{"id":1156,"date":"2011-11-11T00:08:54","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T06:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sector67.org\/blog\/?p=1156"},"modified":"2011-11-11T00:11:51","modified_gmt":"2011-11-11T06:11:51","slug":"music-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sector67.org\/blog\/2011\/music-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Music in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

She climbs into the fuselage and takes her seat in front of the brightly lit control panel. A tune starts to play as she slides the first lever into position.\u00a0 She presses a button and a rhythm glides in behind the tune.\u00a0 Is this the start of a new science fiction film?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s what happens when makers, a supportive company and a non-profit work together.\u00a0 The result is \u201cRock-it!\u201d, an Arduino powered interactive music creation exhibit.\u00a0\u00a0 The project started when Dennis Adams heard the Madison Children\u2019s Museum was moving to a new location.\u00a0 Wondering how he might get involved, Dennis and fellow makers Mark Siegenthaler and Matt Logan approached their employer, Sony Creative Software, about funding a music creation exhibit.\u00a0 With Sony\u2019s support, the makers pitched the idea to the Children\u2019s Museum.\u00a0 The proposal was accepted in early 2010 and the work began.\u00a0 The artists at the Children\u2019s Museum decided they would build the enclosure, while the makers would create the consoles and supporting electronics.\u00a0 The museum decided to build a retro rocket ship built from the front of an old, repurposed airplane.\u00a0 This gave the makers a framework for designing and building their consoles.<\/p>\n

\"Melody<\/a>

Melody Levers for "Rock-it!"<\/p><\/div>\n

The key goal of the project was to make the exhibit fun and interactive.\u00a0 The makers wanted to be sure it made good music regardless of the levers and buttons used.\u00a0 They also wanted to make sure it was interesting regardless of how many kids were using it, so unused panels automatically change settings over the course of the song.\u00a0 The melody levers proved to be a design challenge.\u00a0 Their positioning and calibration was critical. The electronics also proved challenging with noise problems creating further complications.\u00a0 The end design uses an Arduino Mega to communicate with three control panels for button and position inputs and LED outputs, and it generates MIDI messages to the music synthesizer.\u00a0 It also holds the three songs used in the exhibit.\u00a0 A SM Pro V-Machine is the synthesizer which turns the MIDI into rich, layered stereo audio.\u00a0 It is a full x86 computer that runs the same VST synthesizers and filters you\u2019d use on a PC.\u00a0 This configuration allowed Mark to compose the music on his full synth keyboard while Matt shoehorned the music into the Arduino along with the rest of the programming.\u00a0 On the surface, children see control panels with LED lit levers to control the melody, buttons controlling rhythm and an effects pad overhead for additional options.<\/p>\n

The project took over a year of on and off effort, with the exhibit finally being installed this past September in the Possible-opolis section of the museum.\u00a0 The museum says \u201cRock-it!\u201d is a hit.\u00a0 If you want to see it in action but can\u2019t visit in person, check out the video:<\/p>\n