Rock Out to Your Favorite Music with This Automated Band

Playing an instrument

YouTuber Ivan Miranda had always wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument, but alas, he was unable to do so. Playing an instrument can be quite difficult, as knowing exactly where, when, and how to position your fingers at any given time can be tricky. For some people, figuring out how to read sheet music can present a real challenge. Because of this, Miranda wanted a way to cleanly automate some instruments so he could still enjoy live music without all of the required practice.

Self-playing guitar

To begin his journey in creating an automated band, Miranda started by measuring his guitar from the top of the neck to the bridge and then he cut out several pieces of 3030 aluminum tubing for the frame. This "guitar" doesn't have multiple strings to prevent everything from getting too complicated. So for the time being, he simply added a single string mount at one end and a tuning peg at the other end.

Then, he added a sensor just below the string that measures the vibrations. Therefore, an output from this sensor will feed into an amplifier that transforms the signal into a realistic guitar sound. To add some automation, Miranda created a mount that holds a solenoid, along with a pivoting arm that contains a guitar pick. When the solenoid moves back and forth, the guitar pick also moves across the string and plucks it, thus generating a sound.

To see more details about how he created this device, you can view the video here.

Robotic snare drum

Next on Miranda's list was adding some percussive instruments, namely a snare drum for some sharp staccato flair. The design for the mechanism started out as a simple lever that had a solenoid at one end and the drumstick pivoting about the fulcrum. However, its wooden construction and the fact that the drumstick had to be modified to fit was unacceptable.

To get around these issues, Miranda returned to his CNC milling machine and cut out several parts to both mount the mechanism to the drum and to hold the drumstick. This second design was a fairly large improvement, but because solenoids move in only one axis, any rotation could be detrimental.

This issue was solved by moving the pivot point all the way to the bottom of the solenoid. You can view this video for more information.

Automatic hi-hat machine

The last automated instrument for now is the automatic hi-hat machine that clashes together a set of two cymbals to produce a very strong sound. Miranda wanted this device to stay open or closed without being actively powered due to the tendency for solenoids to overheat when constant power is applied. By reversing the polarity on a pair of latching solenoids with an Arduino Mega and a couple of relays, the position can stay either open or closed for an extended period of time.

There is also a spring at the base of the rod that helps provide a bit more upwards force for a "snappier" sound. You can view that video here.

Future Plans

These three instruments are not the only ones that Miranda plans on building, so make sure to view his channel to see new instruments. There is currently no way to synchronize and control everything at once, so perhaps a digital conductor is on its way, along with some kind of sequencer.