About this game
Whatever shape you draw becomes a drum. The sound is worked out from the shape, so a new shape sounds different
What this game is
A toy where any shape you draw with your finger turns into a drum. Nothing is a recording: the browser works out how your shape vibrates and builds the sound from that. There is no score and nothing to win.
Every drum is scaled to the same area before the calculation, so drawing big or small makes no difference: what you hear comes from the shape alone. For the same area, a circle gives the lowest note.
How to play
- Every spot sounds different
- Tap anywhere inside the drum. Near the middle the low modes ring out, and toward the rim more of the high modes mix in, so the color of the sound shifts.
- Hear each mode on its own
- The numbered buttons play the drum's modes one at a time, lowest first. Each one paints a green and orange pattern on the drum: the two colors move in opposite directions, and the border between them stays still.
- Different shapes, same sound
- Twin drums A and B are the pair Gordon, Webb and Wolpert found in 1992. They look nothing alike, yet every one of their modes matches, so you cannot tell them apart by ear. Compare the base note and the mode ratios yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I send my drum to a friend?
- Yes. Tap Share and the shape rides along in the link. Your friend opens the same drum, and the same spot gives the same sound.
- I can't hear anything.
- If your phone is on silent, the sound may be muted. Turn silent mode off and tap the drum again.
- Where is the calculation done?
- Right here in your browser. The shape is split into a few hundred small cells and the modes are worked out from the lowest up. Nothing is sent to a server.
