Automated Digital Wind Instrument using Arduino UNO Microcontroller

Abstract

Recently, Blackstar Amplification Ltd. has introduced a Compact Carry-On Digital Wind Instrument (CDWI), mirroring the design of traditional recorder instruments in their size and shape. This CDWI can be played as a traditional wind instrument by blowing into the mouthpiece and simultaneously manipulating finger holes, enabling the production of desired musical notes. The main aim of this research work is the development of a prototype model to automate the CDWI, by utilizing the Arduino UNO microcontroller board and introducing the Automated Digital Wind Instrument (ADWI). The CDWI has a mouthpiece, nine finger holes, and one thumb hole, and the blowing mechanism can be automated by using a 12 Volts DC air blower and a servo valve. The author ingeniously develops a new servo valve using a plastic syringe, a ball, and a 5 Volts DC micro servo motor to regulate the air pressure blown into the mouthpiece. The ADWI fingers are meticulously crafted using plastic pen barrels, thrust tubes, and metallic springs to simulate the actions of a human music player's fingers. Positioned to maintain all finger holes in an open state by default, the selective closing of specific holes is achieved by ten micro servo motors to produce a specific musical note. In a preliminary test, the ADWI prototype is programmed to perform the Nursery Rhyme "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." While evaluating the sound output by hearing, it is evident that the proposed ADWI effectively generates all the necessary musical notes. However, the noise generated by the air blower and micro servo motors introduces interference, impacting the clarity of the produced musical notes. Consequently, it is planned to integrate a noise reduction mechanism as part of future work.