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Your first tune

PocketTone is a tiny retro synth with a green LCD, ten rhythms and a calculator. Tap a key and it plays.

Verified for version 1.1.0 · Updated October 17, 2026

PocketTone opens ready to play: the Piano voice, the middle octave, 120 BPM and the March rhythm. On iPhone it plays in landscape; on iPad any way round. Here is the short path from opening it to something with a beat under it.

  1. Tap a key. The keyboard is monophonic, like the little synths it is modelled on: one note at a time, and the newest key wins. Slide a finger across the keys for a glissando.

  2. Press RHYTHM. March starts. Change it with the red ◀ ▶ beside its name on the LCD; the rhythm switches live, and the melody keeps playing over it.

  3. Set the mix. VOLUME is the master level. BALANCE crossfades the rhythm (RHY) against the melody (MEL); in the middle both are at full level.

  4. Change the voice. Slide TONE along VIOLIN FANT PIANO FLUTE GTR ADSR. Piano and Flute are free; the others are part of PocketTone Pro.

  5. Flip POWER to CAL. Now it is a calculator, and every digit you type is a note. Press = for the answer, and everything you typed plays back as a melody. See The calculator.

PocketTone's interface with numbered parts.

  1. LCD

    Tempo in seven-segment digits, the voice, and ◀ ▶ to change the rhythm.

  2. Tone

    Violin, Fantasy, Piano, Flute, Guitar and ADSR.

  3. Power

    ON plays the synth. CAL turns it into a calculator.

  4. Record and Settings

  5. Effect

    Delay and Crush.

  6. Function keys

    The music job is printed on top, the calculator job in red below.

  7. Keys

    Rhythm names and calculator digits on the white keys.

  8. Keyboard window

    Slide it to reach the rest of the three octaves.

The whole instrument on one screen.

PocketTone remembers the panel when you leave the app: voice, octave, tempo, rhythm, volume, balance, the effects, the ADSR code and the tune in the melody memory. A free launch puts a Pro voice or rhythm back to Piano or March.

Every switch and key is explained in The panel.

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Still stuck? Write to zhi@nonoaudio.com. Support page