somasonic
instruments

how to play the witness

Nothing to hunt for. You touch the screen and it sounds, and a child can play it. This is the whole surface, one part at a time.

the field
tap · a note hold · it sustains drag up · more light  ·  down · less

The whole screen is where you play. Touch anywhere to sound a pad, and hold to let it bloom and stay. While you hold, drag it through the space: moving it shifts its pitch and its place in the field, and up or down changes its light. A single held pad, moved slowly by hand, becomes music on its own. Let go and it fades.

pads

Five sustained voices: warm, crystal, wide, subpad, angelic. A pad is the colour of the sound you play. Pick one; angelic is a second layer of light you switch on over any pad.

chords
i · ii · iii · iv · v

Five hand-picked harmonies, on the dots or keys 1–5. Tap to swell and fade, hold to sustain, drag up or down for more or less light. The pads bring you into the stillness; the chords lay harmony over it.

heartbeat
heart

A slow heartbeat. Tap it to bring it in, tap again to let it go, or press r.

the key
serene

One key, held throughout: serene. A low G with its open fifth and no third, so nothing leans happy or sad. It simply rests.

faders
drone twinkle solo
drone: how present the deep background tone is, from full to gone.
twinkle: tiny high sparkles over the top, from none to many.
solo: turns the background bed down, so you hear only the notes you play.
hold & let go
stackjourneyclear

stack holds sounds on, so you can build your own chords by hand. journey lets the whole sound drift on its own. clear lets everything go.

your own sound
m · micmidi

Press m and the mic opens, so a singing bowl or your own voice can enter. The Witness is also MIDI connected, so a synth or a controller can play it.

the drone

Under everything sits a deep tone on a low G, its sub around 48 Hz, tuned to A=432 so it sits in tune with 432-tuned crystal bowls. It anchors the body. It can be switched off.

on a controller

With a ROLI Seaboard or another MPE controller the whole instrument sits under two hands. The lower octave carries the heart, the upper octave the silence.

1 2 3 4 5 gong single notes c3 g3 b3 c4 c5 1 cadd9 · 2 am · 3 f · 4 shadow · 5 heart the ridges between them play pads as well
strike where the sound starts press swells it slide up brighter slide down it sinks away glide bends it lift slow lift, long tail

hidden keys

Almost everything is on the screen. A few things live under the keyboard.

1–5 chords r heartbeat j journey v a wandering voice m mic [ ] airier or denser space still
enter the witness →

Runs in your browser. Best with headphones. Use Chrome if you want to play it with a controller.