LyraVR
More actions
| LyraVR | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | LyraVR |
| Publisher | LyraVR |
| Platform | SteamVR |
| Device | HTC Vive, Oculus Rift |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Type | Software |
| Genre | Casual, Indie |
| Input Device | Tracked Motion Controllers |
| Play Area | Room-Scale |
| Game Mode | Single Player |
| Language | English, French, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain |
| Version | 0.8.0.15 (announced 26 May 2025) |
| Release Date | 22 March 2017 (Early Access) |
| App Store | Steam |
| Website | https://lyravr.com/ |
| Infobox Updated | 2026-10-13 |
LyraVR is a music creation VR App for composing and performing sequences in three-dimensional space. Sounds can be placed around the user and arranged into loops within an interactive virtual environment.[1] Its Windows release uses tracked controllers through SteamVR.[2] An earlier Lyra prototype used bare-hand tracking with a Leap Motion sensor.[3]
Features
The sequencer connects sound nodes into musical sequences. In the 2017 Vive release, controllers acted as drumstick-like mallets. A nine-pad drum controller, 88-key keyboard and autoplayer generated notes, chords, arpeggios and phrases. Groups of nodes could be copied or have their pitches changed together.[4] Controller instruments can create nodes and loops through performance.[2]
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Instruments and environments | Five virtual instrument controllers, 15 instrument-node types and six environments.[2] |
| Audio effects | The launch release included node-based low-pass filtering and tempo delay.[4] |
| Spatial listening | The launch release's spatial audio included detachable virtual "ears", which could be moved through a composition or held in a fixed position to change the listening perspective.[4] |
| Audio files and recording | WAV import, export and recording; recorded audio can be imported again as loops.[2] |
| Spectator view | Third-person spectator camera for recording performances.[2] |
Audio import and editing
The launch release displayed imported audio as waveforms in VR and supplied audio loops from Loopmasters.[4] Version 0.7.0.5, released on 20 February 2020, added folder navigation for importing WAV files from local drives. Its group-link deletion control removes links between selected nodes by triggering one of those links with a mallet in Erase mode.[5]
Song sharing
Version 0.8.0.13 introduced public cloud sharing of Lyra songs within the app on 21 May 2024. Its release notes also warned that connecting to online services could close the app on some devices. The documented workaround was to replace online with offline in Documents/LyraVR/online_mode.txt.[6] The subsequent 0.8.0.15 update set new installations to offline mode by default to address a potential stability issue.[7]
Development and release
Lyra was entered in the Leap Motion 3D Jam 2015.[8] Metanaut reported its competition win on 29 January 2016 and described the prototype's hand-controlled musical objects and linking system.[9]
The prototype's published requirements were an Oculus Rift DK2 and Leap Motion, with Oculus Runtime 0.7 or later and Leap Motion software 2.3.1 or later. It was described as usable sitting or standing. Its modes covered auditioning sounds, spawning and moving objects, linking them, adjusting pitch and timing, and starting or stopping playback. A green START object began each sequence; link settings determined its steps, and a Control object set BPM. These instructions describe the historical prototype.[3]
The controller-based HTC Vive port entered Steam Early Access on 22 March 2017 at a launch price of US$9.99. It added audio effects, import/export, group editing, tutorial material and demonstration songs.[4] The developer's purchase page also lists Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality for the Windows product, alongside the Vive. Those product-page listings do not establish compatibility with every later headset or runtime.[10]
On 13 October 2026, Steam's Early Access listing retained the developer's Q1 2025 release aim and warned that the timeline might be outdated.[2] The developer announced version 0.8.0.15 on 26 May 2025, including a menu toggle and an import-folder navigation fix.[7]
System requirements
Steam lists these requirements for a 64-bit processor and operating system.[2]
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 | Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel i5-4590 or better | Intel i7 |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | Nvidia GTX 970 | Nvidia GTX 1070 |
| Storage | 2 GB available space | 2 GB available space |
| Sound card | Required | Required |
| VR support | SteamVR | SteamVR |
Setup instructions
The 2017 release included tutorial levels, videos and demonstration songs.[4] The 2020 update described mallet-based editing: place the mallet head inside a parameter icon, hold the trigger, and drag vertically to change the value. This applied to nodes, links, drum pads and other parameter controls. Undo and redo were accessed beside the record button on the opposite controller's hilt.[5]
The May 2024 control update added thumbstick teleportation and snap turning. Playback could be controlled from the opposite controller or a play button in the menu; on Quest Touch controllers, X/A started or stopped playback.[6] Version 0.8.0.15 allowed the menu button to toggle the main menu on and off.[7]
Design analysis
In a chapter first published online in October 2022, Thomas Deacon and Mathieu Barthet classified LyraVR as a sandbox sequencer whose spatial relationships organize a composition's temporal behavior. Their qualitative design review used thematic coding of systems, documentation, images and videos, with hands-on use where possible. They described the immediacy of manipulating musical node structures alongside the visual complexity of arranging them in space. This was a design analysis, rather than a controlled user-performance test of LyraVR.[11]
References
- ↑ "LyraVR - Music Reimagined". LyraVR. https://lyravr.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "LyraVR on Steam". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/572630/LyraVR/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 lyravr. "Lyra". itch.io. https://lyravr.itch.io/lyra. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 moshang. "LyraVR – Our VR sequencer has finally been released on Steam!". Groovesizer. https://groovesizer.com/lyravr-our-vr-sequencer-has-finally-been-released-on-steam/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 LyraVR (2020-02-20). "V.0.7.0.5 Now Live". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/572630/view/1710742657413854867. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 LyraVR (2024-05-21). "V.0.8.0.13 Now Live". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/572630/?emclan=103582791457640306&emgid=6182957324238926161. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 LyraVR (2025-05-26). "V.0.8.0.15 Now Live". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/572630/view/503951715622454809. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ "Lyra by lyravr for Leap Motion 3D Jam 2015". itch.io. https://itch.io/jam/leapmotion3djam/rate/42497. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ "Lyra wins the Leap Motion Competition 2.0 (2016)". Metanaut. 2016-01-29. https://metanautlabs.com/blog/lyra-wins-leap-motion-competition-2016/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ "Purchase". LyraVR. https://lyravr.com/purchase/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Thomas Deacon and Mathieu Barthet (2022-10-14). "Spatial Design Considerations for Interactive Audio in Virtual Reality". Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments. pp. 181-217. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-04021-4_6. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-04021-4_6. Retrieved 2026-10-13.