Hexpress musical instrument Android

Hexpress musical instrument

Musical instruments on your phone

Features & Capabilities

Hexpress is a collection of musical instruments for your phone. You can use it for learning, playing and composing music whenever you have the time - on train, while waiting in line and during boring meetings. Using headphones (non-bluetooth) is strongly recommended for louder and better sound quality, and to not disturb others around you. The application has simple, colorful and clean interface designed to be accessible to young children.

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 is identical Tonnetz layout, only rotated. 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.

The app features a looper used to record repeating section. The looper is enabled from main screen and can be used in almost all instruments. Saving or exporting loops is not supported in app.

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. Microphone permission is optional and is used in single instrument for recording it's samples.

Hexpress is without ads, free and open-source. Your feedback is much appreciated.

User Growth & Download Statistics

App
By:
CastleWrath
Downloads:
132,962
Rating:
4.14
(972)
Version:
0.42.0 Last updated: 2024-10-24
Version code:
42
Creation date:
2017-11-05
Permissions:
  • android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO Very high risk
  • android.permission.BLUETOOTH Moderate risk
  • android.permission.INTERNET Low risk
  • android.permission.VIBRATE Safe
  • com.castlewrath.hexpress.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION
Size:
33.04MB
Email:
jo*****@gmail.com
URLs:
Website ,Privacy policy
Full description:
See detailed description
Source:
Google Play Store
Data ingested on:
2025-02-12
Compare stats and ranking:

Contact the developer

Chrome-Stats does not own this Android app. Please use these information below to contact the Android app developer.
Developed by:
CastleWrath
Google Play Store
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.castlewrath.hexpress
Email:
jo*****@gmail.com
Website:
https://github.com/jmiskovic/hexpress

User Reviews

Pros
  • Creative and fun to use for music creation.
  • No ads or subscription model; it is free and open-source.
  • User-friendly interface, especially for mobile devices.
  • Variety of instruments and sounds available.
  • Unique hexagonal layout makes playing chords easier.
Cons
  • Latency issues, especially with Bluetooth connections.
  • Limited recording functionality; users want more advanced features.
  • Some instruments lack higher range and clarity on phone speakers.
  • No ability to customize instrument layouts or functions.
  • Missing labeled notes on some sounds can be confusing for users.
Recent reviews
Fantastic little bit of performance oriented music making software. No gacha. No loot crates, no subscription or season pass. FOSS as well! No ads, or data mining greed. I have had a great time with my young daughter on tablet, and me on phone, just doodling out a tune on the couch together. This app is a generous gift from the dev to us. Thank you very much.
by Co*****, 2024-07-21

suffice to say i still dont understand music theory but the app works great* (on my machine). seems like a nice open source project :) other than that its still limited on mobile and feels like you had to use desktop for full experience. about the recent reviews having problems/didnt know theres a github page. 1) its possible the update removed permission and it seems the app needs Bluetooth/nearby devices perms to start. 2) theres barely open Issues if you still encounter problems
by No*****, 2023-12-31

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.
by Me*****, 2022-03-25
View all user reviews ›

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