Tones (v1)
- spontaneous music creation app for the iPhone / iPod
What does it do?
Tones makes making music easy for everyone. It couldn't be simpler. There are multiple sounds to choose from and plenty of features that make Tones for the iPhone and iPod touch a very intuitive application. You'll be making cool sounding tunes in no time and the best of it is, you don't even have to have any musical experience at all!
TopWho's it for?
Even if you can't play a musical instrument, don't worry! Tones is such a simple application that people of all ages, including young children, can begin effortlessly pushing the sound pads and immediately start creating fun and interesting sounds that will impress your friends and keep you entertained for ages.
TopUsing the Sound Pads
When Tones initiates, the grid is made up of a 15 x 12 grid of sound pads
Pressing the pad with your finger will activate the sound pad and become bright white
Pressing the sound pad again causes it to become inactive and looks pale white.Sound pads can be activated or deactivated by tapping on each individually, or by dragging a finger across a numbers of them at once.
TopWhat are Waves?
All active pads in a single column play a sound as each column is cycled through. These cycles are called 'waves'. Once the last column in the grid is reached, a new wave is created and the grid is cycled again starting from the very first column in the grid. The current position of the wave is denoted by the small white dot found travelling below each column number at the very top of the screen.
TopControlling Tempo
The tempo or speed of a wave can be controlled using the 'Tempo' menu. Tapping the 'Tempo' button on the bottom left of the Tones app will display the tempo controls.
The tempo can be increased by tapping the plus (+) symbol, and decreased by tapping the the minus (-) symbol. The currently set tempo value displays the current tempo in the middle in single digit form. Top
Changing Sounds
It is easy to change sounds in Tones. Tap the 'Sounds' button on the bottom left of the screen. A pop up will appear containing a list of sounds that can be used to create wonderful music with Tones. Simply tap the name of the sound you want to use from the list and if there are pads currently active, you will hear the sound change immediately take effect.
TopAltering the Grid
The length of the grid will determine the length of the wave, and essentially the length of the tune created. Shortening or lengthening the grid will shorten or lengthen the tune respectively.
To shorten the grid, press the 'Columns' button on the bottom of the screen. This will display a pop up similar to the Tempo controls, where the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons increase and decrease the number of columns in the grid. The current number of columns is displayed between the plus and minus buttons. The maximum number of columns the grid can have is 20, and the minimum is 1.
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Scroll the Grid
When a grid has more columns than can be displayed on screen at any one time, the columns that are off screen can be viewed by scrolling left or right using the arrow buttons on the very bottom right hand side of the Tones application.
When the very far left of the grid (the first column) is reached, the left scroll arrow deactivates and the grid will become static. When the far right side of the grid (the last viewable column) has been reached, the right scroll arrow deactivates and the grid will stop scrolling. When an arrow becomes inactive, it becomes a pale white. When active it becomes a bright white.
TopShake to Clear
Tones takes advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer technology to detect when it is being shaken. This can be used to completely clear the grid of active sound pads by simply shaking the iPhone or iPod touch. It really couldn't be easier.