I can play you a chord on the guitar because of muscle memory, or make variations of it based on whether I think it sounds good, but if you asked me what keys I played, I’ll probably make a puzzled expression. Music is an emotion, but it’s also theory, and a lot of people end up following one but not the other. Braz de Pina’s 3Tonic ‘synth’ brings theory to chord-building in a way that’s intuitive, and helps really cement a sense of understanding about what notes we play and why some of them sound happy, why some of them sound sad, and why some of them sound ‘interesting’.
The 3Tonic is a hardware concept based on de Pina’s own chord-building website 3tonic.com, which gamifies the concept of chord structures. Select a bunch of keys and the website tells you which chord you’ve just built. Lay them out together in a sequence and you can listen to the chords you’ve built in succession, knowing whether they work or they’re still a WIP. Think music, but on a building block level, like LEGO.
Designer: Braz de Pina
This hardware device takes the website’s UI and turns it into a small synth you can carry with you. It’s the ideal learning tool and tinkering gadget for music lovers. The tiny gizmo boasts a screen, a small speaker beside it, 14 buttons, and 2 knobs for control. The main Play and Loop buttons allow you to control playback, while the 12-button layout under the screen gives you an overview of all the notes of the music scale. Press them to create chord combos and the 3Tonic tells you the name of the chord you just built. Do it enough and you’ll actually understand chord theory instead of going by ‘what sounds good’.
The two knobs control tempo and rhythm. You can toggle between different rhythmic styles although 4/4 and 3/4 are considered the most popular. The tempo button controls the BPM, with 120 set as the default. There’s also a hidden volume wheel in the top right corner for decibel control.
The overall design is simple to the point of being child-friendly. It’s easy for anyone to tinker with, and there’s no right or wrong, there’s just ‘what sounds good to you’. For now, this device is purely conceptual, but just in case you love it in theory, the 3tonic.com website gives you everything this device does, in digital format. If, however, you found de Pina’s work interesting, the designer’s been on this quest to build some uniquely niche yet useful hardware, including an entire range of unofficial Microsoft Copilot macro pads.
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