Raspberry Pi enthusiasts might be interested in a new article published to the official Raspberry Pi Magazine website featuring a music project created by Tod Kurt. The RP2040 music machine uses both USB MIDI and serial MIDI and is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico mini PC / micro-controller.
“Embedded systems and hardware hacking hold no fear for Tod Kurt, who has years of experience with both. Tod shares expert tips on Arduino and MicroPython, and recently unveiled this PicoStepSeq MIDI sequencer based on our favourite microcontroller board. Since Pico has PWM (pulse-width modulation) and movable UARTs, Tod could simply assign a command to any pin, as well as use variable brightness LEDs. Getting the timings right for the I2C displays was trickier: their 35 ms refresh rate is relatively sluggish compared to the rate of incoming MIDI messages.”
PicoStepSeq Raspberry Pi RP2040 music machine
“Prior to his adventures in Raspberry Pi Pico programming, Tod’s company, ThingM, had launched a “simple but popular” USB LED notification light known as blink(1). This provides a visual indication that you’ve received a message, email, retweet, and so on. The idea behind the PicoStepSeq is also visual: using GPIO pins, Tod planned to program Pico to light a series of LEDs at varying intensities when each note played. “The Pico and the RP2040 are wonderful parts. So much possibility in such a small, inexpensive package!””
“Tod found easily available ‘step switches’ – lever switches with LEDs – as an inspiration. “I wanted to make a MIDI step sequencer, looking like the 1980s synths and drum machines that had these switches,” he says. “Their integral LED makes it really clear of the state of the parameter that the switch is controlling, and they take up only a bit more space than a regular tactile switch. And their clicky-clicky sound is ‘chef’s-kiss’.””
Source : RPiF
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