Visual Instrument vs airSynthesizer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Visual Instrument
This app uses touch input to trigger musical chords and create ambient melodies. Random key changes and physics-enabled "balls" generate unique, endlessly evolving soundscapes with accompanying visuals.
- Randomized chord generation
- Multi-touch support
- Physics-enabled sound triggers
- Ambient visual backdrop
- Endless melodic tunes
- Key changes
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The power of randomness combined with your touch creates an endless melody for your enjoyment. Jazz guitar virtuoso Paul Musso combined his musical knowledge with the programming and artwork of Bryan Leister to create this music-making application. Musso provided guitar recordings of chords typically used to create a melody - F#, D#, C and G. Your touch (supports up to 4 simultaneous touches) creates collisions that will trigger one of these chords. Every 3 seconds, the key is randomly changed to either A Minor, C, F or G. The result is an amazing, soothing and endless melodic tune that you can play for hours without the tune ever repeating itself. The visuals provide an ambient backdrop to help you play. The capsules represent your touch, each moving dot is a physics-enabled ball that contains one note. Hit a ball, and the note plays. If the ball hits the edges of the screen, the collision also triggers the note. An experiment in music theory that was produced for an exhibition in Denver that also used motion tracking. Now available as a touch screen application.
airSynthesizer
Transform your device into a motion-controlled musical instrument. Shape sounds and control MIDI in real-time using intuitive hand gestures, offering a unique and expressive way to create music.
- Motion-controlled sound shaping
- Customizable sound engine
- MIDI output via Wi-Fi/USB
- Responsive real-time performance
- Headphone-friendly for practice
- DAW integration
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Unleash sound with a wave of your hand. This isn’t your typical synthesizer. This is a motion-powered instrument that turns your iPhone into a portal for musical expression. Whether you're shaping ambient textures, triggering synth stabs, or controlling MIDI in your favorite DAW, this app puts music literally in your hands. Using your phone’s built-in camera, every movement becomes musical. Twist, tilt, wave, or glide—each hand gesture maps to sound in real time, letting you perform with feel, not just fingers. Features: • Motion-Controlled Sound – Control pitch, tone, and modulation using natural hand movements. • Customizable Sound Engine – Shape your synth tone with intuitive parameters. • MIDI Output – Connect wirelessly to your DAW or hardware via Wifi or USB MIDI. • Responsive & Expressive – Designed for fluid, real-time musical performance. • Headphone-Friendly – Play anywhere—no need for external gear to get started. • Easy Integration – Compatible with most DAWs that support MIDI over Wifi (Ableton, Logic Pro, GarageBand, etc.). Whether you're performing live, experimenting in the studio, or just having fun, this app lets you interact with music in a whole new dimension. No buttons. No knobs. Just motion. Music, reinvented.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: airSynthesizer at every 5 weeks against Visual Instrument's every 64 months. Visual Instrument's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Visual Instrument against 5.0 for airSynthesizer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
Visual Instrument ships an update every 64 months, airSynthesizer every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Visual Instrument | airSynthesizer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 64 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bryan Leister | Joseph Sheehan |
Customer experience
Visual Instrument
airSynthesizer
In-app purchases
Visual Instrument
No in-app purchases
airSynthesizer
No in-app purchases



