MIDI Breath Controller

I have always been interested in creating music in new and inventive ways. This project allowed me to utilize my engineering skillset to create music.

The breath controller, which I like to call the "electromelodica" (electronic version of a melodica), uses a 5psi analog fuel pressure transducer and an arduino nano to convert my breath into a MIDI control signal, which can be used to modulate different aspects of a synthesizer, such as the cutoff frequency on the low-pass filter of my Yamaha Reface CS.

In this video, I am demonstrating the ability to "shape" the sound in a way that traditional keyboard instruments can't, whilst playing multiple notes (polyphony), which traditional wind or brass instruments cannot do on their own. In this way, the result is a blend of both types of instruments, with the timbre of an analog subtractive synthesizer.

Some Images