TelaraHarmonic sequencer

Your whole progression on the table. Not in a window.

Eight chords, sixteen knobs, zero menus. Lay out a progression with your hands and hear it loop. Play it right below.

Early-bird price for the waitlist: €450. Joining is free and commits you to nothing.

Something went wrong. Please try again.
Almost there. Check your inbox and click the link to confirm. If you can't find it, look in your Promotions or Spam folder.

The real engine, running in your browser. Press Play, then grab any slider.

Turn your phone sideways to play comfortably.

How it works

Telara plays eight chords in a loop, left to right, over and over. Each column is one chord, and you pick it with two gestures: the slider says which chord, the knob says what kind.

One column of the panel: the light, the slider with its degrees, and the knob with its twelve positions 1 rest I ♭II II ♭III III IV ♭V V ♭VI VI ♭VII VII 2 triad 7th 9th sus maj min 7 maj7 m7 dim aug m7♭5 3
always in key, on a long notchexactly the chord you ask for

1The light

Shows which column is playing. That's its only job.

2The slider: which chord

Each notch is a degree of the key: I, II, III and so on. The long notches, in bold, are the seven chords that belong to the key. The short ones, ♭II, ♭III, ♭V, ♭VI and ♭VII, sit just outside it. All the way down is rest, and the column stays silent.

3The knob: what kind of chord

The yellow part of the ring follows the key. Triad gives the column its natural chord, 7th adds its natural seventh, 9th adds a ninth on top, and sus swaps the third for a fourth or a second. On a long notch, these four positions can't take you out of the key. That's the safe side.

The rest of the ring is exact. maj, min, 7, maj7, m7, dim, aug and m7♭5 give you precisely that chord, whatever the key thinks about it. That's how you borrow a chord, add a twist, or break the rules on purpose.

One column, twelve chords

Slider on II, key of C major. Turn the knob all the way round and this is what you get:

Follows the key

  • triadDm
  • 7thDm7
  • 9thDm9
  • susDsus4

Exactly what you ask for

  • majD, leaves the key
  • minDm
  • 7D7, leaves the key
  • maj7Dmaj7, leaves the key
  • m7Dm7
  • dimD°, leaves the key
  • augD+, leaves the key
  • m7♭5Dø7, leaves the key

leaves the key. On II, min and m7 land right back in it: they're the same chords the yellow side already gives you.

In a minor key, the V uses the raised leading tone, as every harmony textbook does.

Around the columns

Play
Starts and stops the loop. The space bar works too.
Key
The home note. Every slider counts from here, so changing it moves the whole progression.
Mode
Major or minor. It changes which chords the yellow side of every knob picks, and which notches are long.
Spread
From close, compact chords to wide, open ones.
Strum
Plays the notes one after another, like a strummed guitar, instead of all at once.
Tempo
Speed, in beats per minute.
Column length
How long each chord lasts: two beats or four.
Repeated chord
When two neighbouring columns hold the same chord: held keeps it ringing, retriggered plays it again.
Phrase A and Phrase B
How many of the four columns in each half join the loop, from none to all four. Set B to zero for a four-chord loop, or try three and two for a five.
×1 and ×2
Plays that half twice before moving on: A, A, B instead of A, B.
Presets and Clear
Four ready-made loops to start from, and a clean slate. These live on this page only.

What the engine is doing

Every time you move something, Telara re-plans the whole loop, not just the chord you touched. Here is which notes it keeps, which it moves, and the three rules it never breaks.

bass, always on the root note held from the previous chord voice that moves

    The loop plays columns — Upper-voice movement: — semitones Voice leading always looks at the whole loop.

    MIDI

    Uscita. Collega il pianoforte digitale, il modulo o la DAW e il suono lo metti tu — è il collaudo che conta, perché il suono interno di questa pagina non è il suono del prodotto.

    Ingresso. Quando il pannello fisico esiste, lo colleghi qui: manda i control change della tabella sotto e muove questi controlli. Da quel momento il legno è lo strumento e questa pagina è solo il suo cervello.

    What makes it different

    You see the whole song

    Other chord gadgets play one chord at a time. That's like reading a novel through a keyhole. Telara lays all eight chords out in front of you, so you can change the fourth while the first three keep playing.

    It thinks ahead

    Because Telara knows the whole loop before it plays it, every voice moves as little as possible from one chord to the next, the way a good pianist's hands do. Instruments you play live can't pull this off: they don't know what you'll press next.

    Nothing to boot

    No screen, no menus, no laptop lid. Yesterday's progression is still sitting on your table, readable from across the room. From idea to sound takes about a second.

    One more thing: on the long notches, the yellow side of the knob can't produce a chord outside the key. A seven-year-old can build a progression that works before learning to read a note. So can you, after a long day.

    The object

    • A 48 cm wedge: solid wood sides, an anodized aluminium face tilted towards you.
    • Eight columns. A slider picks the chord, a knob picks its colour.
    • A speaker of its own, plus MIDI out for your synths and your DAW.
    • No screen. Not now, not later.

    Built in the open

    1. The engine works

      You just played it. Every voice and every rule, running in your browser.

    2. The first wooden panel

      Built by hand, knob by knob, and shown as it happens.

    3. The Kickstarter

      The waitlist hears first and gets the early-bird price.

    Nothing is for sale yet, and nothing is charged. Your email is a vote for this thing to exist.

    Questions

    Do I need to know music theory?

    No. Each slider picks a chord by its place in the key. Stay on the long notches and on the yellow side of the knob, and whatever you build will work. If you do know theory, the other eight positions are all yours: diminished, augmented, borrowed chords, the lot.

    Does it need a computer?

    No. It's designed to stand on its own, with its own sound and its own speaker. MIDI out sends the same progression to your synths or your DAW when you want it to.

    What does the early-bird price mean?

    Everyone on the waitlist can get Telara for €450 when the campaign opens. Joining the list is free and doesn't commit you to anything.

    When can I get one?

    After the Kickstarter. There are no dates yet, because the first panel isn't built yet, and we'd rather not promise what doesn't exist. The waitlist will know first.

    Will you flood my inbox?

    No. A handful of emails in total, when there's something real to show. Every one of them has an unsubscribe link.

    Made it all the way down?

    Then you probably want one. The waitlist is one email away, and everyone on it gets the early-bird price: €450.

    Join the waitlist