Today's Google Doodle lets you compose your own music

If you're looking to lose half an hour in service of making your own music, head on over to Google and click on today's doodle. The company is celebrating the 117th birthday of Oskar Fischinger, the German-born artist and filmmaker who created geometric animations using paper and card. As Google's Leon Hong explains, Fischinger's work left him "awed and puzzled," making him wonder "how could he make such magic without computers?"

Since much of Fischinger's work involved putting music to geometric animations, Google builds a basic synth / sequencer for you to play with. Simply select one of the instruments and begin clicking to create a pattern that'll produce a sound that's unique to you. As each note plays, geometric animations will jump out, although it's worth watching one of Fischinger's originals just to see the scope of his achievement. An Optical Poem, for instance, was produced in 1938 by hand, which makes you really appreciate the scope of human ingenuity.