The automatic xylophone has hand-wound solenoids
The automatic xylophone has hand-wound solenoids
Arduino Team – September 15, 2022
A xylophone is, in addition to being one of only two known English words that begin with the letter X, an instrument that most of us haven't touched since we were very small. But xylophones produce a very pleasant sound and their construction is about as simple as an instrument. This makes them perfect for DIY projects for those of us who aren't master craftsmen, and is probably why Rachad El Moutaouaffiq chose the instrument for this Auto Xylophone project.
As the name suggests, this is a self-playing xylophone. Not only does this allow him to create beautiful melodies that few of us are able to hammer out with our clumsy human hands, but it can even exceed the ability of an accomplished xylophonist. It can strike up to four bars simultaneously, allowing for richer, more complex music than a person could play with just two hands. It works with standard MIDI files and therefore can play a huge range of existing MIDI music or anything a musician creates in real time or by other means, such as the generation of AI that El Moutaouaffiq plans to experiment with. .
Of course an Arduino is key to the operation of the Auto Xylophone. Instead of traditional hammers or mallets, each bar is struck by its own solenoid which drives a small nail. The solenoids sit on electromagnets, and El Moutaouaffiq wound all of their coils by hand. Hairless MIDI transfers MIDI signals serially to an Arduino Mega 2560 board which activates the solenoids via TIP-120 NPN transistors. These transistors are needed because the current needed to drive the solenoid electromagnets is too high for the Arduino I/O pins. The power supply is from a tabletop power supply and El Moutaouaffiq constructed the frame of the xylophone from MDF.
Right now the Auto Xylophone only plays preset MIDI files, but we're excited to see what kind of AI music generation El Moutaouaffiq offers.
Arduino Team – September 15, 2022
A xylophone is, in addition to being one of only two known English words that begin with the letter X, an instrument that most of us haven't touched since we were very small. But xylophones produce a very pleasant sound and their construction is about as simple as an instrument. This makes them perfect for DIY projects for those of us who aren't master craftsmen, and is probably why Rachad El Moutaouaffiq chose the instrument for this Auto Xylophone project.
As the name suggests, this is a self-playing xylophone. Not only does this allow him to create beautiful melodies that few of us are able to hammer out with our clumsy human hands, but it can even exceed the ability of an accomplished xylophonist. It can strike up to four bars simultaneously, allowing for richer, more complex music than a person could play with just two hands. It works with standard MIDI files and therefore can play a huge range of existing MIDI music or anything a musician creates in real time or by other means, such as the generation of AI that El Moutaouaffiq plans to experiment with. .
Of course an Arduino is key to the operation of the Auto Xylophone. Instead of traditional hammers or mallets, each bar is struck by its own solenoid which drives a small nail. The solenoids sit on electromagnets, and El Moutaouaffiq wound all of their coils by hand. Hairless MIDI transfers MIDI signals serially to an Arduino Mega 2560 board which activates the solenoids via TIP-120 NPN transistors. These transistors are needed because the current needed to drive the solenoid electromagnets is too high for the Arduino I/O pins. The power supply is from a tabletop power supply and El Moutaouaffiq constructed the frame of the xylophone from MDF.
Right now the Auto Xylophone only plays preset MIDI files, but we're excited to see what kind of AI music generation El Moutaouaffiq offers.
What's Your Reaction?
