Hexpress
While each instrument behaves differently in some way, in general notes are played by touching shapes on the screen, and sound is shaped by tilting the phone left-right and up-down. Different instruments have different effect controls - fade in, reverb, tremolo...
Most of Hexpress instruments have unusual honeycomb note arrangement that's sometimes called "harmonic table note layout". It has many interesting properties compared to standard piano layout:
• effective utilization of device screen (3+ octaves range)
• note relations (intervals) are uniform across whole range; to transpose song to different key just play same patterns on different part of instrument
• most chord shapes are grouped tightly and they can be executed with single finger swipe
• in typical scale and melody runs, notes are alternated between fingers of two hands, so they can be played with speed and precision
• large intervals are as accessible as smaller intervals
Besides honeycomb layout there are also instruments with conventional fretboard, and a drum set for finger-drumming.
Instruments are not meant to be reconfigured within the app. One reason for this is that it gives you a chance to actually learn the instrument (you couldn't learn a guitar if the tuning was different each time). The other reason is that constraints and limitations actually encourage creativity and make it more accessible to younger users. I'd like to improve existing instruments' sounds and visuals based on your feedback, but there will most likely never be any settings/options to fiddle with.
The app is work in progress - interface, sounds and features are all subject to change. The app doesn't collect any information about user and cannot access internet. Storage read access permission is optional - it allows anyone to customize sounds and other instrument behaviour by modifying the source code (please look at readme in source repository for instructions).
Hexpress is without ads, free and open-source. Your feedback is much appreciated.
Category : Music & Audio
Reviews (22)
A nice and accessible app for total music newcomers. It's a great introductory music app. Contrary to the description however, this app is not useful for established musicians with song ideas. It assumes you're writing with paper and using one specific key. Only a few modules have all the notes labelled in the unique layout. There is also no "instrument learning", it's equivalent to using a guitar voice on a keyboard. A simple settings menu and a less-ambitious desc is all I want from this app.
lots of great sounds, and I quite like the honeycomb interface. my only gripe is that some of the sounds don't have notes labeled- it might highlight the Cs but from there I have to remember the shapes and that gets confusing quickly when you're trying to jump to a specific interval. granted, this is just part of the learning curve of a different and somewhat strange instrument, but I'd like if some of those instruments that were sans note names at least had the option to toggle them back on.
Edit #2: Turns out it was just a pop up graphic saying "no game" from "LÖVE Games" after not giving it storage permission (which I think it also odd), that I thought was adware at first. | | Edit: An upgrade or something has made it so now the app is a totally different game than what Hexpress used to be. (Adware maybe??) Uninstalled. | | Can you make this compatible with MIDI devices? It would be really great to actually play some of these cool sounds on a physical keyboard.
A very interesting little app. If you have learned an instrument it might feel limited but non musicians will enjoy the simplicity and perhaps be inspired. Fairly random tapping can bring out familiar melodies which are easily repeated and built upon. People who have been frustrated learning music may find a more visual, spatial approach to learning easier. I play guitar and really had fun with one of the bass pads. I am using an s3 with no lag or other problems, so the app is not to blame.
I like it. It could use save options, and setting to make the neck of the guitar types narrower. I did see it in the description that those functions were never likley to be added, but it's hard to rate it five stars without those features to get the potential out such a great app. Good job.
I'm very particular about what time I give to music creation apps on tiny devices. Most are not worth the time, are terrible ripoffs of other apps that don't work or worse. I couldn't tell you why I even tried it. I will tell you that I immediately spent the next hour in a deep creative space. I love it. Very easy to find yourself noodling having fun or seriously considering how to incorporate it in other work. Looking forward to more sounds etc...
super cool. can you also let us customize the functions of each voice? I love that blue-grey synth that allows hold and swipe, so that I can create complicated chords. I hope that I can also replicate that on other voices such as choir, but the synth actually sounds very nice. also it would be super nice if I can shift the octaves. i would pay for that.
Will contact developer. In meantime it works on my Note 8. That being said, w no ability to chg chords on some instruments, time, beat, etc, as well as volume, which at times even w my volume at max it was difficult to hear some items, that's why a 3 vs 5. However, depending upon the developer's response that 3 could chg to a 4 or 5. UPDATE FROM 7/21: It says app updt 3/21 but most(sll?) probs resolved. Only issue is needs work on sounds. Ie horns not, for lack of words, horny (not a pun). 4/5☆
If that record button could be more functional like it can record multiple instruments and hear them in the same time, and save songs. For now it seems like u just play for fun where it could be a musical thing more like a performance surface. Keep up.
Super fun. Not sure what mode and key the scales are in in most of the instruments, but they are different than what I play on guitar so the results are very interesting. The electric guitar has amazing slide effects and I find myself tapping out leads when I'm out and about.
Looks like it would be cool, but even with my phone at full blast in a quiet house in the middle of the night with the speaker up to my ear, there was nothing. I'm pretty sure a music app would be audible lol
This is genius. Creative and brilliant. It's easy to figure out by listening to the notes behind each hex but I agree that for those who can not figure out the notes, note names being marked could make a more ergonomical interface. But again excellent stuff!
There's several different samples for you to play with, and you can even record a sample from your microphone which is then pitch shifted. This contains no ads, and has a super clean UI. It's fun to play with.
omg this is amazing! the latency is amazing! touch velocity(with tilting) is a great change as well! the sound is great and isn't repetitive(even thing some sounds sound kinds of mass when held)... i only wish i could select a sound and layout independently.
Great sounds. Easy to use interface. A well thought up and put together app that everyone can enjoy. Even the busy modern day middle aged man like me, who is probably "Hexpressed" for time as well. Good work by the designers and development team!!
Sounds Bad The app went for a minimalist, easy to use interface, but as such, it has no way to change what each pad sounds like, giving it a stale, tone-deaf feel to it. This could have been such a great synth-pad app if you could change around the layout of each note, but instead you're left with this poor excuse for a musical instrument simulator.
Stumbled across this and loved it. |t's clean and well made and it shows that the developers have put a lot of time into it. So rare to find an app that is genuinely free (no adds). This reminds me of how the internet used to once be. Thank you
Does not launch properly. Keeps giving issues when launched showing a completely different application screen than the one installed. Greeted with an error about Love for android not being installed. Followed by a floating balloon. App worked fine as purported to do prior to latest update.
Great interface for phone screen - however some instruments like the organ are missing most of their higher range and the low notes are too low to hear easily on phone speakers. an octave switcher would be great.
This is a very good concept but nothing works in this app. Its incredibly laggy and none of the instruments plays correctly, half of the time the app won't start at the beginning and when it does, it crashes after a little while.
I like the different note layouts. Its a little wonky having a bunch of different "instruments" have the same layout, so I think the samples and the layouts should be seperated, cause it would be cool to play different instruments in different ways. i also wish more kf the hexagon eyboards had piano coloring and note names for composing. Really nest app, would love to see an even largwr variety of hexagonal kbrd layouts
Pretty decent music app. Like all apps like this one, there's lots of latency with Bluetooth. That makes the drums unplayable, if you want to get serious. You must use plug-in headphones, or a line out, to get near instant response. The wide choice of voices is great, as is the layout. Also, the notes are modulated by twisting the phone left or right. Nice!!!