# Patatap

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Patatap
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Patatap.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patatap
> Source revision: 1337509162
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Patatap** is a [visual](/source/Visual_music) [sound kit](/source/Drum_kit) application with animations by computer programmer Jono Brandel and Japanese [electronic](/source/Electronic_music) duo [Lullatone](/source/Lullatone), consisting of Shawn James Seymour and Yoshimi Tomida.

## Summary

*Patatap* consists of unique [palettes](/source/Palette_(computing)) of colors, sounds, and shapes that are altered via the spacebar.[1][2][3] The 26 melodic and rhythmic sounds that are in each set are triggered by pressing the A to Z keys.[3] All of the sounds present a visual animation over the background when played.[3] A writer for *Co.design* described the audio textures as ranging from "bells and snaps to pew-pewing lasers and alien spaceship landings."[1]

## Development

Jono Brandel had been experimenting with [animations serving as visuals for music](/source/Visual_music) "over the last couple of years," he said in a 2014 interview.[4] In October 2013, he got in touch with the Japanese duo [Lullatone](/source/Lullatone) who conceived of making a [musical instrument](/source/Musical_instrument) application that was based on visualizing music.[4] As Brandel described the intentions of making *Patatap*, "we [were] interested in the mixing of aural and visual senses, and wanted to bring that to a format that anyone can enjoy."[4]

In order to develop an instrument where a user with no musical abilities could create a song, Lullatone made sure all the sounds weren't "muddy if someone pressed too many buttons at once."[4] The duo initially made a set consisting of more melodic notes than percussion hits, but they figured out that "too many melodic elements made it hard to create tracks with room to breathe."[4] Thus, the final set of sounds consisted of an equal amount of thirteen melodic sounds and thirteen rhythmic sounds.[4] As Lullatone's Shawn James Seymour explained, "We just chose sounds for each set that we thought would work well together to make a song with a few random dudes thrown it to give it some spice!"[4]

## Release and reception

Before its official release, *Patatap* was featured at the Monarch bar in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) in 2012 and Gray Area's Creative Code program in 2013.[2] Later on, Brandel and Lullatone presented the program at several conventions,[2] such as the eighteenth [Japan Media Arts Festival](/source/Japan_Media_Arts_Festival) in 2014,[5] [Ableton](/source/Ableton)'s 2015 Loop convention in [Berlin](/source/Berlin),[6] [The Tech Museum of Innovation](/source/The_Tech_Museum_of_Innovation) in 2014,[2] [Rhizomatiks](/source/Rhizomatiks)' 2014 "Super Flying Tokyo" event,[7] and the [Punto y Raya Festival](/source/Punto_y_Raya_Festival).[2] The app was released officially online on March 25, 2014[8] and on the [iPhone OS](/source/IPhone_OS) on June 6, 2014.[9]

Publications honored the application as "addictive,"[10][11] "only the very best in procrastination,"[12] "the most fun you'll ever have with your computer keyboard,"[1] and "delightful as the first time you banged on some piano keys or clanged on pots and pans and discovered: Hey, I can make noise!"[13] *[Refinery29](/source/Refinery29)* journalist Colleen Nika stated that the charm of *Patatap* was that it "takes a familiar conundrum — being supremely bored in front of your computer — and saves you from backsliding into the rabbit hole of wonky cat gifs and "Which Lindsay Lohan Are You?" quizzes. Instead, it encourages you to open your browser, get free-associative, and create something."[14] She also called it superior to other [digital audio workstations](/source/Digital_audio_workstations): "Unlike with actual music software, there's no UI logistics or performance pressure to grapple with — it's a foolproof self-destructing sketchpad for whimsical kicks alone."[14]

## References

1. ["Patatap Turns Your Keyboard Into A Nifty Musical Instrument"](https://www.fastcodesign.com/3028306/patatap-turns-your-keyboard-into-a-nifty-musical-instrument). *Co.design*. March 27, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. ["Patatap"](http://works.jonobr1.com/Patatap). Jono Brandel Official Website. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. ["Patatap: Make trippy synaesthetic beats with your keyboard"](http://acclaimmag.com/art/patatap-make-trippy-synaesthetic-beats-keyboard/). *Acclaim*. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. Van Buskirk, Eliot (April 7, 2014). ["Interview: How That Amazing Patatap Music App Was Made"](http://evolver.fm/2014/04/07/interview-how-that-amazing-patatap-music-app-was-made/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052125/http://evolver.fm/2014/04/07/interview-how-that-amazing-patatap-music-app-was-made/) 2017-12-22 at the Wayback Machine. *Evolver.fm*. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. ["Patatap"](http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2014/entertainment/works/18ej_patatap/). [Japan Media Arts Festival](/source/Japan_Media_Arts_Festival) Archive. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. ["Talk: Patatap & Typatone: building A/V instruments for the web"](https://loop.ableton.com/2015/program/patatap-typatone-building-v-instruments-web/). Loop Official Website. [Ableton](/source/Ableton). Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. ["Super Flying Tokyo"](https://research.rhizomatiks.com/s/event/superflyingtokyo/). [Rhizomatiks](/source/Rhizomatiks) Official Website. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. Palladino, Valentina (March 25, 2014). ["Patatap turns your browser into a musical animation controlled by your keyboard"](https://www.theverge.com/2014/3/25/5546994/patatap-portable-animation-and-sound-website-controlled-with-keyboard). *[The Verge](/source/The_Verge)*. [Vox Media](/source/Vox_Media). Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. ["Patatap"](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/patatap/id880626868). [iTunes Stores](/source/ITunes_Stores) (US). [Apple Inc.](/source/Apple_Inc.) Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. Milk, Chris (June 30, 2014). ["Patatap: the addictive art app that turns your keyboard into a music machine – interactive"](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/jun/30/patatap-addictive-art-app-that-turns-your-keyboard-into-a-music-machine-interactive). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. [Guardian Media Group](/source/Guardian_Media_Group). Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. Levy, Karyne (June 12, 2014). ["You Won't Be Able To Stop Playing This Addictive Music App"](http://www.businessinsider.com/patatap-ios-app-2014-6). *[Business Insider](/source/Business_Insider)*. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. Vincent, James (March 28, 2014). ["Are you addicted to Patatap yet? Became an electronica DJ just by tapping on your computer keyboard"](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/patatap-your-dose-of-friday-procrastination-turns-your-keyboard-into-an-electronica-dj-9221094.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. S. Robinson, Eugene (April 14, 2014). ["The Pitter-Patatap of Little Beats"](http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/the-pitter-patatap-of-little-beats/30905) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051712/http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/the-pitter-patatap-of-little-beats/30905) 2017-12-22 at the Wayback Machine. *[Ozy](/source/Ozy_Media)*. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

1. Nika, Colleen (March 30, 2014). ["Prepare To Spend Way Too Much Time With Patatap"](http://www.refinery29.com/2014/03/65375/patatap-turns-keyboard-into-sounds-images). *[Refinery29](/source/Refinery29)*. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

## External links

- [Official website](http://patatap.com)
- [Patatap at](https://experiments.withgoogle.com/chrome/patatap) [Google Chrome Experiments](/source/Google_Chrome_Experiments), where Brandel works

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Patatap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patatap) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patatap?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.