HiChord Pocket Synth Makes Music Creation Effortless - Yanko Design

"Music creation has always felt like an exclusive club with steep entry requirements, demanding years of practice, expensive equipment, and deep theoretical knowledge just to play a simple chord progression. Most synthesizers and music gear reinforce this barrier with complex interfaces, intimidating arrays of knobs, and workflows that assume you already know what you're doing. HiChord from Pocket Audio takes a radically different approach, asking what would happen if making music felt as natural and immediate as humming a tune."

"The device itself reflects this philosophy through thoughtful industrial design that prioritizes approachability without sacrificing quality or functionality throughout the user experience. The CNC anodized aluminum chassis measures just 100mm x 71mm x 28.65mm, making it genuinely pocket-sized while feeling substantial and durable in your hands. Rounded edges and a minimalist layout create an object that invites interaction rather than intimidating users with technical complexity, while the integrated OLED display and built-in speaker ensure standalone operation. Designer: Pocket Audio"

"What makes HiChord particularly clever is how it handles chord generation through the Nashville Number System, where seven buttons are mapped to diatonic chords in your selected key. This means you can trigger full, harmonically balanced chords instantly without knowing complex fingerings or music theory that typically takes years to master. The patented chord mapping ensures that everything you play sounds musically correct, eliminating the fear of hitting wrong notes that keeps many people from experimenting."

HiChord democratizes music creation by mapping intuitive controls to harmonically correct chords using the Nashville Number System, enabling users to trigger diatonic chords in any key without extensive theory or finger training. The compact, CNC anodized aluminum chassis measures 100mm x 71mm x 28.65mm, with rounded edges, minimalist layout, integrated OLED display, and built-in speaker for standalone use. Seven buttons correspond to diatonic chords while a joystick offers real-time modifications—shifting major/minor modes, adding suspended tones, and extending chords with 7th and 9th intervals. Patented chord mapping maintains musical correctness and reduces performance anxiety, encouraging experimentation and expressive play.

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