VR Guitar
A downloadable app for Windows
VR Guitar
Strum the strings of this glowing, guitar-like instrument in VR, with a Leap Motion Controller to track the motion of your hands. You can perform songs you know from playing a real guitar, or create your own! No previous experience with a real guitar is required.
I have recorded several development update (#DevUp!) videos while building this app, which show progress and discuss various UI/UX challenges while working with VR. Check out the entire playlist >
Contents
The app download (GuitarVR-2015-11-07.zip) contains:
- GuitarVR.exe: suggested build (Leap Motion Controller mounted on Oculus Rift)
- GuitarLeapOnly.exe: experimental build (Leap Motion Controller placed on a table)
- Does not contain additional instrument sounds! See "AudioPack" instructions below.
Hardware/software notes:
- Required: Leap Motion Controller, with runtime 2.3.1+
- Suggested: Oculus Rift DK2, with runtime 0.7+
Instructions
The white spheres on the tips of your index fingers are your cursors. The right hand's cursor is for strumming the strings. The left hand's cursor is for selecting chords.
To strum a string, the cursor will need to be near to the string. Like a real guitar string, you'll need to move the cursor past the string to make it play a note. The strumming motion can be up/down, in/out, or in various diagonal motions.
To select a chord, move the cursor near to a chord button. The button labels show their root note (like C or A#). The chord you choose will stay selected until you choose another. You can move the cursor through the center of the chord-button ring without causing a new chord to be selected.
To change sounds, select the the "Sounds" menu button (below the chord selection area). The menu shows selections for each audio file present in the "GuitarVR_Data/StreamingAssets" folder. Select any sound in the list, and use the "Prev" and "Next" buttons (if necessary) to browse additional pages.
An advanced feature (and one that may change) is to switch between major and minor chords. To do this, move your left thumb toward your left palm. When the tip of the thumb crosses a threshold (roughly halfway along this motion), the chord type will change. You will see some strings change color, and of course, their notes will sound different when you play them.
If you're having trouble, please watch one of the "DevUp: VR Guitar" videos. These show a variety of strumming motions and playing techniques that might be helpful for you.
Audio Packs
To add more instrument sounds:
- Download "AudioPack" files from http://zachkinstner.itch.io/vr-guitar
- Unzip the download into the "GuitarVR_Data/StreamingAssets" folder.
- You should see one or more "*.aif" audio files in this folder.
- Start (or restart) the "VR Guitar" application.
- The "Sounds" menu (below the chord selector) will contain a selectable item for each audio file in the "StreamingAssets" folder.
Available audio packs:
- Standard: A collection of my favorite instrument sounds. These are free to download, and everyone should have them!
- Source Files: This contains a GarageBand project and a MIDI file. Use these as templates for creating your own AudioPack files!
- Real Instruments: 12 additional "real" sounds...
- Bass Fingerstyle
- Bass Picked
- Bass Upright
- Guitar Clean B
- Guitar Roots
- Guitar Steel B
- Mallet Bells
- Mallet Glockenspiel
- Mallet Marimba
- Piano Electric
- Piano Grand Steinway
- Piano Swirling
- Synth Instruments: 11 additional "synth" sounds...
- Synth Bass Eighties
- Synth Bass Electric
- Synth Bass Funk
- Synth Bass Metro
- Synth Brass Pulse
- Synth Chords Organ
- Synth Lead Festival
- Synth Massive
- Synth Melody
- Synth Piano FM
- Synth Square Bells
Check out the latest "DevUp" video to hear samples from each of these instruments!
Tips
Download Audio Packs to get more sounds!
Sometimes, the hands "curl up" when playing for a few minutes at a time. Often, you can open your hand wide and move it around a bit, to give the Leap Motion a clear view of your hand You can also try moving your hand entirely out of the scene, then bringing it back in again.
The Leap Motion controller works best in low-to-medium lighting conditions, and in environments that don't have much clutter or reflective surfaces around. It also helps to remove rings, watches, and other items from your hands.
Links
- 3D Jam contest entry: https://itch.io/jam/leapmotion3djam/rate/39736
- Follow project updates: http://twitter.com/zachkinstner
- Watch project videos: http://youtube.com/aestheticinteractive/videos
- Business website: http://www.aestheticinteractive.com
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
hi, i've a trouble with the app beacuse it cannot find my leap motion and it do not start in my colus CV1, All the other app for leap motion works perfectly. There is a way to force tha app on my oculus?
Hey,
I tried your demo out with my DK2 and my Leap motion. However, every single configuration I try keeps the guitar attached to the head tracking in the Oculus. I'm wondering, is this by design or am I experiencing a bug? You have done some AMAZING work regardless, I gave it a shot and it did work. However, I feel like if I could lean in and experience the full tracking while having the guitar forward facing, it would be much better IMO.
I'm also creating a game for this contest with a friend, so good luck to you sir. If you need help sorting this out, I may also be able to help.
Thanks for trying out the app! You're getting the expected behavior (the instrument is attached to your head), but this is something I'd like to make optional for users. I don't think I'll have time to get to it before the 3D Jam deadline, though. You can see details about all the position/rotation ideas here: https://github.com/aestheticinteractive/Guitar-VR/issues/9
You're welcome. I'm also glad it's the desired behavior because I was starting to think my setup was going weird. The only reason I thought that was because sometimes I'll randomly lose headtracking in my gearVR if there are errors or it's running slow/overheating.
In any case, great work man! It's really something quite cool!
> lose headtracking in my gearVR
Did you mean Oculus DK2, or do you have this running in Gear VR? I'm using the new "native VR" functionality in Unity, so I'm not actually sure which VR devices are supported :)
Oh, I meant that I tried your game wit my DK2. I also have a gear vr. What I meant is that sometimes the gear vr will lose head tracking if the phone is starting to overheat. When that happens, everything is attached to your head. So, originally I thought it was a driver thing for DK2.