Category: Making Music

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Adding a little Music: MiniDexed

I started a new project to make a MiniDexed synth. The little synth recreates, to a large degree, the famed Yamaha DX 7 Synth (minus the keyboard and “front panel”). The MiniDexed uses a Raspberry Pi as the base, with a couple of knobs and a simple text display.

photo of minidexed project on breadboard connected to Raspberry Pi 4.
My MiniDexed Synth so far – prototype stage

I’ve ordered a project box to put the MiniDexed into which will take a while to arrive, they’re current made when they’re ordered and then shipped, from Europe. I’m repurposing a PiSound case to make my project. The MiniDexed project has a “print-your-own” case available, but I don’t have a 3D printer so my choice was the PiSound case. The page for the project has a section showing their case design. That same page shows the wiring diagram I used to make the prototype.

I’ve tested the setup, and it does play music and emulates DX-7 voices nicely. I had to use a MIDI keyboard to control the synth and play some notes. In my picture above, you can see the simple 2 line by 16 character display, the rather well hidden two knobs – A continuous encoder to scroll through menus and select options, and a contrast potentiometer, and of course the Raspberry Pi 4.

I will be using connector headers to make the wiring harness so that the parts can be installed in sections so I can open the project case as needed. One 16 pin header for the display which connects to a 2×20 pin header to connect to the Raspberry Pi GPIO pins. That 2×20 pin header will also connect a five pin header to the continuous encoder, and a 2 pin connector for the contrast potentiometer.

Once completed, the MiniDexed will operate as eight sound engines, each capable of 16 simultaneous notes, much like a Yamaha TX 816 Rack module. The TX 816 put 8 DX-7 Sound Engines in a rack mountable cage. That’s 128 notes at a time via the 8 sound engines (they can be all the same voice, or 8 different, or a mix between, at 16 notes from each sound engine). All controlled by MIDI messages.

I’ll be sure to post updates as I complete them.

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More Music Tinkering 2022-01-22

I found all the parts to a DIY Music Synthesizer – The ArduTouch Music Synthesizer by Cornfield Electronics. It uses an Arduino UNO type microprocessor. I bought the kit in 2017. I got the decent Soldering Station so I was ready to put it together. I ran to the web page for the ArduTouch and got the assembly instructions. So – Here is the finished results:

ArduTouch Music Synthesizer, batter pack and FTDI cable.

I should emphasize that this is an Arduino UNO type setup, the board is different, but it does use the same Atmel ATmega328P main chip. It makes rather interesting sounds. The default synth program is called Thick. There are several other programs in the github repository.

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A Little Music Tinkering 2021-12-30

I keep busy. Sadly, while I do keep busy, I don’t keep busy with a lot of new stuff worth blogging about. But I do have something now.

A short while back I ordered an MT32-PI from LegacyPixel. It is basically a Raspberry Pi 3A+ that has a “hat” added from the MiSTer FPGA project. The MiSTer FPGA is a hardware “recreation” of ancient 70s and 80s era personal computers, game consoles, and even Arcade games. But that isn’t the topic of this post. The MT32-Pi is.

Long ago, in the 80s when Personal Computers were still in their infancy, Sierra Entertainment made a few popular lines of games. One of the key features was their sound tracks. And one of the key features of their sound tracks, and thus their games, was the ability to play via MIDI to the Roland MT32 music synth module.

The games could use a number of audio sources, the PC Speaker, the Adlib and Sound Blaster PC Sound Cards, Tandy / PC jr 3 Voice Sound, and the Roland MT32. It was this last, the MT32, that was the top of the line audio source for games. It was supported in many Sierra games, because it is what the music composers used when composing the sound tracks. And it really sounds excellent.

The MT32-PI can emulate the Roland MT32 using MUNT and work with all those games. It also has a SoundFont engine called FluidSynth. So it can be a Roland SoundCanvas SC-55, too, which many other games support. Any other kind of SoundFont can be used too.

The first thing I needed to do was get more Roland UM-ONE mk2 USB to MIDI cables/adapters. I patched it into my PC and fired up the DAW software and tested the sounds. Now a word of note here, the 3.25mm stereo jack on the Raspberry Pi is noisy (it might have something to do with the video signal in the same jack).

MT32-Pi all cabled up

This worked really well, despite the somewhat rocky sound of The Pi. I ordered a GY PCM5102 DAC board to get clean audio (based on recommendations of the developer of the MT32-Pi hat). I realized I’d need a USB Side connector too, so I ordered that and got it all soldered together. That USB Port isn’t really USB, but it uses the same USB 3.1 Type A connector.

The tiny wires I was using were too small for my auto-wire striper and manually stripping them broke some of the strands in the stranded wires. The solders are weak. I have a quarter size perma-proto perf board coming to finish this up properly.

USER PORT to GY PCM5102 DAC adapter “cable”

This little connector works, but it is delicate. I had to re-solder the wires on it a few times as critical leads (there are only six, they’re all critical) would “break loose.” Below is the MT32 tied to power and the connector. I don’t have it hooked to the PC and audio here, but you should get the idea. Oh and I got some nice labels on the MT32-Pi.

Powered MT32-PI with DAC Attached

The new labels look reasonable good. I made them with my DYNO Label Manager. I got the mt32-pi label image from the project files on the mt32-pi github.

When I have the perf board completed I can update this post with an image of that. It will have “header pins” to connect the board to the DAC and the User Port connector, then some solid core wire to make the connections between the them. Solid Core will be good since they won’t be bending all over like the loose ribbon cable. The solid core wire connections will be cleaner to solder with too.

Here is a diagram to help wire up the proto-board:

Proto-board Wiring

Photos of the finished proto-board project:

Completed Proto-Board USB to Audio DAC
The back of the proto board, just for good measure
mt32-pi sending Audio through proto board.

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Playground Sessions Global Piano Recital

Playground Sessions, the Piano Learning software company, recently provided a nearly month long “course” on the song “You Raise Me Up” that we students learned at the three different levels (Rookie, Intermediate, and Advanced) and submitted our sections via video to Playground Sessions to form a global piano recital. I participated at the Rookie Level.

To see the results visit YouTube at this LINK.

It really turned out amazing.

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2020-03-18 A Month Flows By

I’ve been busy working on Scott Joplin‘s “The Entertainer” full Rookie Song. But I did take a brief detour to do the Playground Sessions Facebook Social Media Challenge #QuincyChallenge to celebrate Quincy Jones‘ 87th Birthday. Just a snippet of “My Way.” Since these WordPress pages aren’t really suited to video media, I decided not to post it here.

I do want to put up a small montage of shots in response to a ‘Creative Sauce‘ YouTube video where he reviewed a BenQ LED lamp. I have an LED lamp on my DAW workstation by LE Power, so I took some shots and expanded the grouping to get the Yamaha P-515 digital piano too.

This is my music workstation setup. The LED Lamp allows me to illuminate the MX-49 keyboard. Multiple shots show Cakewalk by BandLab running, the Mixer and digital recorder are on the left side of the workstation. A TINY Intel NUC computer runs the setup. Finally, my White Yamaha P-515W has audio output to the Mixer, so I can record that too. It is not connected by MIDI, but I do have a Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) so I can record and playback MIDI to it, too.

I did add a Yamaha FC-3A pedal to the Yamaha P-515W to allow pitch bends as necessary, which is more useful for Guitar and Synth voices than piano, but worth having.

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2020-02-15 Playground Sessions 30 Day Challenge Done!

I have completed the 30 Day Challenge for the Facebook group Playground Sessions Community (closed group, you have to request membership). The full song for Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer.” The version we learned is a simplified arrangement at a slower tempo. It is designed for very early – even Day 1 – beginners.

I will probably buy the song from the Playground Sessions Song Store to get a fuller arrangement and a faster tempo. Even with the simple arrangement from the Challenge done, the full song will be a real challenge.

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2020-01-19 Playground Sessions 30 Day Challenge

In September 2016 I started the Playground Sessions computer based piano lessons. Over time they’ve added content, new lessons and courses, and other tools to improve our piano skills. Their Social Media presence (Facebook at: Playground Sessions) has improved too. Late in 2018 they began “Challenges” to make learning more interesting and fun. They offered simple prizes awarded randomly among the participants. I won the Game of Thrones Vinyl LP (and a little LP turntable) in one of the challenges.

The first challenge of 2020 is the 30 Day Challenge. The idea is to develop a habit of playing every day. I just completed Day 5. A new lesson is loaded to the application every day, so you can’t work ahead, but if you’re behind, you can try to catch up. I started late on the first day, so I’m all good. Below is a capture of the screen showing the final exercise of the Day 5 Lesson. I’m not sure if they will offer a prize for this challenge, but the reward really is getting a daily practice habit.

The song, because you may or may not recognize it from the screen shot, is “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin. At the end of the challenge we will be able to play a very simplified version of the song. For the very early, or raw, beginners, this will be a great introduction to the Playground Sessions system and help build learning skills. It will be good for those of us that have gotten some bad habits, too.

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2020 !! Where does the time go? Oh, and a little Reverie

Some time has past since my first post to this blog, mostly because I live a boring life and don’t generally have great massive events to talk about. So now it is 2020! Since I have long counted things beginning with zero, being a programmer at heart, I am considering this the start of the new decade – the Twenties are back! I don’t intend to argue about it – if you think the decade starts on January 1, 2021, that is your prerogative. I’ll just point out that when we are born and are 0 years old, heck, even 0 days old yet, that we have started our first decade of life. That the guy that invented the calendar didn’t include a year zero doesn’t impress me much. Just saying.

So I have a minor Major event to discuss. I have a musical project that made it onto the RadioSpiral Internet Radio Station. They are a non-profit Ambient Music station. My project was an electronic music version of Debussy’s Reverie which Gypsy Witch played on her Around the Campfire 2020 January 8 show. It was a big “Listener’s Music” episode and is totally amazing. I have a hard time choosing a favorite from the set. She puts replays up on her website for a few weeks after each show if people want to catch a replay. Probably by the time you’re reading this the show with my project in it will have expired. But have a listen to one of her shows anyway. It is fun stuff.

For reference, here is the MP3 of my file. I’m working on getting the “full quality” version uploaded to something like bandcamp. If there is any beauty in the song, I give full credit to Claude Debussy.

Debussy’s Reverie – seq by JBS on Yamaha MX49

Here is the blurb I sent with the submission:

(AKA SwitchTech) This is an updated version of Debussy’s Reverie I sequenced (entered the notes one at a time, using a mouse and a MIDI Sequencer) back in 1992. This version was updated to take advantage of the voices in my Yamaha MX49 keyboard and the Cakewalk by Bandlab DAW. I used the voices which on an MX are also from a Yamaha Motif synth: Stereo Harp, Octave Strings, DX Celesta, Mystic Trance, and Concert Piano. I haven’t yet composed any of my own music, so this is the best I have at the moment. You have my permission to use it on your Wednesday show – and if for some odd reason you want to add it to the RadioSpiral Library, I can fill out the appropriate documents. It isn’t all that original, other than this is my arrangement but very closely following the Public Domain work that Debussy created in 1890.

In 1992 I had recently purchased a Yamaha PSR-500 portable keyboard (61 Velocity Sensitive keys and MIDI IN/OUT ports). It did not use the “General MIDI” voice set, so when I uploaded the MIDI file I’d created to the Delphi Online service I had to manually remap the four tracks to the GM voicings, and couldn’t test it! I liked my version on the PSR-500 and hoped the GM version was nice too. Cycle forward a few years (27 or so!!), I updated the MIDI file to use the Motif/MX Voices. I then recorded the audio to six tracks using those voices listed above (I used Concert Piano on two tracks) from the MX49 that I have – and then bounced the audio to stereo for the MP3.

Yamaha PSR-500 probably sometime in 2002 or 2003, perhaps? Fancy footwork on display.

Perhaps my next project will be my own composition.

So now I have a BandCamp Artist page! The song is here: https://switchtech.bandcamp.com/track/debussys-reverie

My full page is here: https://switchtech.bandcamp.com/releases

So how was your day?