Eight interactive audio-visual instruments built with Tone.js and HTML5 Canvas. Each one is a single HTML file — no build tools, no dependencies beyond a CDN link. Open in a browser and play.
| # | Name | Interaction | What it sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Constraint Particles | Click to place gravity wells | Visual only — emergent orbital patterns |
| 2 | Synesthesia Grid | Paint cells, run Conway's Life | The automaton composes via column→pitch mapping |
| 3 | Drawable Waveform | Draw one cycle of a waveform | Your hand-drawn shape becomes the oscillator |
| 4 | Generative Ambient | Listen (self-playing) | Five-voice composition that breathes and rests |
| 5 | Constellation Synth | Place and drag stars | Distance between stars IS the pitch |
| 6 | Shatter Cathedral | Click to fracture stained glass | Each shard rings — destruction is composition |
| 7 | Bounce Room | Draw walls, drop balls | Architecture becomes rhythm |
| 8 | Detonation Typewriter | Type anything | English letter frequency IS the dynamics |
- Constraint is freedom. Simple rules produce complex emergent output. Design the conditions, not the result.
- Sound is temporal. Visuals are spatial and skimmable. Sound forces presence. That's why it's powerful.
- Destruction is composition. Breaking things can produce richer output than building them.
- Silence is part of the piece. Knowing when to stop is the hardest part.
- Pentatonic safety net. Use pentatonic scales so nothing the user does can sound wrong.
Each instrument is a standalone HTML file. No install, no build step.
# Clone and open any instrument
git clone https://github.com/Nicholas-Kloster/nuclide-instruments.git
cd nuclide-instruments
open instruments/constellation-synth.html # or any .html fileOr just open index.html for the showcase page linking to all eight.
- Audio: Tone.js (v14.8.49) via CDN
- Visuals: HTML5 Canvas with devicePixelRatio scaling
- Size: Each instrument is 4-12KB. No frameworks, no build tools, no npm.
- Background:
#08080c(near-black with slight blue) - Font: JetBrains Mono / SF Mono / Fira Code
- Seven accent colors mapped to instrument character (teal for melodic, amber for destruction, coral for rhythm, purple for ambient)
- Trail effects via semi-transparent canvas clearing — the signature NuClide visual
NuClide = Claude + Nick. A collaboration between Nicholas Kloster (independent security researcher, poet, infantry veteran) and Claude (Anthropic). These instruments were built during conversations about AI, language, sound, and the edges between them.
MIT