Chrome Music Lab is the most recent Google project geared toward music fans. With just one click, the online app’s more than half a dozen musical instruments and tools may open in a new window.
Chrome Music Lab not only offers tools for listening to and learning about music but also makes it simple to produce music. So let’s look at how to use Chrome Music Lab to create music.
In This Article
Tools for Google Chrome’s Music Lab
Song Maker
You may do precisely what the Chrome Music Lab song composer instructs you to do. There is a rhythm section at the bottom and a grid at the top that you can use to add notes to make things easier (dots). You can play any tune with a rhythm by concurrently editing both of these.
Quick Tip: To automatically add notes by singing them into the microphone, use the Mic option at the bottom right corner.
In addition, there are a variety of instrument choices, including piano, strings, synth, etc. You may change a section’s duration, size, beats per bar, and other factors to increase or decrease difficulty.
- Launch song creator.
- To add notes to the melody or chord, tap on the grids.
- To add beats, tap on the dots.
- Once finished, press play or save it to share.
Try out Song Maker
Shared Piano
Think of it as a Zoom call for up to 10 pianists. It displays a virtual piano for you to play on the screen, and you can connect your keyboard or MIDI controller to it using a USB wire. You don’t need to log in or download an additional app, in contrast to other possibilities. Additionally, you may perform live music with vibrant feedback, which is excellent for piano instruction or learning.
Quick Note: You may screen capture the lessons and store them to share on social media.
From the settings menu, you can also choose to change the keyboard’s size and how played notes are shown.
- Open Shared Piano.
- You may start playing by using MIDI or your Keyboard.
- Share the experience with others by using the Copy Link option (bottom left).
- To store the session URL or tweet it immediately, click Save (bottom right).
- For adjustments to octaves, note names, motion, etc., tap Settings (bottom-right).
Try out Shared Piano
Rhythm
Children who can easily create a beat by clicking on dots will particularly like this one. A drum sound is assigned to each dot. In addition, there are four other drum sound choices, from a straightforward snare to congo and triangle.
You may also play the instrument the avatars are holding by tapping on the animation.
- Go to the website.
- To create a beat, tap on the dots part at the bottom.
- The beat will begin playing as you press “play.”
Arpeggios
All the notes of a chord are played one at a time in an arpeggio. Musicians use it often because it sounds wonderful and it allows you to play the arpeggios of any chord simply by touching the chords (wheel at the bottom). You have the option of switching between the other four patterns if you find one to be monotonous (arrow keys). The lack of a save option, as in other tools, is the sole negative.
- Open arpeggios
- To load, tap on any note on the colour wheel.
- To put the sound on the loop, press the play button in the centre.
- Change the pattern and scale by tapping the arrow and notes, respectively.
- To adjust the tone and pace, tap the piano symbol in the lower left corner (bottom right).
Try out Arpeggios
Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky, who is regarded as the father of abstract painting, is the inspiration for the Kandinsky tool in Google Chrome Music Labs. Simply explained, using this musical instrument that paints an intriguing image, you have to paint to generate a sound.
On the canvas, you may doodle, and create circles, triangles, lines, and more. When you press the play button, a loop of music is created by combining these form sounds. If you like the arts and music, you must use this, since it is my favourite Chrome Music Lab application.
- Open Kandinsky.
- Create a shape (a sample will be played).
- Once you’ve made many different forms, click “play” (bottom).
- Additionally, by touching the circle, you may change the sound (bottom left).
Try out Kandinsky
Melody-Maker
Melody Maker from Chrome Music Lab is somewhat easier to use and doesn’t allow you to add beats, but it may be comparable to Song Maker that we previously covered. Just music.
Using the grid, you may include notes. Higher notes have higher pitches. I wish there was a way to adjust the duration of a single note on the grid in the next updates; for now, you can only change the pace.
- Open Melody Maker.
- To include sound, tap on the grids (vertical is increasing pitch, horizontal is length).
- To locate related notes, use the box arrow icon at the bottom.
- Drag the slider at the bottom to change the pace.
Try out Melody-Maker
Chords
The three-note fundamental structure known as a chord is played over the melody. It enables you to play chords by clicking on the keys. From the option below, you may easily switch between minor and major chords. If you’re just starting with the piano and are confused or don’t know how to play chords, this is fantastic.
- Open chords.
- From the bottom, choose Major or Minor chords.
- To play the chord, just tap on any key.
Try out Chords
More Music Tools
While each of the aforementioned tools may aid you in some manner, they can also be modified. Other tools, which are less customisable and are better for playing about with, exist. One of them is a speech spinner, an entertaining gadget that allows you to revolve your recorded voice forward and backwards like a turntable.
Piano roll is another thing you may wish to examine. It features grid-like pre-recorded patterns of well-known songs. Playing and watching will aid in a better understanding of the melody creator and arpeggio tools. The list of all the tools you should still attempt is provided below.
Spectrogram: Visualize and compare the frequencies of various noises, such as those from a wine glass, modem, flute, or one’s voice, using a spectrogram.
Sound Waves: Imagine the back-and-forth motion of the air molecules when you play a note.
Voice-spinner: Spin your voice recording back and forth like a turntable with the Voice-Spinner. Change the pitch, tempo, etc.
Harmonics: You can hear how a note changes whether it is played twice, three times, or four times as quickly.
Piano-Roll: Pre-set music on a piano-roll-style user interface. Verify whether you intend to begin with a DAW.
Oscillators: Hear a variety of oscillators (vibration at constant speeds), which vary often.
Strings: Visualize the link between a string’s length and pitch.
Why you should use Chrome Music Lab
Well, the equipment is fundamental for a musician. It could aid in your understanding of the fundamentals if you are a newbie. I do, however, advise it for amusement. After all, this is an experiment.
For instance, you may use the communal piano and enjoy it with your friends and family. As a nice addition, you can also connect your MIDI keyboard. In addition, the song creator is an excellent choice if you only want to produce a simple melody and rhythm.