Sound/Waves vs Melodic Studio

Sound/Waves creates ambient music from live ocean data pulled from NOAA buoys around North America. The music is synthesized in real time within the app based on data that is updated every 10 minutes; nothing is pre-recorded. I built Sound/Waves as a composer and surfer. I want the music to create an immediate sonic image — clear enough to give a surfer some idea of current ocean conditions — while also engaging the listener with subtle, constantly changing variations in harmony, timbre, dynamics, and melody. There are two models, Spectral and Chromatic. SPECTRAL The Spectral model transposes ocean wave frequencies into the range of human hearing. These are extremely low: a 15-second wave is just 0.067 Hertz (Hz). Multiply by 1000 and you get 67 Hz, about two octaves below Middle C on a piano. Using this method for the 46 discrete wave bands reported by NOAA buoys every hour allows you to "hear" which waves have the most energy at that particular point in the ocean, at that particular time. CHROMATIC The Chromatic model maps the same data surf reports use — wave height, wave period, wind speed, tide, and others — to musical parameters such as harmony, rhythm, and timbre. wave height → polyphony wave period → amplitude wave quality → harmony swell direction → tuning wind → timbre tide → reverb A large groundswell with ideal wind conditions, for example, will create stacked, widely spaced, consonant chords with a smooth timbre, breathing in and out with the slow wave period. Choppy, short period wind waves will have a quicker rhythm and sound harmonically dissonant, with a distorted texture. VISUALS Sound/Waves also has a visual component. The tiled photos are taken automatically every hour by the buoys themselves, looking out in six directions. If a buoy snaps its photo while on the crest of a wave, the normally flat horizon tilts to a jagged angle. Scan mode crossfades the images between locations, creating an abstract, painterly drift that shifts with the time of day. Sunrise and sunset are bright pastel. Occasionally a boat or ship appears like a ghost, then fades away. Night images can show the moon and other strange colors amidst the black. A migrating bird may get caught in the frame. The scan rate — how fast the images crossfade — can be set from fast to slow, or turned off altogether. These buoy images convey a sense of isolation and non-intention that I want the music to amplify. — Sound/Waves requires an internet connection to fetch current observations. Ocean and weather data courtesy of NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and NOAA Tides & Currents. Sound/Waves is not affiliated with or endorsed by NOAA. Data is provided as is and is not for navigation.

Melodic Studio is a professional, mobile-first DAW designed to make music creation feel fast, clear, and natural. It gives you a complete environment to sketch ideas, build tracks, and finish songs—all from a single, focused workflow. At its core, Melodic Studio is built around two main modes: Scene Mode and Arrangement Mode. Scene Mode lets you work with looping clips, building ideas in small sections. Arrangement Mode gives you a full timeline where you structure your track from start to finish. A simple Context Button is always available, letting you switch modes and manage scenes without breaking your flow. You get eight built-in instruments: Drum Pads, Piano, Synth, Guitar, Strings, Sampler, Voice Recorder, and Chord Organ. Each one includes built-in music theory features, along with tools like note repeat, real-time effects, and expressive controls that make playing feel immediate and responsive. There are also hundreds of sounds and presets available, so you can move quickly from idea to sound. You can also turn your own recordings into playable instrument sounds. Record or import audio, refine it in Audio Lab, use pitch detection to set the root note, then play it from instruments like Piano, Guitar, Strings and more. The workflow is pattern-based. You create clips, arrange them, and build your track step by step. Audio editing tools are included, allowing you to trim, split, fade, and process recordings directly inside the app. A full channel mixer lets you control volume, panning, and routing across your project. You can also apply effects to any track or instrument, including EQ, compression, delay, reverb, and more. Melodic Studio includes a MIDI editor with tools to manipulate notes in detail. You can also automate any parameter, from volume to effects, giving you full control over how your track evolves over time. The interface is split into four main views: Arrangement, Instrument, Launchpad, and Mixer. Each one is focused on a specific part of the process. Arrangement handles the timeline. Instrument is where you record. Launchpad lets you control clips and scenes in real time. Mixer gives you quick access to balancing your tracks. Clips can be saved and reused across projects, making it easy to build your own library of ideas. When your track is ready, you can export full arrangements, individual clips, or scenes as WAV, MP3, or MIDI files. Projects can also be synced to the cloud and shared with others, allowing for collaboration and continuity across devices. You explore, listen & create - That’s the core idea behind Melodic Mind. Let music feel natural again. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://melodic-mind.com/privacy-policy