This is an instrument: elecrtonic keyboard instrument
I recommend.
Perfect for anyone who would like to press some keys so that some sound is heard.
Unfortunately, it has one major drawback:
It is not mine.
I don't have such a thing, but maybe I would like to. And what now?
And at that moment I had a brilliant idea.
So what if I don't have one, when I just make one and then I will have it.
Simple, isn't it?
[So let's get to work!]
Okay, I'll start with the keys.
This is the most important element. Everything else will depend on it.
After all, keys are a rather essential part of any keyboard instrument for some reason.
Okay, but how to make them?
For a long time I wondered how to make the keys so that they are made well.
Until finally I found inspiration while watching videos on Youtube.
Here, in this recording, we see a man on the Internet cutting out keys as wooden cuboids,
then drilling through them, sticking them onto a perpendicular rod,
and finally attaching springs which make the keys return to where they were after pressing and releasing.
It is BRILLIANT!
This is exactly what I needed.
Here it's visible that rather advanced tools were used.
I have much more ordinary tools, but I will not allow this to stop me.
So I grab the saw, grab some plywood, and go to work, right?
Well, not so fast. What about the dimensions?
What dimensions should the keys have?
Unlike it might seem, it is not a simple matter.
The key should be wide enough for an entire finger to fit on it.
And at the same time narrow enough to be able to reach several keys at once.
Additionally, we would like all the white keys to have the same width,
all the black keys to have the same width,
and the white key fragments between the black keys to have the same width, which is also identical to the width of all the black keys.
These requirements cannot be fulfilled
The perfect keyboard does not exist.
Fortunately, if we are able to accept inaccuracies of around 1mm, we are able to get a keyboard that is not perfect, but good enough.
I can't cut it exactly enough anyway, so whatever.
So now I can finally start cutting.
One by one I cut out the keys out until I finally have all of them.
For the black ones, I have to cut out two pieces and glue them together.
When everything is cut out, it's time to drill the holes.
Very important that they are perfectly perpendicular, otherwise everything will be warped and useless.
Drilled, inserted and springs attached.
But there's still something missing here.
So what if I can press a movable key when pressing it does not change anything about this world?
I need the key to turn something on when pressed and off when released.
So what now?
And here comes my next brilliant idea.
I take some springs and install them in two straight rows under the keys.
I take copper rectangles and screw them to the bottom of each key.
So that one is exactly above the other.
And now this plate is waiting impatiently just a few millimeters above the spring,
and if only I press the key they will touch each other and close the electric circuit.
And this actually works.
But how did I make all the keys perfectly horizontal?
That's another of my great ideas.
There is a small screw in each key, which I can grab and turn left or right, thus adjusting its position.
Simple.
When the keys are working properly, I need some kind of electronic brain that will read their states and turn into beautiful sounds.
For that role, this thing will be perfect,
equipped with a powerful STM32 processor, a lot of inputs and outputs, which for some reason are arranged in a completely random order,
and, most importantly, I got it for free.
And indeed, it fulfills my expectations.
It produces signals correctly.
I can try playing something.
Great! At this stage, I already have a completely working instrument.
All that's left is to pack it in some nice box.
Therefore, back to work.
The floor, the walls, speakers, some electronics,
everything is coming together.
This is a washing machine.
And this - the user interface from the washing machine.
Display, buttons and so on.
Now, I take it over and use it as an important element of my instrument.
Instead of laundry, there will be music.
And done. It looks like this ...
Now it's time to show what it can do.
I turn it on and it's on.
I press and it plays. I release - it doesn't.
Pedal; I press and release - still playing.
I can play up to 12 notes at once. I don't even have so many fingers.
If I do this it gets higher.
And this way - lower.
Louder, quieter,
brighter, darker,
contrast,
I can adjust whatever I want.
I can choose the shape of the signal.
I can also adjust the rising and falling of the amplitude.
When I really like a setting, I can save it under any name I choose.
Nice name.
Saved.
And now I can return to it at any time.
Okay, so play something nice.
It looks like I'm still not good enough at this finger dance.
A professional who knows how to handle a keyboard is needed here.
And that's it!
But that's not all, because nowadays even computers can play.
And right now I'm connecting a computer here that will tell which sounds to play.
Of course, it's not the same and will never replace a human,
but it can play some interesting things which I can't, because there are too many notes.
Like here:
That's all I had to say.
If you are looking for a more advanced description
than this not very serious video
look here: http://bicyclesonthemoon.info/klavirko
THE END