MIDI, CircuitPython, CPX and Pi Pico

Inspired by my initial play with the Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython, I wanted to also see what I could do with both the Micro:bit and my Adafruit Circuit Playground Express MIDI-wise too. Both are 3.3V boards and both can run a variant of MicroPython - either native or using the Adafruit version - CircuitPython. … Continue reading MIDI, CircuitPython, CPX and Pi Pico →

Arduino MIDI Button Controller

Having spent some time recently playing with synth modules it reminded me to revisit my MIDI Patch Button and Arduino Simple MIDI Controller to produce something a little more useful. As a start I wanted up/down buttons to change the patch number and ideally a display to show which number is active. This is how I did … Continue reading Arduino MIDI Button Controller →

Ready-Made MIDI Modules

This page collects together any "ready to go" MIDI interfaces that I've used for any of my projects. It will be updated as I discover and try new ones. If you want to build your own, there are plenty of ideas on the Arduino MIDI Interfaces page. Note: I have no affiliation or interest in … Continue reading Ready-Made MIDI Modules →

Lo-Fi Orchestra – 1812 Overture Finale

In celebration of this being the 100th post on this blog, the Lo-Fi Orchestra is proud to present the finale from Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Utilising elements of the MIDI file by Scott P. Anderson from Classical musical midi composers biography free classical midi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNIXccdZGl0&feature=youtu.be Featuring the full line-up from the Lo-Fi Orchestra with extra special … Continue reading Lo-Fi Orchestra – 1812 Overture Finale →

WS003 – Drums and Touch

This is the next of my worksheets collecting together a number of related projects with a single list of parts and a suggested "building order". This time all relating to touch interfaces or percussive projects. This worksheet links together the following projects: Arduino Relay Bolero Arduino MIDI Relay Drumkit Arduino MIDI Relay Servo Drumkit Instant … Continue reading WS003 – Drums and Touch →

Adafruit Feather MIDI, Music and LEDs

In my last post using the Adafruit Feather, I described how to get the MIDI and Music Maker FeatherWings working together. This time I'm adding in the CharlieWing LED module. https://youtu.be/Oi54vxumLFc Warning! I strongly recommend using an old or second hand keyboard for your MIDI experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments! … Continue reading Adafruit Feather MIDI, Music and LEDs →

Adafruit Feather MIDI and Music

I've wanted an excuse to play with some of the Adafruit Feather lines of boards for a while, so I finally dipped in a bought a board and a couple of add-ons. You can get most of their range in the UK from Pimoroni, The Pi Hut, and others (I'm not affiliated with any of … Continue reading Adafruit Feather MIDI and Music →

MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter – Part 3

My plan was always to try to use my MCP4725 board with Mozzi eventually, but there is one thing I came to realize that has stopped that ambition. You can't talk I2C from an interrupt routine using the standard Arduino Wire libraries. Mozzi uses an interrupt routine to output the audio samples at the required … Continue reading MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter – Part 3 →

MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter – Part 2

This is a short post showing some of the steps to take the dividing/filter circuit from the MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter to stripboard or protoboard. If you know how to solder, this is fairly straightforward. If you are not sure, find a good tutorial and then come back and have a go. Recall, both … Continue reading MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter – Part 2 →

MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter

After my experiments with Mozzi, one thing I wanted to try was using a dedicated digital to analog converter (DAC), which is something the common Arduinos lack. After some searching I found the MCP4725 which links up to the Arduino using the I2C bus. From the datasheet: "The MCP4725 is a low-power, high accuracy, single … Continue reading MCP4725 Digital to Analog Converter →