Play Stylophone Online
Play the iconic retro pocket synthesizer. Drag your cursor across the metal pads to play glissandos and melodies.
stÿlophøne
🎵 Audio Export
Record your performance directly to audio. Opens in any DAW or audio app.
Ready.
🎬 Screen Recording
Record video of your session and download as WebM.
Ready.
🎼 Note Composer
✅ How to Use the Virtual Stylophone
- Play with Mouse/Touch: Click or tap the metal-style keys. For an authentic feel, drag the stylus (cursor) across the keys for smooth glissandos.
- Keyboard Controls: Use your computer keyboard keys (A to ', plus ] and Z) to play notes from low to high.
- Note Composer: Create your own melodies!
- Click note names in the Palette to add them to the input.
- Use
*for long notes,/for short notes, and-for rests. - Adjust the BPM slider to change the playback speed.
- Tone & Vibrato: Use the left switch to change sound profiles (Bass/Standard/Treble) and the right switch to enable vibrato.
- Audio Export: Click ⏺ Record in the Audio Export section to capture the audio of your performance.
- Screen Recording: Use the Start Recording button to capture a video of your session.
What is a Stylophone?
The Stylophone is one of the most distinctive and instantly recognisable pocket instruments ever made. Invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis and first manufactured by Dubreq in London, it was originally marketed as a toy — but its unique buzzing, electronic sound quickly attracted serious musicians and composers. The instrument consists of a small printed circuit board covered with metal keys, a simple oscillator circuit, and a battery. To play it, the performer uses a stylus connected to the instrument by a thin wire, touching its tip to the metal keys to complete an electrical circuit and trigger a note.
The most famous early endorsement came from David Bowie, who used the Stylophone on his 1969 hit Space Oddity. Its eerie, buzzing quality perfectly matched the song's space-age atmosphere and introduced the instrument to a massive international audience. Kraftwerk used it in their early electronic experiments, Rolf Harris became its most enthusiastic television promoter, and it appeared in countless recordings throughout the 1970s. After falling out of fashion in the 1980s, the Stylophone was revived in 2007 in an updated version and found a new generation of fans in electronic and indie music. Beyoncé, Jarvis Cocker, and Pete Doherty have all used it in recordings and live performances.
What makes the Stylophone's sound so distinctive is its core oscillator topology. The original circuit uses a simple astable multivibrator — a type of square wave oscillator — with resistors for each key determining the pitch. The result is a raw, buzzy tone rich in odd harmonics. This virtual Stylophone replicates that character using a 50/50 mix of sawtooth and square wave oscillators, giving it both the harmonic richness of the saw and the blunter buzzing character of the square. A gentle lowpass filter trims the most extreme digital harshness while preserving the analogue grit.
The monophonic nature of the Stylophone — one note at a time — is not a limitation but a feature. Because the stylus must physically touch a metal pad to sound, moving it across multiple pads creates a smooth, connected glide that no keyboard instrument can replicate. This glissando technique is central to the Stylophone's expressiveness and is why it feels so satisfying to drag across. The vibrato circuit adds a gentle frequency modulation at around 6–7 Hz, which gives sustained notes that characteristic 1970s electronic wobble.
Frequently Asked Questions
What songs use the Stylophone?
David Bowie's Space Oddity (1969) is the most famous use. Other notable appearances include Kraftwerk's early recordings, Pulp's Common People, and more recently in Adele's Someone Like You. The instrument has experienced a significant revival in indie and electronic music since the 2007 reissue.
Is the Stylophone monophonic?
Yes — the original Stylophone and this virtual version are strictly monophonic, meaning only one note can sound at a time. When you move the stylus from one key to another, the previous note stops and the new one begins immediately. This creates the characteristic connected glide when dragging across multiple keys.
What does the Tone switch do?
The 3-position Tone switch shifts the entire instrument up or down by one octave. Position 1 gives bass tones (one octave below standard), position 2 is the standard range (C4–G5), and position 3 is treble (one octave above standard). On the original Stylophone, this was a small slide switch on the body of the instrument.