. Recorded live in Canberra at the ANU School of Music 2013-08-03, this concert followed a series of rehearsals-as-research where the performers thoroughly explored two iPad app-instruments through improvised performance.
In these contemplative works, the group performs on iPads with a vocabulary of touch-gestures inspired by their percussive backgrounds and, conversely, uses acoustic percussion instruments to mimic and augment the apps’ sound-palettes.
Contact
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