Got a tip for us?Let us know

a. Send us an email
b. Anonymous form

New App Lets You Play Piano on the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar

Friday December 9, 2016 4:57 PM PST by Juli Clover

Most MacBook Pro apps that have implemented support for the new Touch Bar have focused on putting settings, editing tools, and other utilitarian features right at a user's fingertips, but a new app from developer Graham Parks aims to have a little more fun with it.

The "Touch Bar Piano" app is designed to turn the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro into a little tiny touch-based piano that can be used to make music.

Available on Parks' website, Touch Bar Piano is fully polyphonic and offers 128 instruments to play with. It only works with the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, but Touch Bar emulator Touché can be used to try it out if you don't have one of Apple's latest MacBook Pros.

Touch Bar Piano doesn't exactly follow Apple's developer guidelines, which say the Touch Bar should be used as an extension of the keyboard and the trackpad rather than a display, but it's a fun way to show off what the new MacBook Pro can do.

Top Rated Comments

EndlessBuffoonery

102 months ago

Jesus, you people take everything way too seriously. Nobody is expecting a musician to write the next great piano sonata on the touch bar. It's just a goofy thing you can do. Can we not make every minor, silly app an excuse to claim the touch bar is a stupid gimmick and actually judge it on the improvements it's meant to offer now and/or with future app updates?

Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Hirakata

102 months ago

Looks handy. I'm sure all the pro musicians are dying to get this machine... :rolleyes:

Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)

garirry

102 months ago

A very expensive piano keyboard indeed - also a very uncomfortable one to use I imagine.

Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)

jstorm01

102 months ago

Just imagine when a full screen touchscreen can do one day !

Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)

32828870

102 months ago

That is, if the MacBook Pro doesn't overheat and shutdown ('http://bgr.com/2016/12/05/macbook-pro-2016-battery-problems/') or the GPU suddenly stops working ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/02/new-macbook-pro-graphics-issues/'). Courageous Innovation™

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

avanpelt

102 months ago

Looks handy. I'm sure all the pro musicians are dying to get this machine... :rolleyes:

Agreed. This looks even more goofy than that DJ looked at the keynote (and I wasn't sure that anyone would be able to top the DJ...until now).

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Read All Comments

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Available Now With These 8 New Features For Your iPhone

Sunday September 15, 2024 10:09 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Following over three months of beta testing, iOS 18 was finally widely released to the public on Monday, September 16. The update is available in the Settings app under General → Software Update on the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have highlighted eight key new features included in iOS 18, and Apple shared a complete list of new features and changes last week. Note that Apple...

• 121 comments

Here's When iOS 18 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone

Monday September 16, 2024 3:56 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

It's that time of year again. Apple is about to release iOS 18, which promises to bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and the company is expected to release it sometime today – Monday, September 16. Based on past releases, the update is likely to drop at around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time/1:00 p.m. Eastern...

• 140 comments

apple silicon mac lineup wwdc 2022 feature purple

M4 Macs, New iPad Mini, and iPad 11 Expected at Upcoming Apple Event

Sunday September 15, 2024 5:29 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple will likely hold another event in October this year to announce new Macs and iPads. If so, it would be the fourth time in the last five years that Apple has held an event in October. Last year, Apple held a virtual event on Monday, October 30 to announce new MacBook Pro and iMac models with the M3 series of chips. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated...

• 134 comments

Apple Leaks New Mac Mini With 5 USB-C Ports

Monday September 16, 2024 11:40 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple has seemingly leaked the rumored next-generation Mac mini with five USB-C ports, according to a code change within Apple software that was discovered today by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The code refers to an unreleased Mac mini model with an Apple silicon chip and five ports, which lines up with a previous report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that said the next Mac mini will be ...

• 231 comments

iPhone 16 Pro Demand Has Been Lower Than Expected, Analyst Says

Sunday September 15, 2024 3:58 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said demand for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has been "lower than expected" since the devices became available to pre-order in the U.S. and dozens of other countries on Friday. Kuo said his data is based on a "supply chain survey" and shipping estimates listed on Apple's online store. Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached...

• 601 comments

Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Friday September 13, 2024 2:40 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...

• 294 comments