Arduino-MIDI-Keyboard

Read distance from a ultrasonic sensor, send MIDI through MIDI-USB and play MIDI on computer.

Making this keyboard is way much harder than I expected, so I upload my project and code. Hopefully it can help more people.

You need:

Hardware:

• Arduino UNO or RedBoard
• MIDI-USB Cable
• Analog sensor(I use Ultrasonic sensor here)
• Resistor and Capacitor(Optional)
• Sparkfun MIDI shield

Software:

• MIDI library by Forty Seven Effect https://github.com/FortySevenEffects/arduino_midi_library (If you don't know how to use Arduino Lib, use google)
• FL Studio (To play MIDI on the computer)
• Hairless MIDI https://projectgus.github.io/hairless-midiserial/
• loopMIDI https://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html

Set up:

After several weeks of woe and pain, here's the only way for a Arduino UNO to send MIDI to the computer:

1. Load the program in to the Arduino and make sure it's sending MIDI out.

2. In loopMIDI, create a new port.

3. Open hairless-midi, set both MIDI IN and MIDI OUT to loopMIDI, check the Serial<->MIDI Bridge box and the light should tell you if there's signal going through.

4. Then In FL Studio, Go to Options -> MIDI setting and set your MIDI loop port. I forgot how did I set up. Try to find tutorials and common sense. It shouldn't be hard. When you hear sounds, you made it!

5. To change instruments, use channelrack in FL Studio.

WARNING: Arduino can't load any program with the Serial<->MIDI Bridge box checked in hairless-midi! Uncheck it before load programs!

How to make your own version

If you try to use a different sensor, just change the read_keyboard_value() in the program, and change pins accordingly. Good luck and have fun.