Virtual Harmonium
Play a 2.5-octave harmonium in your browser. Keys sustain while held — just like the real instrument. Use your computer keyboard or tap on mobile. Enable the Sa Drone for raga practice. Nothing installed, nothing uploaded.
Highlight Scale
← Scroll to see all keys →
✅ How to use this tool
- Click Enable Sound first — browsers require a tap to unlock audio. The dot turns green when ready.
- Tap or click keys to play. Keys sustain while held, fade when released.
- Keyboard: A S D F G H J for white keys, W E T Y U for black keys.
- Octave shift: Use − / + buttons or Z / X to move between octaves.
- Sa Drone: Toggle on to hear a continuous Sa (C) in the background — useful for raga and vocal practice.
- Highlight Scale: Pick a raga or scale to highlight matching keys in gold.
How It Works
The harmonium sound is synthesised using the browser's built-in Web Audio API — no external libraries, no samples to download. Each key plays a combination of oscillators tuned to mimic the harmonic series of a reed: a fundamental sawtooth wave shaped through a bandpass filter and a soft amplitude envelope. The attack is near-instant (like a reed responding to air), sustain holds as long as you hold the key, and release fades smoothly. The Sa Drone runs as a separate low-gain node so it blends under melody without clashing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it sound like a real harmonium?
Close — it uses a synthesised reed tone modelled on the harmonium's characteristic sound: a bright sawtooth fundamental with filtered harmonics and a quick reed-like attack. It's tuned for playing and practice rather than studio-perfect realism. Real samples can be added later without changing any other part of the tool.
Why is there no sound when I press keys?
Browsers block audio until you interact with the page. Tap Enable Sound — the dot turns green when audio is unlocked. This is a browser security requirement, not a bug.
Can I play it on my phone?
Yes. The keyboard is touch-friendly and scrollable on mobile. Landscape orientation gives you more keys at once. The tool uses no camera or heavy libraries so it runs well even on older phones.
What is the Sa Drone?
In Indian classical music, the Sa (tonic/root note) drone is played continuously throughout a performance to establish the scale. Enabling it plays a soft, continuous Sa (C in the default octave) in the background — useful for raga practice, vocal warm-up, or meditation.
Can I play multiple notes at once?
Yes — the harmonium supports full polyphony. Hold multiple keys on desktop or use multi-touch on mobile to play chords.
What do the scale highlights do?
Selecting a scale (e.g. Yaman, Bhairav, Kafi) highlights the notes of that raga in gold on the keyboard. This helps you visualise which notes to stay on and avoid when practising or exploring that raga.
Keyboard Shortcut Reference
| Key | Note | Swar | Key | Note | Swar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | C | Sa | W | C# | Komal Re |
| S | D | Re | E | D# | Komal Ga |
| D | E | Ga | — | — | — |
| F | F | Ma | T | F# | Tivra Ma |
| G | G | Pa | Y | G# | Komal Dha |
| H | A | Dha | U | A# | Komal Ni |
| J | B | Ni | — | — | — |
| Z | Octave down | X | Octave up | ||
Notes
- Sound synthesised using the browser's Web Audio API — no external libraries
- Architecture supports real harmonium sample files (MP3) as a drop-in upgrade
- All audio processing is client-side — nothing is uploaded or stored
- Equal temperament tuning (A4 = 440 Hz)
This is a practice and learning tool. Synth tone approximates harmonium reed character.