The McLaren Synth Kit (at https://github.com/mclarenlabs/libs-mclaren-alpha) is an Objective-C toolkit for building projects that simplify working with MIDI and sound synthesis on Linux. We open-sourced it last year and have been refining it with new features and capabilities.
Last week I read about a new release of a fork of the Plan9 Operating System from the 9Front crew. The release is called "Human Biologics" and the new feature list was intriguing. There was now default support for git, and ssh, and some improvements to audio were included.
Have you ever wanted to use MIDI commands to control electrical lights or appliances? This article will tell you how using a Raspberry Pi, the GPIO pins controlled by some open-source software from McLaren Labs on GitHub, and a nifty device called the IOT Relay. Using the Relay is an affordable and SAFE way to control 120 VAC sockets and it makes this project a breeze.
The "McLaren Synth Kit" is an Objective-C framework for using MIDI and Audio on Linux computers with the GNUstep programming environment. It is distributed as a project including libraries, headers and example programs at https://github.com/mclarenlabs/libs-mclaren-alpha. You can use it to experiment with sound synthesis for your own personal projects. The project is designed to provide ready-to-compile examples after you clone the repo.
Remote musical MIDI collaboration has been an interesting academic research area for years, but has not been explored by many casual musicians. One reason is that the complexity of software that brings MIDI and Networking together makes it a little bit of a daunting endeavor. We think it's time to open exploration to more people and make remote MIDI collaboration as easy as joining a Hangout.
The Yamaha MD-BT01 is a nifty little MIDI 5-pin DIN to Bluetooth adapter. It plugs into the MIDI In/Out ports of MIDI controllers to connect wirelessly to a computer with Bluetooth. A typical use for this adapter is to connect legacy MIDI keyboards to a computer without using a 5-pin MIDI to USB adapter on the computer. Since most computers have Bluetooth built in these days, this makes for a tidy work-area since it eliminates at least one of the cables in your MIDI studio.
The MD-BT01 has a very smart appearance - it consists of just two large plugs connected by a single wire. It runs off of the current already provided by the 5-pin MIDI signal. Just plug it in, and it advertises itself as a Bluetooth MIDI connection point. Since it uses the Bluetooth MIDI standard, it can connect to many different devices. We tested it with Raspberry Pi and it works fine with Raspbian Stretch. If you have followed the steps in our previous article (https://mclarenlabs.com/blog/2019/01/15/korg-microkey-air-37-bluetooth-midi-keyboard-with-raspberry-pi/) then your Pi is ready to go.
Do you want to have even more fun with your musical Raspberry Pi? Use an external Bluetooth MIDI keyboard with it! For this project, you need to download and compile a new version of the Bluetooth drivers for Linux. If you don't already have compilation tools installed, you'll need those too.
We will tell you how to compile and install the necessary Bluetooth driver, and then describe how to pair a Bluetooth MIDI Keyboard.
We've been inspired to be creators ever since we got our first Raspberry Pi. It makes possible so much invention and experimentation for not a lot of money. One of the things we've wanted is an easy-to-use, dead simple tone generator for using the Raspberry Pi as a MIDI instrument.
Our just-released Organ synthesizer makes it easy for anyone to get started with using a Raspberry Pi as a musical instrument. Plug a MIDI keyboard into the USB port and play. Or grab a MIDI file and experiment with different sounds. It's fun, and it's easy. And best of all, it was designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi!
The animated screen capture below illustrates the rtpmidi program in action. The rtpmidi program allows two computers to share musical MIDI events in real time over a network connection. The RTP-MIDI protocol is a standard implemented on Mac, Windows and Linux computers. You can use McLaren Labs' implementation of the RTP-MIDI protocol to create musical networks of computers.
What we see is the following.
The RaspberryPi 3B is an amazingly powerful computer for the price. It provides quad-core computing power for just $35. This makes it more than capable for music experimentation and learning, and experimenting with Software Synthesizers is a fun way to learn about sound.
Did you know you can use rptmidi directly from the command line in a terminal? When used this way, the GUI (graphical user interface) is not used, and Bonjour is skipped as well. Instead, each invocation of the rtpmidi program creates a new Session that can be a Session Listener or Session Initiator. Working at this level you can connect if you know the hostname or IP-Address of each computer, as well as the port the RTP-MIDI session is listening on.
USB MIDI controllers and keyboards have come way down in price the last few years. We really like the Akai MPK Mini mkII, and we've really enjoyed using the Numark Orbit because it has an accelerometer in it for sensing tilt and motion, and it is easy to send MIDI messages for changing its colors.