Aura Tone Theremin — Help & Troubleshooting Guide

Welcome! This guide covers how to get the most out of Aura Tone and how to resolve the most common questions and issues. If you can’t find an answer here, please contact support at info@mickeydesigns.com.

Getting Started

What you need

• An Apple Vision Pro running visionOS 26.0 or later
• A clear area in front of you (about 3 ft / 1 m of reach in every direction)
• Hand Tracking enabled in Settings → Privacy & Security → Hand Tracking

Your first session in 60 seconds

1. Launch Aura Tone.
2. Tap Show Immersive Space. When prompted, allow Hand Tracking.
3. Stand or sit so you can comfortably extend both arms.
4. Tap Calibrate under Play-Zone Calibration and follow the prompts (hold your right hand at the lowest comfortable spot, then the highest).
5. Tap Start on the Metronome for a steady pulse.
6. Raise your right hand to play higher notes; raise your left hand to get louder.

That’s it — you’re playing a theremin.

How the Controls Work

Hand	Controls
Right hand (pink)	Pitch — higher hand = higher note
Left hand (blue)	Volume — higher hand = louder

The glowing pink rings in the immersive space mark each note in your current scale. Use them as a visual target until your ear catches on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn’t the app make any sound?

Walk through this checklist:

1. The Immersive Space must be open. If the screen reads Show Immersive Space, tap it.
2. Confirm the master Volume slider in the window is not at 0%.
3. Your left hand controls live volume. If your left hand is at your side (low), the synth will be silent by design. Raise it.
4. Check that your Vision Pro’s system volume is up (Digital Crown).
5. If you’re playing in Scale Lock = Off with an extreme pitch range, you may be playing a frequency below 20 Hz. Tap a Preset like Pentatonic Bell to reset to musical defaults.

Hand tracking isn’t working.

• Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Hand Tracking and make sure Aura Tone is enabled.
• Quit and relaunch the app after granting permission.
• Make sure both hands are visible to the Vision Pro cameras — keep them roughly in front of you, not behind your back or hidden by furniture.
• Bright, even lighting helps. Very dim rooms can reduce tracking accuracy.

The notes feel out of reach (too high or too low).

Run Play-Zone Calibration again:

1. Open the immersive space.
2. Under Play-Zone Calibration, tap Calibrate.
3. Hold your right hand at the lowest comfortable spot until the countdown completes.
4. Hold it at the highest comfortable spot until the countdown completes.

You only need to do this once per body position — if you switch from standing to sitting, recalibrate.

How do I move the theremin to a different spot in my room?

1. Open the immersive space.
2. In the Position panel tap Move Aura Tone.
3. Look at the glowing pad beneath the antennas, then pinch and drag to slide the rig anywhere in your room.
4. Tap Done Moving when satisfied.

Use Reset to return the rig to its default position in front of you.

The pitch keeps jumping between notes — can I make it smooth?

That’s Scale Lock snapping to the nearest note in the scale. To play a continuous, gliding theremin sound:

• Open Scale Lock and set Scale to Off.

To make it easier to play in tune, leave Scale Lock on and try Pentatonic or Major — every note will sound consonant.

How do I add vibrato?

In the Vibrato panel:

• Rate controls how fast the pitch wavers (try 5–6 Hz for a vocal feel).
• Depth controls how wide the waver is (try 20–30% for subtle expression).

Set Depth to 0% to disable vibrato entirely.

Can I save my favorite sound?

Yes. After dialing in a waveform, scale, vibrato, and tempo you like:

1. Tap Save current as preset… in the Presets panel.
2. Give it a name and tap Save.
3. Long-press (or use the context menu) on any preset tile to delete it.

How do I record a performance?

1. Open the immersive space and play a few test notes to be sure everything sounds right.
2. In the Recording panel, tap Record.
3. Perform. The elapsed timer shows recording length.
4. Tap Stop.
5. Tap Play to audition. Tap Share to send the audio file via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or save it to Files.

Recordings capture the synth output only — not your room audio or microphone.

Does Aura Tone work with Logic Pro, GarageBand, or Ableton?

Yes. Aura Tone publishes a virtual CoreMIDI source called “Aura Tone” whenever the immersive space is open. Any MIDI-capable app on the same Vision Pro — or on a Mac connected via a CoreMIDI network session — can receive note and pitch-bend data driven by your hand movements.

To connect from a Mac:

1. On the Mac, open Audio MIDI Setup → Window → Show MIDI Studio → Network.
2. Create a session and connect to your Vision Pro.
3. Select “Aura Tone” as the MIDI input in your DAW.

The metronome sounds out of sync with my playing.

• Make sure the BPM matches the tempo you’re feeling — try tapping along to confirm.
• Toggle Accent downbeat off if the louder first beat is throwing you.
• If audio glitches or stutters, see the Audio is crackling section below.

Audio is crackling, glitching, or distorting.

• Lower the master Volume slider.
• Reduce Vibrato Depth — very deep vibrato combined with a square or sawtooth waveform can clip.
• Close other audio apps running in the background.
• Restart the app. Audio engines occasionally need a fresh start after long sessions.

The immersive space closes by itself.

visionOS may close immersive spaces if the system is under heavy load or if a system alert appears. Reopen via Show Immersive Space. Your settings, presets, and recordings are preserved.

I see two pink hand markers but only one antenna lights up.

This is normal when one hand is outside the play zone — the synth only engages when your left hand passes above the volume threshold. Raise your left hand to bring the instrument to life.

Can I use Aura Tone seated?

Absolutely. After sitting down, run Calibrate again and, if needed, tap Move Aura Tone to lower the rig to a comfortable seated height.

Does Aura Tone work without an internet connection?

Yes. Aura Tone runs entirely on-device. No internet, no account, no sign-in.

Tips for Better Sound

• Start with a Preset. The built-in presets are designed to sound great immediately. Use them as a starting point and tweak from there.
• Keep your left hand still while playing melodies. Small left-hand motion translates to volume tremor. Use that intentionally for swells.
• For glides and slides: turn Scale Lock off and move slowly.
• For melodic playing: use Scale Lock with Pentatonic or Major.
• For ambient drones: sine waveform + low vibrato rate (1–2 Hz) + high depth (50–70%).
• For lead-synth tones: sawtooth waveform + 5–6 Hz vibrato + 20% depth.

Privacy & Data

• Aura Tone does not record, transmit, or store hand-tracking data.
• Hand positions are used only in real time to control the on-device synthesizer.
• Audio recordings stay on your Vision Pro until you explicitly share or export them.
• The app contains no advertising, analytics, or third-party tracking.

For full details see our privacy policy on the support site.

Still Stuck?

If something isn’t working as expected, please email info@mickeydesigns.com with:

1. Your visionOS version (Settings → General → About).
2. The version of Aura Tone (visible at the bottom of the Help sheet inside the app).
3. A short description of the problem and the steps that led to it.

We read every message and reply as quickly as we can. Thank you for playing Aura Tone!