Blob Opera

Blob Opera is not a normal music game. It is a playful browser experiment where four soft, colorful blobs sing like an opera choir. You drag them, stretch their voices, change their vowels, and suddenly a funny little choir starts performing your own dramatic song.

Created by David Li in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, Blob Opera uses machine learning trained on real opera singers. The model was trained with recordings from tenor Christian Joel, bass Frederick Tong, mezzo-soprano Joanna Gamble, and soprano Olivia Doutney. You are not hearing the original singers directly. You are hearing the AI model’s idea of what opera singing sounds like, based on what it learned. 

Core Gameplay of Blob Opera

Directing your masterpiece is incredibly intuitive and highly satisfying. Here is how you can compose the perfect song:

1. Change the Pitch: Grab any of the four blobs and drag them up and down. Pulling them up makes their voice higher, while squishing them down produces a deep, low note.
2. Change the Vowel: Drag the blobs left and right to change the shape of their mouths. This alters the vowel sound they are singing (like "Ah," "Oh," "Ee," and "Oo").
3. Let Them Harmonize: You only need to control one blob at a time! The other three blobs will intelligently listen to the note you are playing and automatically adjust their own voices to create a perfect, beautiful harmony.
4. Mute Singers: If you want a solo performance, simply click the small toggle icon above any blob to temporarily mute them.

Technology Behind Blob Opera

• Blob Opera is an HTML5 browser game powered by machine learning and modern web audio technology.
• Google’s official experiment page explains that another machine learning model helps the blobs respond and harmonize with your input in real time. 
• Because it depends on real-time sound generation, Blob Opera works best on modern browsers and newer devices.

Do I need to know how to read music to play Blob Opera?

Not at all! That is the genius of the machine learning engine. It is mathematically impossible to play a "bad" chord. No matter how wildly you drag the blobs around, the AI ensures they always stay in a perfect musical key.

Who are the four different blobs?

From right to left (lowest to highest pitch), the blobs represent the classic operatic voices: the deep Bass, the rich Tenor, the smooth Mezzo-Soprano, and the high-pitched Soprano.

Can I record the songs I make?

Yes! Look for the red record button on the screen. You can click it to record your entire performance and then easily share your unique operatic masterpiece with your friends.

Why do their eyes look at my cursor?

Just like in his other interactive toys, developer David Li programmed the blobs' eyes to follow your inputs. This adds a hilarious level of personality, making it feel like a real choir eagerly waiting for their conductor's next move.

Is Blob Opera Educational?

Yes. Blob Opera is a great way to introduce players to voice types, harmony, pitch, vowels, and AI creativity. It does not teach opera in a strict classroom way, but it helps players understand how different voices can work together.

Don't Forget to Try David Li's Fun Toy!

If you loved the incredible soft-body physics, bizarre humor, and interactive genius of Blob Opera, you absolutely must check out this other massive viral hit created by the exact same artist, David Li:

• Elastic Man Experience the ultimate stress relieving physics toy! Grab, pull, and stretch a highly realistic face as far as you can. Watch the hilarious, jiggly snapback physics in action and see how weird you can make the character look in this incredibly addictive sandbox experiment.