Musical keyboards that light up the correct notes to play have long been touted as a quick and easy way to learn how to play. They’re also fun to look at. [Shootingmaker] has developed a similar concept, with a keyboard lookalike, covered in LEDs (Youtube video, embedded below).
The project consists of a PCB, in which the design of the mask imitates the white and black notes of a piano. This makes it look like a keyboard, but as far as we can tell, it doesn’t actually work as one. All the notes are fitted with APA102 addressable LEDs, under the control of a Teensy 3.2 board, operating in USB-MIDI mode. The Teensy receives MIDI data, and then directs the individual LEDs to flash in different colors based on which MIDI channel fired the note.
It’s a fun way to visualise MIDI data, and we think it would be even more fun combined with a basic synthesis engine to make some noise. We suspect it wouldn’t be too hard to integrate the project into an existing instrument, either. Software is available on Github for those interested in replicating the project. You can use MIDI to control neon lights, too.
It is slightly irritating, that the colors of the LEDs does not match the colors of the notes on the screen above.
It`d be great if it were like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUcNvaos3w0
Pianists don’t look down at the keys, they are looking ahead at their music. My wife uses the flowkey app which does the same thing with a picture on the screen so she can keep looking at the music.