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What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
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Get iOS to notice Raspberry Pi as MIDI device
Hi!
I've been doing some MIDI-controlled visuals with Processing running on a Raspberry Pi. It works fine with a MIDI controller, but if I try to get MIDI out from my iPad into the RPi nothing happens. The iPad doesn't even notice the RPi as a MIDI device, the way it'd notice a Teensy in the exact same configuration for example (which I monitor using MIDI Wrench). I suppose I could put my U-24 and a MIDI hub in between the iPad and the RPi but I'm hoping there's a simpler solution that doesn't involve extra hardware.
Any idea how to make the iPad notice the Raspberry Pi as a MIDI device?
Thanks!
Comments
Does your Pi have a USB MIDI Out port or is it just a USB Host port? The latter wouldn't work but you prolly know that if your hacking Pis!
Good question, the RPi doesn't really let you see much of the behind-the-scene without using the terminal and I'm not superfluent with Linux command lines. All I know is that supposedly you should be able to send/receive MIDI data with the embedded UART of the RPi, which I would assume would be through the USB port? But I'm not sure.
But even if it only does USB MIDI in and not out, could the iPad not just see it as a MIDI IN device?
iOS is only ever going to recognize "Class Compliant" USB devices. So the solution, if there is one, is to get the Pi act as a class compliant device, not the other way around. A quick google search wasn't encouraging.
Mm, you're right. It has to be class compliant, good point. Sadly, I can't seem to find any proper method to do this either, sigh.
I think I'll just give up and use some middle hardware then. Oh well, it was worth a try.
Thanks @syrupcore and @wim for the help!
There sure would be some interesting opportunities if it could work. Too bad.
I would like to know more about these midi controlled visuals. I've been hunting around for a software video synth for rpi!
Some Raspberry Pi models (A, A+ and Zero) supports USB OTP (on the go), which (in theory) allows it to be used as any other USB midi device (acting as slave), but most Raspberry Pi do not support this (model B ).
Another theoretical possibility would be to connect both iPad and Raspberry to USB to midi interfaces, and thus connect them using good old fashioned MIDI rather than USB MIDI, haven’t tried though.
Another option is Bluetooth LE. Tried this but never got it to work, even after a lot of fiddling..
Why not use OSC? Processing can deal with it, it’s WiFi and iPad has touchosc/Lemur available.
)
Another solution as someone pointed is to add simple 1x1 midi interface to the Pi and plug it to the audio/midi interface do you were using with your iPad (due you are using someone uh uh?
You will need jack if I remember well...
Since I am in a middle of a project you have some options :
Download latest Blues package ( Bluetooth) and see if it supports iOS Bluetooth Midi
( unfortunately it didn't work well on my Debian based PC )
Download PureData and bridge wirelessly your iPad via the MobMuPlat app for Midi
(via wifi or Bluetooth PAN network)
Try @NoonienS tip, use Linux USB gadgets ( should be built in on the kernel ), and emulate USB otg ETHERNET device for creating network. This way you can use your iOS device with a USB cable via network .
For now it's very basic, just Processing responding to MIDI from my controller by moving simple shapes around (using the Midibus library), but the idea is to have something nice for live. I was frustrated with the £500 price-tag on the Critter & Guitari ETC Video Synth (which is otherwise quite brilliant) and I had a RPi (which I suspect the ETC is built on as C&G say they're running ArchLinux and it's such a small size-factor), so I thought I'd try making something myself. I'll keep you posted once/if I get to something nice and useable.
Indeed. Sadly I have the B model, which doesn't support it. I suppose I could buy a different one, but I'm trying not to buy new hardware for a while unless I really really really need to (for environmental and economical reasons). Too much hardware already hehe. Plus if I find a solution that works on most RPi it would be more useful for others I suppose.
The next thing I'm going to test later today when I get home.
I have a profound hatred for Bluetooth tbh haha. It's so unreliable. But I'll give it a go.
Thanks!
Good idea, I'll try that too. I suppose I could use the OSCP5 library for it?
Ah right, Jack. Somehow installing OpenFrameworks on the RPi uninstalled both Jack and Sonic Pi and I haven't been able to reinstall them successfully since then. I should get rid of oF, it's a complete nightmare on the RPi, then reinstall them.
Thanks!
I can't do the USB gadget and my iPad doesn't have cellular, but I'll try the bt and Pd options. Thanks!
If you need any help in PureData&midi don't hesitate to ask here or pm me
Pi Zero is just $5 or about $10 for the wireless version. Cheaper than some music apps
Is there a way to physically attach some 5 pin midi to the RPi? I know you wanted a simpler solution but most of the time, I have my iPad hooked up to my iConnectAudio4+, so it would be easy to just hook it up via the 5 pin midi to send info back and forth.
It’s been long time since I messed with that (and most of the time as observer more than a coder) but I remember that as the library. If you are brave enough I can point you to an special distro for stompboxing... not sure how useful for midi controller alone so.
I found some interesting links about gpio and midi but after research the 1x1 class compliant + jack was the easiest way I found. If you are very interested I can try to refind these again...
OSC does work well with puredata, I've used lemur to control data on the RPi.
Did you know that there is a free app with very good midi controlled visuals called Yamaha Visual Performer. I have got it and it works very well.
There's a lot of great iOS video synth type stuff. When you really get deep into PixiVisor it's pretty excellent.
I also like hyperspectiv, glitch wizard, uzu, glitche and touchviz.
I'll often start with a still image I like, turn it into a video with glitch wizard, then bring it into glitche and ultimately into lumafusion.
The screen recorder element of the whole thing adds an entirely new and wonderful dimension to generating video loops, too.
I've created VJ loops for bands on the fly ten minutes before they go on with my iPhone.
Actual video synthesis software though is still kind of iffy - I have lumen for iOS, but also a strict "no laptops on stage" rule.
It's hard to sync videos up perfectly with music when I do have moments where I want the video to start when the track starts (right now I use an apple TV to beam my touchviz rig to a projector), but I'm eventually going to create a Touchviz mapping for my mpd232 so that I can do things like step sequence effects and such.
The closest thing to an "analog" video synth I've seen so far is pixivisor, and I really recommend taking a look at the videos on the site to get a clear picture of what it can do.
Thanks! Much appreciated
I know but I already have a Raspberry Pi. I can't keep buying new hardware whenever I want to try something, there's an environmental costs to this. I'm also in decluttering mode at the moment, so nothing new gets through the door.
Yes by using GPIO, but it requires a bit of extra DIY electronics. Worst comes to worst I'll go for that, I've got some MIDI chassis etc somewhere. But it feels a bit like an overkill.
Yes please!
I got foiled with time today so haven't had time to do any new tests. If I manage to sneak out of family reunions in the coming days I'll start with OSC and report back.
@Reuben @anomieholiday Thanks for the tips! These apps do look really great indeed. However, I prefer not to run the visuals on my iPad. Two reasons: too much CPU usage and it only has one screen to share, so I can't have one thing of the iPad screen and something else projected or in a 2nd monitor. Unless I've missed something? It makes it hard to use touch screen apps, as they need to stay at the front and then that's what you'd see projected/showed elsewhere.
So many great tips! Thanks everyone! I'll keep you posted about my little tinkerings
Or... assuming there's enough CPU available, maybe the iOS visuals could be syphoned to an external device? Doesn't look like Visual Performer supports this, but it looks like PixiVisor has something similar to Syphon going on? Although it seems to be one way only, towards the iPad. I have to try it.
@Ribbon your command
https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~eberdahl/Satellite/
Also some osc on pi
https://learn.adafruit.com/raspberry-pi-open-sound-control/overview
https://forum.processing.org/two/discussion/18720/libpd-raspberry-pi
PyOSC (another old memory...)
https://ianshelanskey.com/2014/08/11/raspberry-pi-and-osc-part-1/
Thank you!!
I use apps that have a airplay video out to an iPad for live performance. I also use a mini and a pro simultaneously on stage - one to handle the visuals and another for the music.
For things that don't have airplay out, I just use screen recording to get it, then trim in lumafusion.
One of the most fun things you can get is an apple tv (or HdMI adapter) and project Uzu onto a wall or use a TV.
@Ribbon
With a friend, on a laptop with linux 'ubuntustudio', we tried to connect an ipad via internet router. We couldn't manage to get up a 'network session' (- anyone can btw?) like you would send midi from ThumbJam over network session to another idevice.
However it was possible to send osc from ThumbJam's osc-server over to the computer and translate that protocol back to midi by compiling 'osc2midi' and point it to 'qmidinet' in jack as virtual midi (and out of qmidinet again).
Also TouchOsc and MidiFire can open an osc tunnel to send (and receive), with a bridge for mac, windows (to ableton), and android, on ubuntu the 'bridge' would be 'osc2midi' or 'touchosc2midi'.
The aim was to integrate SuperCollider which can handle osc messages, therefore a script in the translating process was needed, where the ip/udp addresses, ports and messages had to be defined.
TouchOsc can take and send ios midi too, so other app's notes & cc's went through ThumbJam (by midi-thru) ...
The last time I checked Syphon/Spout it wasn’t available for iOS as output. It could be changed due new pros deliver...
I still believe the perfect embed visual box is Appletv itself with proper app still not developed
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/19113/appletv-audiovideo-fx-app
Everyone drop what you're doing and go get K-Machine
Programmable visuals (Vertex Shaders) and music performance in one.