MIDI

A portable device able to transform any drawing into music in real-time.

Project Info

DATE:

1st semester, 2018

PROFESSORS:

Davide Spallazo, Francesco Bruschi

TEAM MEMBERS:

Elena Albergati, Andrea Torrone, Pablo Fraustro

COURSE:

Hardware and Software Technologies for Design

KEYWORDS:

Microbit, Music, Art, Product

Composed by two polymeric bodies that house a microprocessor and its battery, a particularly designed crayon fits, creating a one-piece drawing tool.

Transformation into music lies on the logic processing of the accelerometer values (both horizontal and vertical angle) from the microcontroller, processed into a specific MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) note frequency transformation algorithm and sent via Bluetooth.

Musical set requires GarageBand app installation and an iPhone device to understand this note frequencies and reproduce them into real musical instrument simulation. Just pair the device, open GarageBand and select MIDI input device through Bluetooth. It is recommended though, to use external speakers connected to the iPhone to have a better musical experience.

The device is mainly experimental and helps bring creativity into new areas, which combine drawing and musical harmony, different crayon colors can be fitted into, through the GarageBand app user can decide the type of instrument to represent their musical experience, as well as different effects to explore their creativity.

We encourage users to experiment and play with this device, musical knowledge is not required, as well as drawing skills. Who knows? Gestures and music can be combined in a huge variety of creative experiments, it’s up to the user to enjoy and share.