Depending on how you look at it Etherophone is either a cool Theremin synthesizer app or a great way to annoy dogs. To play it you simply run a finger up and down the spectrum on the screen to generate odd sci-fi noises. The higher up the vertical axis your finger is the higher the pitch of the noise and the horizontal position dictates volume (with the left hand-most side of the screen being the loudest).
Etherophone is great fun for making random electronic noises but it can also be used as an instrument. After about five minutes of messing around with it we were able to tap out GCSE music lesson mainstays like the Star Wars theme and When the Saints Go Marching In. We attempted the Doctor Who theme but failed miserably. Poor old Delia Derbyshire must be spinning in her grave.
As an instrument it’s not very precise, although that may be more to do with our limited musical skills than the app itself. Etherophone doesn’t support multitouch, so this is perhaps best thought of as a monophonic instrument.
You can adjust the shape of the sounds made and increase or decrease the decay of the notes in the settings. You can also shift the octave range from 1 to 3.5 and change the register from Bass, Tenor, Alto and Soprano. For maximum canine harassment, change the range to 3.5, the register to Soprano, have attack all the way up, delay all the way down and set all the harmonics to even.
Etherophone is free to download from the Android Market.
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