Arduino: how to build an electronic MIDI xylophone

How to build an electronic xylophone/midi instrument with an Arduino.

Serial to MIDI converter: http://spikenzielabs.com/SpikenzieLabs/Serial_MIDI.html
arduino code: http://debranged.blogspot.com/2011/05/jenna-deboisblanc-2011-code-adapted.html
garageband xylophone software instrument: http://www.d.umn.edu/~bold0070/projects/instruments/
build a garageband software instrument: http://www.thegaragedoor.com/tutorials/building.html

References:
drum kit kit: http://spikenzielabs.com/SpikenzieLabs/DrumKitKit.html
spooky midi instrument: http://todbot.com/blog/2006/10/29/spooky-arduino-projects-4-and-musical-arduino/
4051: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/4051

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• electronic
• xylophone
• midi
• arduino
• marimba
• instrument
• build
• how
• to
• garageband

[eternalflame182]

Heya jdeboi I have been watching this video over an over and kinda get what i need to buy to make one of these myself, done a bit of research just wonder why you have to prototype boards, I understand one has the 8- pin multiplexer on but what does the other one do is there any other thing like the multiplexer or is it just to divide up the wiring up to make it neater. Soz for being a newbie at this

[jdeboi]

@eternalflame182 Yep- the other proto board is just to make things clean and organized. I can't exactly remember what is soldered on the second one, but I can check.

Don't worry about being a newbie. We're all newbies at some point :)

[eternalflame182]

@jdeboi Thank you very much for the quick reply

[jdeboi]

@eternalflame182 Those green things are screw terminals- they clamp down on the end of a wire and make an easy, semi-permanent way to connect components together. The long silver pin things that are pushed into the Arduino are called header pins.

[eternalflame182]

@jdeboi and at 1.54 what are the silver pin thing with the green tops called what you have the wires going in to called?

[jdeboi]

@jdeboi Although I should note that the voltage rating of the piezos is important. I think mine were 30V, but they never produced more than 5V when hit through the acrylic. If they had-- and this is something you should test in your setup-- I would use a 5.1V zener diode in parallel to the resistor. Check out the circuit diagram in the Spooky Arduino Projects link.

[deric916]

This is a fantastic video. You covered how all of the electronics fit together at a high level, perfect for teaching us newbies.

[jdeboi]

@mrtonnet Thanks! I majored in physics and took an electronics class, but I think anyone can replicate this project after skimming through Arduino resources online. I'll probably put together a more detailed set of instructions in the future. If you have an electrical engineering and computer science background, I think you could figure this project out in less than a week- maybe even an afternoon. Feel free to give me a shout if you have any questions!

[jdeboi]

@wellwelltony hmm. can you take a picture of your circuit and email it to me? I can send you my email if you send me a youtube message. Are all of the pins on the multiplexer grounded with resistors of equal value? Does it sound like multiple notes play at once, or is it a single note every time?

[wellwelltony]

@jdeboi i just copied the code...n yes with the multiplexer, n i use digital pin 2,3,4