Concept

It’s a drum machine fabricated as a table runner. It’s an exploration in soft circuit and new instrument.

I wanna create a new drum machine that helps musicians (users) break through their habit to create music. So hopefully it can give more opportunities for creating fresh music. I have made a MIDI glove last year. It is more for easy playing. But after that project, I realized instrument is not for easy playing, It’s more for fun and providing more opportunities to break existing habits.

For the technology part, there are 4 potentiometers and 1 press sensor cooperating through Lilypad Arduino. Each potentiometer connects the main circuit by magnet. Arduino can send signals to GarageBand for creating sounds. This drum machine can play sounds in sequence and loop. By rotating potentiometers, it can change different sounds in each position for creating new sequence patterns. By pressing press sensor, it can switch the 4 sounds to another 4 sounds. We even can pull potentiometers out from the main circuit and put them back to different positions for making new sequences. So it can help us create more different sequences for fresh music.

In Class Feedback

I was suggested to use one potentiometer to set sounds for each position. For example, I can set a value on the first position by attaching and rotating potentiometer. Then set another values for the second and following positions. That is a interesting way for triggering sounds. But I think if I can use multi potentiometers to change sounds on each position, that will be faster. Besides, I am also limited by time. So I keep my original idea.

Here is the documentation for my design process. The video below is testing the function part on breadboard. The drum machine can trigger sounds like this finally.

The video below is for testing the connection on soft circuit.

The video below is for testing the potentiometer on soft circuit.

Then I changed the way for connecting modules. I tried 3 ways for connecting potentiometers with the main circuit. Finally I find the most suitable one in my 3rd prototype.

Now I have done the main circuit. I’ll make the potentiometer modules in the following days.