Visual Harmony

Immerse yourself in the stunning and hypnotic effects of Visual Harmony!

In Visual Harmony, each note takes the form of a colorful shape rotating about the center of the screen. When the shape crosses the line, its note is played. Shapes closer to the center move faster than those farther out. These simple rules produce intricate visual patterns and hypnotic melodies.

Watch as the shapes form spinning galaxies and winding spirals. See the patterns merge back into a line, only to unfold again into complex geometric shapes. Listen as melodies emerge from the motion. Choose a slow speed and settle into the gentle repetition, or speed things up for a lively swirl of sight and sound!

Visual Harmony is an interactive musical/visual experience inspired by Jim Bumgardner’s invention of the digital Whitney Music Box. Explore the original at https://whitneymusicbox.org.

At Excelltech Inc., we found Jim’s web app so engaging that we created our own version for iPhone and iPad. While staying true to the original idea, Visual Harmony gives you additional control and customization of the musical experience. Now rebuilt for today’s devices, it lets you reach into the patterns and make them your own.

• Change the size, shape, speed, and color palette of the spinning notes. Reverse their direction, add light trails, and experiment with 4 to 88 notes.
• Choose from six synthesized instruments: music box, piano, guitar, strings, brass, and organ. Adjust the volume and room ambience to suit your mood.
• Explore pentatonic, major, minor, Dorian, whole-tone, and chromatic scales, or create your own sequence of notes and rests.
• Move the line that plays the notes. Drag its handle across the shapes to sound them, even while playback is paused.
• Explore the music forward or backward with the circular progress control. Grab its thumb and move your finger outward for finer control, or cross the top to move smoothly between the end and beginning.
• Start with one of six included compos…