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Music is said to be a language that everybody understands, but only a few can speak. But now you can change that with the help of Blocks by Roli. Blocks is a modular music studio that lets anyone share music. This is probably the most versatile music-making system ever made. Blocks are for anyone and everyone, right from beginners who are taking their first lesson to a pro who make music in novel ways.

What is Blocks?

Blocks lets you make music using intuitive gestures on a touch-sensitive playing exterior. Block is a tiny device that can easily fit in your hand or your pocket. All you have to do is connect Blocks to Noise, the free iOS app, and you get a wide range of sounds and effects to delve into.

You can arrange your Blocks in different configurations to craft kits that are fit for you. You need to keep adding more blocks to do more things. You build a music studio as your skills and interests grow.

The Lightpad Block

Using the Lightpad Block system you make music through natural movements on the glowing, pressure-responsive surface. The silicon surface lets you shape sound by striking the surface, pressing into it, and moving your fingers around it. The LED illuminated surface lights up and your touch leaves a trace of light.

You can use 5×5 grids for melodic and pitched sounds, 2×2 for drum kits with 4 sounds, and 4×4 for drum kits with 16 sounds. There are 5 ways to shape sound on the light pad: strike the surface to sound a note, glide your fingers from side to side, slide up and down, press into the surface, and lift off the surface.

In Learn Mode, the light trails appear on the surface that guides you to make beats and melodies. It teaches you the gestures to make music. You can add depth and texture to your melodies through special features on Noise. You can record melodic sequences from a range of instruments. You can also use two Lightpad Blocks together that works just like a single block.

Using the App

Noise is the iOS app that powers Blocks. Using simple, easy-to-learn gestures, you can make beats, melodies, and songs with a huge library of sounds. Noise is an incredibly powerful instrument and also the software engine of Roli Blocks. You can use your touch screen to shape sounds by drumming the screen, sliding your fingers along it, pressing into it, and lifting off. Each pad on the screen is a particular instrument or a note in a scale.

What does the App Offer?

On Noise, you can start by choosing 100 custom-made sounds that range from string sections to zithers. You can then shape those sounds into beats and melodies, and record them as loops. By doing a mix-match of those loops you can create fascinating multi-layered songs. Noise can be used as a fun and interactive learning tool. The Learn Mode on Noise helps you learn how to shape beats and melodies using the illuminated light trails. Once you choose a scale out of the 15, the notes of that scale light on the screen. You can turn on the Hide Mode that is not in the key. While the Snap Mode snaps your performance to the pace.

It’s Affordable and you can Use it Anywhere

The Live and Loop Block lets you record your beats, play them back, switch scales, play chords at the touch of a button. Using Blocks, you can make music anywhere, be it a park, kitchen counter, or your knees. The base Lightpad is priced at $179, while the additional Live & Loop Blocks will be available for $79. Blocks will be available at Roli’s website and Apple Stores worldwide.