Difference between revisions of "Piano"

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(Questions)
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* What's the best way to sense light?
 
* What's the best way to sense light?
** light sensitive resistors, transistors?
+
 
* How big of a clef could it support?
+
** light sensitive resistors, transistors? Jcrews: the reader needs to have a spacing of sensors that is 1/2 the size of the notes, so that you can read notes from the spaces of the clefs as well as the lines. With 8mm squares, can we get <4mm sensors?
* How big would notes need to be?
+
 
 +
* How big of a clef could it support? Jcrews:Basic music ed starts with FACE and EGBDF- that's 9 sensors.
 +
 
 +
* How big would notes need to be?
 +
 
 +
Jcrews: I vote for the square pieces of rubberized magnet sheet, with thin black acrylic or black paper glued to the top. This quantizes the notes and avoids the problem of kids drawing notes that are too big or too small and allows younger kids to use it. Acrylic will make them bulkier and more tactile- good for manipulation. I'd say that 8mm sq is the lower end for kids to manipulate. The size of the overall reader is determined by how many notes there will be. If we have all 5 EGBDF lines the whole clef would be 4cm wide.
 +
 
 
* What microcontroller best suited?
 
* What microcontroller best suited?
 
** it needs to be able to generate tones and collect inputs from the light sensors
 
** it needs to be able to generate tones and collect inputs from the light sensors

Revision as of 13:15, 23 March 2011

Piano2.png

The Piano Pen

It's a musical microcontroller on wheels. A row of light sensors on the bottom tell the thing when it's rolling over notes, and the speaker burps out the corresponding notes.

It can read a simplified musical notation, and can also be used to read from things like black magnets temporarily applied to a baking sheet for quick composition. These compositions could be scanned or photocopied to share.

The speed at which the Pen is rolled over notes governs tempo.

Questions

  • What's the best way to sense light?
    • light sensitive resistors, transistors? Jcrews: the reader needs to have a spacing of sensors that is 1/2 the size of the notes, so that you can read notes from the spaces of the clefs as well as the lines. With 8mm squares, can we get <4mm sensors?
  • How big of a clef could it support? Jcrews:Basic music ed starts with FACE and EGBDF- that's 9 sensors.
  • How big would notes need to be?

Jcrews: I vote for the square pieces of rubberized magnet sheet, with thin black acrylic or black paper glued to the top. This quantizes the notes and avoids the problem of kids drawing notes that are too big or too small and allows younger kids to use it. Acrylic will make them bulkier and more tactile- good for manipulation. I'd say that 8mm sq is the lower end for kids to manipulate. The size of the overall reader is determined by how many notes there will be. If we have all 5 EGBDF lines the whole clef would be 4cm wide.

  • What microcontroller best suited?
    • it needs to be able to generate tones and collect inputs from the light sensors
  • Hall effect + magnets for sensing instead of photo?

Ideas

  • Dial-a-key
  • Transposition
  • Recording
  • Computer interface