Spectral Eye vs Cymatica

The sound that you hear is made up of vibrations at different frequencies. Two instruments, such as a guitar or a trumpet, might play the same note -- what makes them sound different are the harmonic frequencies that combine to make the overall tone. Spectral Eye will reveal these frequencies, so you can see what your sounds are made from. Using a Fast Fourier transform, incoming sound is split into individual sine waves, which are then displayed on the screen. Frequency spectrum displays are not uncommon; what makes Spectral Eye different is the arrangement of the frequencies into a spiral, so that octaves line up as rays coming from the center. The `concert pitch' of A is a vibration at 440 cycles per second. One octave above this is a doubling to 880, and an octave below is 220. On the Spectral Eye display, these frequencies fall into a line. You can see the structure clearly on the display as you make different kinds of sounds or play music. The stronger the frequency, the larger the red dot and white line; the size of the dots on the display scale to show the relative frequency strengths clearly. When you pluck a string on a guitar, the string will vibrate at a root frequency, but also at a frequency that is twice that of the root, as well as a number of different multiples. The resonant frequencies are what make different guitars sound unique. Harmonies between the frequencies of multiple notes are what make chords sound interesting. As the tone of a synthesizer note changes, you can see different component frequencies rise and fall. In addition to displaying the frequencies, you can also generate sound using Spectral Eye; we have included a simple synthesizer, which will generate either a pure sine wave, or a sine wave with an additional frequency a fifth above. Move the control on the right or bottom part of the screen to change the tone, and touch the main display and move in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner to change the pitch. The version of Spectral Eye also includes MIDI; you can start a MIDI synthesizer, and then use the Spectral Eye display to trigger notes. There are dozens of excellent synthesizers available; you can use this app to not only play them, but to see how their sounds are formed. And if you're trying to pick out the notes to a song, you can watch the display to see where the notes land. Spectral Eye is free, and will remain that way. No pop-up ads. No nag screen. Just good clean fun. If you like the app, we would very much appreciate a review in the app store. The core technology in Spectral Eye is part of our polyphonic pitch-to-MIDI app MIDImorphosis, which will let you use an ordinary guitar or other instrument to control MIDI synthesizers. This technology is also part of Infinite Looper, our innovative MIDI looping app. We have a number of other music-related apps available; we hope you dig Spectral Eye, and if you want to help us keep good things going, reviews or purchases of our other apps would be awesome!

Transform sound into stunning visual art. Cymatica is an interactive physics simulation that brings Ernst Chladni's 18th-century discovery to life on your iPhone. Watch as invisible sound waves sculpt thousands of sand particles into mesmerizing geometric patterns, revealing the hidden mathematics that shapes our universe. CREATE & EXPLORE - Draw sand with one finger, erase with two - Adjust pattern complexity with the intuitive XY pad - Switch between square and circular plates - Control pattern modes from 1 to 16 - Up to 100,000 particles flowing in real-time - Shake your device to disturb the sand - Tap the plate to cycle display modes AUDIO MODES - Tone — singing bowl synthesis with frequency dial - Mic — patterns react to your voice or environment - Sounds — 9 procedural ambient instruments that never repeat - Music — play from Apple Music with live waveform visualization - Import — load your own audio or video files (advanced) TONE EFFECTS - Noise — adds grit and organic texture - Reverb — spacious, resonant depth - Decay — longer sustain and release - Detune — shimmering chorus effect GENERATIVE SOUNDSCAPES - Singing bowl, drone, pad, sub bass, piano, rain, shakuhachi, cello, flute - Evolving chord progressions that never repeat - Nordic ambient inspired soundscapes APPLE MUSIC - Search and browse your library - Play any song or playlist - Live waveform and particle visualization from speaker audio VIDEO RECORDING - Record and share videos of your patterns - Optimized for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube - Pro subscribers record without watermark FEEL THE SOUND - Synchronized haptic feedback matching visual patterns - Real-time frequency display - 6 color themes with glow effects ADVANCED MODE - Glow — soft bloom on particles - Streak — motion trails behind particles - Stereo 3D — cross-eye stereoscopic view - Open and closed plate boundaries Whether you're a physicist, musician, meditator, or simply someone who appreciates the elegant patterns underlying reality, Cymatica offers a journey into the profound connection between sound and form. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/