Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum... right now I am involved in doing a project (which may be extended to become my Final Year university Project (FYP) ).
What I have in mind is, I want to create a 'dummy' keyboard. 'Dummy' because it is just an electronic input device, similar to a normal computer QWERTY typing keyboard in the sense that it has no processing capability.
So how do I propose to get the sounds? Here is the part that I don't know how do go about it... I intend to get the sounds from my PC's (desktop or laptop) sound card wavetable or software wavetable.
In other words, just say I press a key on my 'dummy' keyboard, then a sound will be played from a software on the PC which I will write (example: If I press the key 'A' on my keyboard, then the PC will play an instrument's (say, piano) note 'A' on the keyboard, if I press 'C' it will sound 'C' from the wavetable etc. - What instrument to be used will be selected on the PC using the software (probably thru a menu)
Well, hope that could give everyone a *clear* enough idea of what I have in mind... so my current situation is, I can make the keyboard, keys and physical equipment easily enough. That brings me to the difficulties:
1) How do I interface with my computer/soundcard to get it to do as above?
2) What interface should I be using, should I connect my keyboard through the USB port, or my sound card's game/midi port, or thru the serial or parallel ports?
3) (optional) Will velocity sensitivity be a problem? I mean if I press a key quickly in succession (i.e. 'AA', 'CC') , assume that my physical keyboard is perfectly responsive, will or will not be any lag for the successive sounds to be generated by the computer?
4) (optional) How do I make the generated sound respond correspondingly to how hard I press the key?
Hope someone can give their comments on the above. If you have any links which may help or even better have a site of someone who has done something like this before, or any relevant site on midi/interfacing/usb/etc. it would be a big help.
Thank you all very much!
I'm new to this forum... right now I am involved in doing a project (which may be extended to become my Final Year university Project (FYP) ).
What I have in mind is, I want to create a 'dummy' keyboard. 'Dummy' because it is just an electronic input device, similar to a normal computer QWERTY typing keyboard in the sense that it has no processing capability.
So how do I propose to get the sounds? Here is the part that I don't know how do go about it... I intend to get the sounds from my PC's (desktop or laptop) sound card wavetable or software wavetable.
In other words, just say I press a key on my 'dummy' keyboard, then a sound will be played from a software on the PC which I will write (example: If I press the key 'A' on my keyboard, then the PC will play an instrument's (say, piano) note 'A' on the keyboard, if I press 'C' it will sound 'C' from the wavetable etc. - What instrument to be used will be selected on the PC using the software (probably thru a menu)
Well, hope that could give everyone a *clear* enough idea of what I have in mind... so my current situation is, I can make the keyboard, keys and physical equipment easily enough. That brings me to the difficulties:
1) How do I interface with my computer/soundcard to get it to do as above?
2) What interface should I be using, should I connect my keyboard through the USB port, or my sound card's game/midi port, or thru the serial or parallel ports?
3) (optional) Will velocity sensitivity be a problem? I mean if I press a key quickly in succession (i.e. 'AA', 'CC') , assume that my physical keyboard is perfectly responsive, will or will not be any lag for the successive sounds to be generated by the computer?
4) (optional) How do I make the generated sound respond correspondingly to how hard I press the key?
Hope someone can give their comments on the above. If you have any links which may help or even better have a site of someone who has done something like this before, or any relevant site on midi/interfacing/usb/etc. it would be a big help.
Thank you all very much!
