Tachyon: A Look at the Visual Music Creation App for iOS

TachyonDream Theatre Keyboard wiz Jordan Rudes has been making quite a name for himself as the mastermind behind some pretty creative musical iOS apps like MorphWiz, SampleWiz, Geo Synthesizer and now, Tachyon.

The common theme to these apps is that they offer an ethereal aesthetic which serves to mesmerize to the point where one almost forgets that they are making music. This is one reason why I find Jordan’s apps so fun. As you explore the app, you get sucked into the process in any number of ways. I found myself playing with the shapes produced by the sound as much as the other way around.

While never bogged down or cluttered by settings and options, there are quite a few ways to alter the way the app operates.

Tachyon screen example 1The app allows for control over the tonality, number of octaves available on the screen, volume of two instruments, amount of chorus and delay, tonality of the scale, root of the scale and the look of the playing surface (to an extent).

The real fun is in the instrument selection. These are Jordan’s own sound sets, and you can choose from a selection of instruments which are triggered with how high or low your fingers are on the screen. The instrument sounds also blend together, so you have everything in between the two sounds.

The app’s horizontal axis view relates to pitch, and the vertical axis relates to instrument.

Visually, the app is mesmerizing. Each instrument has a different shape (which looks like a constellation). As you play the different instruments, the shape on the screen rotates and morphs between a combination of the two instruments played.

I’m loving Jordan’s aesthetic take on music creation, and his apps are very much designed to be used by anyone of any level. You can easily have as much fun with the app regardless of your skill level.

Check out this videos of Jordan demonstrating the app:

Tachyon is available from the App Store for $1.99. This is a universal app, designed to work on the iPhone and iPad, and is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad and requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Wizdom Music also has a Mac version of the app available for download from their website.

Have you tried out Tachyon? Tell us about it in the comments. If there’s an app you liked us to check out, please let us know that too!

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Leave a Reply to Adam Jones Cancel reply

  1. $1.99! Insanely cheap, I’ll be tempted to pick this up for my iPhone just to mess around with!