hpr0991 :: Making a Music Sampler with Midi and Pygame

Summary: Using Python Pygame and a Midi controller to make a sampler

Source: [http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=0991](http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=0991)

Pygame Midi documentation:

[http://www.pygame.org/docs/ref/midi.html](http://www.pygame.org/docs/ref/midi.html)

Pygame Mailing List:

[http://www.pygame.org/wiki/info](http://www.pygame.org/wiki/info)

Midi.py sample from pygame example folder:

[https://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame/src/25e3f2cee879/examples/midi.py](https://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame/src/25e3f2cee879/examples/midi.py)

Sampler/Sound Looper made from python, pygame and midi:

[http://www.pygame.org/project-BadPenni+-+MIDI+Triggered+Sound+Looper-1734-.html](http://www.pygame.org/project-BadPenni+-+MIDI+Triggered+Sound+Looper-1734-.html)

Sample values that populate midi_events variable:

Middle C note key press (notice the data1 is 60 and data2 is 127)

<Event(34-Unknown {'status': 144, 'vice_id': 2, 'timestamp': 6701, 'data1': 60, 'data3': 0, 'data2': 127})>

Middle C note key release (notice the data1 is 60 and data2 is 0)

<Event(34-Unknown {'status': 128, 'vice_id': 2, 'timestamp': 6764, 'data1': 60, 'data3': 0, 'data2': 0})>

Middle C# note key press (notice the data1 is now 61)

<Event(34-Unknown {'status': 144, 'vice_id': 2, 'timestamp': 206684, 'data1': 61, 'data3': 0, 'data2': 127})>

Python code snippet that pulls the note number from the midi_events list and appends an "off" string if it is a key release.

if str(midi_events[0][0][2]) != "0":

midinote = str(midi_events[0][0][1])

else:

midinote = str(midi_events[0][0][1]) + "off"

Controlling sounds with if statements and our midinote variable:

distbassrollloop = pygame.mixer.Sound("7FullCircleDistBassRollLoop.wav")

distsnarerollloop = pygame.mixer.Sound("7FullCircleDistSnareRollLoop.wav")

distbass = pygame.mixer.Sound("7FullCircleDistBassPad.wav")

distsnare = pygame.mixer.Sound("7FullCircleDistSnare.wav")

if midinote == "48":

distbass.play()

if midinote == "49":

distbassrollloop.play(1000)

if midinote == "49off":

distbassrollloop.stop()

if midinote == "50":

distsnare.play()

if midinote == "51":

distsnarerollloop.play(1000)

if midinote == "51off":

distsnarerollloop.stop()

Contact info:

bgryderclock on Google+:

[https://plus.google.com/u/0/114032638902983586355](https://plus.google.com/u/0/114032638902983586355)

bgryderclock on Twitter:

[https://twitter.com/bgryderclock](https://twitter.com/bgryderclock)

bgryderclock on Identica:

[http://identi.ca/bgryderclock](http://identi.ca/bgryderclock)

Links

---

• [http://www.pygame.org/docs/ref/midi.html](http://www.pygame.org/docs/ref/midi.html)

• [http://www.pygame.org/wiki/info](http://www.pygame.org/wiki/info)

• [https://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame/src/25e3f2cee879/examples/midi.py](https://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame/src/25e3f2cee879/examples/midi.py)

• [http://www.pygame.org/project-BadPenni+-+MIDI+Triggered+Sound+Looper-1734-.html](http://www.pygame.org/project-BadPenni+-+MIDI+Triggered+Sound+Looper-1734-.html)

• [https://plus.google.com/u/0/114032638902983586355](https://plus.google.com/u/0/114032638902983586355)

• [https://twitter.com/bgryderclock](https://twitter.com/bgryderclock)

• [http://identi.ca/bgryderclock](http://identi.ca/bgryderclock)