Shout-Outs
Here are some links to some great wind controller projects, found by Onyx Ashanti:Open Horn MIDI System (OHMS)
Gwen's MIDI Controller
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Wires, sensors, code, MIDI -> new instruments.
My blog about experimenting with Arduino, MIDI, synthesizers, sonification, and other music distractions.
You will also find a series of blog posts covering the basics of electronic wind instrument controllers - electronic instruments controlled by the performer's breath. While I can't claim to be an expert in the field, I've tinkered with enough stuff over the past few years that I feel like I've got something to share. Take a look at my intro post:
A Series: Basics of DIY Wind Controllers
And the posts I've made since then:
If you make musical instruments from microcontrollers and have an interesting project to share, let me know and I'll share it here. Looking forward to comments, and to others building crazy instruments.
Thanks, Gordon, I have enjoyed reading your blog. Do you have any thoughts on how legato might be implemented on an EWI? The MIDI spec says if the synth is in mono mode, and the controller sends a note on while a note is sounding, ie before note off, the pitch should change to the new note without re-attacking the envelope. But the spec is vague about when to send note off commands, except that every note on must be followed by a corresponding note off (eventually). I will experiment on this when I get my instrument prototype working. By the way, I plan to use a binary keying scheme, I.e 4 fingers on the right hand select one of 13 notes (semitones) in an octave, while 3 fingers on the left hand select one of 7 octaves. The "keys" are capacitive touch pads, sensed by a Freescale MPR121. More details when I get it all working properly. Cheers, MJB.
ReplyDeleteThanks, MJB.
ReplyDeleteI haven't run into that particular case (legato) because I've always used patches that were optimized for wind control. That means that the patches don't have a typical ADSR envelope. The attack and release are instantaneous, and the volume, articulation, etc are completely controlled by the continuous controller that's the output of the breath sensor (typically MIDI Breath Controller or Aftertouch).
Your idea of sending the note off event for the sounding note after sending the note on event for the new note sounds correct to me. When I play a monophonic patch on the keyboard, most patches don't restart a new ADSR envelope if you do that.
Looking forward to seeing more about your instrument!