Music Instrument Shield

Other Hardware Audio
1

Hi all, i'm new in here and i have some problems with my Music Instrument Shield. Actually, questions not problems. I work at a project and i have to give some explanation about how this works. I mention that i use this shield with an arduino uno board. Now, questions:

  1. where does the sound comes from? who generates it?
  2. how is the volume set?
  3. how "instruments" are changed?
  4. could someone give me a list with the instruments music instrument shield can reproduce? I found something but it is not correct. 1 for example is a piano, but the list doesn't sais so.

Thank you,
Razvan

MusicInstrumentShieldNotes.JPG

2

hi

could you please explain better what you are trying to achieve?

i am no expert, but that list you have there seems to me like MIDI Drum sounds list.
If that is so, if you are trying to create a MIDI "instrument", then the sound is no produced by the Arduino (or the shield) itself. The Arduino will send to the computer (or syntethiser,...) a message carrying a couple of different values:

  • kind of command it is, like Note On or Note Off;
  • note, like for instance a C3 or a F7;
  • Velocity, like is the note a piano or forte

this message will then be read by the computer (or syntethiser) and translated into a sound.
In the case of that list you have there, it would be translated into drums sounds.
But is could also be translated into Piano, saxophone, or virtually any other instrument...

Here is a page that might answer some of your questions, and maybe help you understand how the midi messages work a little bit better!

from what i understant from your message, you are using the Music Instrument Shield.
What it does is that it has an integrated VS1053 which is capable of doing this "translating" thing i told before and produce some sounds.

Anyway, maybe learning a little bit about how MIDI works will helps you get a better understanding of how to work with this Shield.

Hmmm, it's quiete late and i am tired, but i hope this message is of any use to you!
Good luck with your project!
=)

3

ah, one more thing, i noticed now that on the Datasheet (http://www.vlsi.fi/fileadmin/datasheets/vlsi/vs1053.pdf) there is on page 32 a list of the instruments that you can use with the shield!
:wink:

4
  1. where does the sound comes from? who generates it?

It is generated inside the chip by applying an algorithm.

  1. how is the volume set?

You tell it as part of the MIDI messages you send. This is in two parts, an overall volume parameter and a velocity in each note on message.

  1. how "instruments" are changed?

You send it a MIDI change message

could someone give me a list with the instruments music instrument shield can reproduce?