Gestrument – the gestural instrument and MIDI Controller for the iPad – has been updated with iPhone support, JACK support, new presets and more.
Here’s what’s new in Gestrument 1.3:
- Universal, now also runs on iPhone and iPod touch!
- Allow flipped ranges by swapping min/max for pitches or durations
- Many new presets
- Replaced default soundfont with a stripped down version for better performance
- Add help page about avoiding audio glitches
- JACK support
- Improve lo/mid/hi quality setting. Can now change while connected to Audiobus or JACK and doesn’t need a restart of the synth engine
- Keep running in background when ‘hold’ is toggled
- Show alert if soundfont is missing when loading patch
- Don’t allow preset to turn on/off internal synth while we’re recording
- Don’t re-show tutorial text after visiting editor
Gestrument is $5.99 in the App Store.
If you’ve used Gestrument, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it!
This is tempting, partly because the results in the demo are kind of interesting. It seems to produce some very lovely and odd sounds that fall outside the boring 4/4 – boring scale stuff that is all over iOS.
It’s got a lot of potential to unlock creative possibilities. But if someone mindlessly uses it without an artistic connection to what’s going on then it’s all wankery like anything else.
You nailed, wankster. As with lots of technology, there are many approaches one can take.
On the other hand, one could also think of this as “interactive listening”. Making the listener more engaged in what they hear. Not as passive as listening to the radio, not as active as playing a violin. Somewhere in the middle. In that respect, it isn’t wankery. But if someone just smears their finger around the screen thinking they create the next big hit, well, that’s just naive.
Good points as well. And I’ll admit to doing that myself once in a while. Even just eating breakfast or working on my laptop while my other hand is on the iPad dragging my finger just in case something were to inspire me. Yeah that’s active listening and can be a great thing. We’re in a magical time in that respect. And it’s almost like app programmers and spun designers are today’s cult rock stars. Active listening opens some interesting areas and blurs the lines between listener and performer/musician. I was talking above about using an app with the intention of creating music. Even if that in itself is subjective. IMHO mindless soloing without a purpose beyond a handjob mentality is not music to me. Not to say that it can’t be personally satisfying, but I guess I just have a slightly more sacred opinion of what music can and should be. I’m sure that’s not what everyone thinks is right though.
‘Sound’ designers…sorry!
“Sacred” — like “reverence” they are good words with bad baggage. But I think I know what you mean. Music can be rich, dark, scintillating, dynamic, mysterious, hilarious, and connected to our very deepest mind and heart. Those needles will always lurk in an ever expanding stack of hay.
Love this controling ableton, works great despite its wankery
Yours must be broken. Whenever I mindlessly drag a finger across the screen whilst eating a bowl of pasta, mine plays a perfect rendition of “Apache” by Hank Marvin and the Shadows. Just kidding…
Thank goodness people keep inventing new tools for musicians to use, or if they choose, ignore and move on. “Play” is the operative word here, and it is how we learn.
Yours must be broken. Whenever I mindlessly drag a finger across the screen whilst eating a bowl of pasta, mine plays a perfect rendition of “Apache” by Hank Marvin and the Shadows. Just kidding…
Thank goodness people keep inventing new tools for musicians to use, or if they choose, ignore and move on. “Play” is the operative word here, and it is how we learn.
Sorry for the duplicate comment, but my finger was all twitchy from playing with Gestrument! One more stray thought: How many apps let you jam with Sun Ra or Ornette Coleman?