[Microbit-Python] My visit to the BBC today

[David Whale]

Yes, makes sense. I seem to remember the AY-3-8190 on the Beeb had some
external filtering components to resolve that issue with raw PWM.

MIDI is just a serial message. All you have to do is use a baud rate of
31250 bps and send short binary messages. The interface circuitry is really
simple (just an opto isolator 6N129 I think).

James Devine tells me there is a serial port that comes out on the pins of
the micro:bit, and Geoff at Kitronik now has hundreds of edge connectors in
stock along with great little solderable breakout boards. Receive and send
are just as easy as each other. You can then plug the 5pin DIN into any
MIDI device and it will work (both for playback synth and also for note and
controller input into the micro:bit).


I did a MIDI receiver on a Parallax Propellor a few years ago, plugged my
friends keyboard into it, and we played the standard "Chip Gracey vocal
tract synth" on the prop through some loud speakers, it was awesome - think
"choir oooh-ahhs on steroids!!!"

An interesting use case would be to get the accelerometer reading from the
micro:bit and map this to sending serial MIDI messages for a pitch bend
controller message, you could then 'live' interact with any old MIDI device
using the micro:bit - There are also soft synths on PC's and if you get one
of those little MIDI/USB adaptors they work on PC and mac.

If MIDI works, you can get it working out of the box with SonicPi I think.
It's also not far off getting OSC working (open sound control) which is the
raw messaging format accepted by SonicPi and you then get access to every
parameter of every soft synth inside SonicPi.

David



___________________________________________________________
David Whale, B.Sc (Hons), MIET
*Software Engineer and IET Schools Liaison Officer, Essex*

email:  dwhale at theiet.org
twitter: @whaleygeek
blog:  blog.whaleygeek.co.uk

Co-author of the new book "Adventures in Minecraft" <http://amzn.to/ZGfxZG>
- lets get kids coding!


On 27 September 2015 at 11:57, Nicholas H.Tollervey <ntoll at ntoll.org> wrote:

> On 27/09/15 11:52, Damien George wrote:
> > Regarding MIDI: given the above constraints (ie no proper analog
> > output) how would you imagine MIDI working?
> >
>
> Yes, I'd be interested to know... if we just use the micro:bit as a
> signalling device for a midi-event played by something else, then we're
> onto something funky.
>
> See especially MIDI channel 10 (general percussion):
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_MIDI#Percussion
>
> :-)
>
> N.
>
>
>
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