VIDEO: Ocarina, for iPhone, by Smule.
In July 2008, Ge Wang co-founded a company called Smule with computer music graduate student Jeff Smith, ’89, to develop interactive sonic media applications for the iPhone. Wang’s latest creation, Ocarina, is a 99-cent download that turns the device into a digital version of a 12,000-year-old clay flute. Since its release in early November, Ocarina has been downloaded by more than 500,000 people and was No. 4 on Time magazine’s top 10 iPhone applications of 2008.
Here’s how it works:
- Holding the phone 2-3 inches from your mouth, blow into the microphone. The program converts the rush of air into sound. The harder you blow, the louder the tone.
- Four circles on the iPhone’s touchscreen represent the instrument’s holes. Place your fingers on the circles in varying combinations to change the pitch. Ocarina can produce 16 different notes, enough to play most songs, from “Amazing Grace” to “Stairway to Heaven.”
- Tilt the phone to trigger the built-in accelerometer, changing the timbre of the sound.
- Record yourself playing and share with your friends, or listen to recordings of Ocarina players from around the world.
