Ocarina makes beautiful music on an iPhone

We live in interesting times, especially when it comes to technology. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us 10 years from now. I’m also gratified to know that I really won’t have to wait 10 years to see some pretty amazing stuff.

There’s always something new and exciting happening right now and just around the corner. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) being held in Las Vegas this month has been teasing some new innovations scheduled to hit dealer shelves this year.

In the meantime, something pretty amazing was just introduced for the iPhone and already there’s a major buzz about it. I’ve been practicing on it for a few weeks now and I get big reactions from anyone who’s seen and heard me playing it. Ocarina is an application that converts your iPhone into a wind instrument.

Music on the iPhone isn’t news as it’s already a very cool mp3 player. And there are a number of apps that let you play things such as a mini piano keyboard so you can bang out some synthesized music and such.

But they were never intended to be anything with which you could be serious. But Ocarina takes it to that next level by transforming the iPhone into something that’s close to a real musical instrument.

I guess it’s all in how you actually define a musical instrument. If it’s something you can just pick up and play without any practice, chances are it’s not a musical instrument.

Of course there are always exceptions such as the triangle, cymbals, maracas and other similar percussive instruments. But an instrument that plays notes usually requires lots of practice, and Ocarina certainly falls into that category.

The app is named after the little wind instrument that produces a hauntingly beautiful, rich monophonic tone. It sports little holes that you cover and open using your fingers.

By blowing into the Ocarina, you can control the volume as well as a tremolo or quavering effect. The Ocarina app on the iPhone does one heck of a job simulating the real thing.

Ocarina’s imaginative and creative programmers are to be commended for using iPhone abilities in a way that was never intended.

For example, the iPhone’s little microphone intended for speech is now used to sample the intensity of your breath.

As you blow into the microphone, the Ocarina app translates how hard or soft you are blowing into a corresponding volume. The harder or softer you blow, the louder or softer the sound.

This allows you to add expression or “feeling” as you play, just as you can do with the real instrument. Modulating your breath will also produce a tremolo.

Using the accelerometer, you can also tilt the iPhone to change vibrato rate and depth. The screen shows four “holes” you manipulate to produce notes on a chromatic scale allowing you to play most any tune one note at a time.

As you play the sounds, the screen depicts an animation of intersecting, expanding sound waves that correspond to what you are playing, making the observer’s experience aural, visual and hypnotic. You can also select alternative musical modes that produce different types of scales.

As if that weren’t enough, you can select a screen that displays an animated image of the globe where you can actually hear others playing their Ocarinas!

If you find someone who’s really good you can bookmark them for future enjoyment. Additional options let you configure the Ocarina’s hole positions and shape, and choose to share your playing with others or keep it private until you become a virtuoso.

You can set up an account on the Smule Web site to view fingering diagrams for a wide variety of songs and more. Or just go to the Smule Web site to hear a quintet of Ocarinas playing along with a guitarist performing Stairway to Heaven. It’s wonderful.

As a musician myself (I play the piano), this has given me many hours of enjoyment and entertainment. And although I’m still not very good on it, the reactions I get from those seeing me play my cell phone are priceless. Most amazing of all is that it sells for just 99 cents.

Now go out there and blow them away.

For more information, visit www.smule.com.

X Craig Crossman is a national newspaper columnist writing about computers and technology. For more information, visit his Web site at www.computeramerica.com.

2009 McClatchy Tribune