Alright! Here we go. My last session of USITT 2015, Makers Audio. From the the session description:

Explore the makers movement and how its tools can be used in theatre to solve sound challenges. Arduino, Raspberry Pi, circuit bending and putting it all together. Participants are encouraged to bring their laptops to get, and play with, software available at the session."

You may not be able to be here, but I'll post links to all the stuff.

Our panel, left to right, is Curtis Craig, Ben Peoples (From Trinculo's Attic) and Andy Leviss (representing Figure 53, i.e., QLab.)

Sometimes sound experiments go well.(Laser Harp) Sometimes, not so much..

Structure of session:

Instrument Building/ Hacking

Controller Building/Hacking

Software

Idea to Product

Instrument Building and Hackging

Why build? Unique sounds, unique solutions, learn electronics -- and hey, Ben Franklin did it. Pic is of Ben Franklin's Glass Armonica

Electronic Building Platforms: microcontroller (Arduino); Single board computers (Raspberry Pi)

MIcrocontrollers: Have a CPU, tiny memory, I/O (digital and analog)

Arduino: Creative Commons license for hardware. You can build one yourself.

Your programming language is Java, but it's derivedin processing, so you're writing in C++.

These are stand-alone. You unplug from your computer and you can embed, and plug in, and more.

You can do hardware expansion through shield (like MIDI, for sound designers)

Lots of variations, with more or less memory and processor speeds and other things.

Why Arduino for Audio? (Check out the pic.)

Single Board Computers: SoC - System on a Chip, dedicated video out, USB and networking. They run a bunch of different things. Linux, and even Microsoft Windows for Pi 2.

Hardware expansion via HAT (Hardware Attaached on Top)

Both of these are platforms for building instruments. There's no path. There's whole bunch of different ways you go can go. (Badger Theremin)

Circuit Bending

Take a toy or musical instrument and just make something out of it. Experiment with it in a way that won't destroy it. "The Speak n' Spell from Hell"

Inspiration (Blame Them): David Smith, Joe Pino

Like Circuit Kits and MOdular Synths (like Korg LittleBits) A bunch of oscillators and manipulators, trigger inputs, mixer kits. Providers: Adafruit, Ototo.fm, LittleBits.

DIY Synths:

Pittsburgh Modular Systems; Open Wire Labs

Control Building/Hacking

Arduino natural for control, b/c of its inputs/outputs and ability to control MIDI.

Using platform based stuff you can use micro-controllers can create alternative controllers -- like paying a cello with a

Bending based is taking something existing and changing it. (Like drilling and adding switches to the "Easy" Button.

Software Option

Millions of options, but three -- Sonicbirth (VST & AU) Processing; Pure Data -- are all free.

There's also max/msp or max for live.

Curtis wants everyone to build something, and then have everyone bring it in to Salt Lake City next year.

www.soniclandscape.net is where you can find info on this, and even the slideshow they're using for this presentation.

Curtis done, and now Ben People's is talking! Ben is with Trinculo's Attic.

Describing how he uses MaxMSP to create projects that use video triggers and embedded audio in theatre projects. .

Andy started as computer expert in shops. There is a need for MIDI controllers to Qlab rigs.

Arduino library "is like C for dummies." IT does the calculations on its own, and it changes your things. It does this at expense of pure speed -- but, it's still good enough for our purposes.

Andy and Ben talking about the business of supporting custom projects when you build things that are out of your control and in other cities.

"Stuff gets beaten up a lot. It ends up being surprising how indelicate people are with things. You end up needing to make things more beefy."

Andy had to get lots of people time how they press buttons to make sure they didn't build in a "double-go."

Curtis opening the floor to hear what people are building.

Curtis does a haunted house at, an idea he stole from John Huntington. Wanted to learn some distance sensing, and built Arduino projects of MIDI controllers. Infrared detectors to feed distance-based MIDI to detect hands waving that raised and lowered sound.

Need to learn about smoothing -- algorithms to average movement over time to give you more modulation.

Question from audience: What sensors can people use that work well?

Push-Bottoms and rotary post on the simple level. Or a fader.
PIR - passive infrared receiver. White plastic dome that's a motion detector.
Maxbotics - a little black cylinder that does sonar distance sensing.

Infusionsystems.com - makes a sensor product for MaxMSP and also have an arduino shield. Things like "People Counter" which counts infrared masses in room, three- and four-way joysticks, floor sensors, etc.

I-CubeX Digitizer - vibrations sensors. (Part of Infusion Systems) Used on Magic Vs. Bird, so when actors dribbled ball, the ball triggered larger dribbling sounds.

If we've never done this before, where can we start: Two main retaielrs that sell the stuff and give tutorials: Adafruit and SparkFun.

Both have ton of support and examples.

Plus, SparkFun DangerShield has a couple of knobs and faders and sensors, so it's a great way to learn how to use things simply before moving on to more complicated things.