piano trouble

[DPaul]

Hi,

I am testing a one - note piano with a pushbutton on the microbit.
The digital reading is "1" in normal state, and "0" when the button is pressed. (signal goes to GND)
The the note is produced. So far so good.
My question:
The note keeps on sounding even after i release the button .
I expected that with the circuit open again, the reading would return to "1".
I am unsure if i should digital_write(1) myself or is something else wrong ?

Code: Select all

from microbit import *
import music
pinTest = pin1
while True:
    sleep(2000)
    x = pinTest.read_digital()
    display.show(x)
    if x == 0:
        music.play('a')
    sleep(1000)
    pinTest.write_digital(1)  #  <<< WHY ?
    display.show('?')
[\code]

Thanks,
Paul

[OutoftheBOTS_]

I see that when the pin = 0 then it plays the music but I can't anywhere in your code you turn the music off.

Code: Select all

    if x == 0:
        music.play('a')
    else:
    	#code goes here to turn music off

[DPaul]

Thanks,

I now tested multiple music.stop() configurations, and it may certainly have somethingto do with it.

But i also have a 7 push-button version, where music.stop() does not work so well.
It almost seems that when you press one of the buttons, some current is randomly triggering one or 2
others, playing their notes.

Is it a de-bouncing problem? I inserted all sorts of sleep(...) but to no avail.
That is why is started the one-note program, thinking if it works with one, it ... but no

DPaul

[jimmo]

Hi,

You shouldn't need music.stop, as music.play just plays the specified sequency then stops automatically. (You can use loop=True if you want it to keep playing).

Can you describe the circuit how the buttons are connected? I suspect you might need pull-up resistors? Also you definitely shouldn't need to write_digital to the pin. That could potentially cause issues if the button is currently pressed and it will short the output to ground.

The circuit you need is that the pin should only be read from (i.e. only use read_digital, which keeps it in input mode), and connected with a resistor to the 3V pin. Then the button also connects it to ground.

Also, the sleeps are likely to cause problems down the track. Try and avoid using sleep() at all wherever possible in your micro:bit programs. see viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7150&p=40706 for more info.

[DPaul]

Thanks Jimmo,

a) Agreed, Music.stop() should not be necessary. lengths of notes are driven via parameters.
b) Write_digital(1) not necessary: i thought not, that is the reason i asked. (i'll take it away)

c) pullup/pulldown resistor:
The push buttons are connected to:
One leg to : pinX (1,2,8,13,14,15,16) and also ->10k resistor -> 3.3 volts
Other leg to: GND

On pin0 and GND , i have the speaker. Music defaults to pin0, it seems.

I visited many sites to come up with this setup. But strangely i cannot find any micropython script
that handles more than 2 buttons (not A and B) for a diy piano. Like it's too difficult ?

The simple idea is that when you push a button, it plays the associated note. Next, we play a tune. That's the project

Dpaul

[lujo]

Hi,

Here is a minimal script that handles an extra 12 buttons. Google 3x4 keypad schematics.
This is one way to scan a keypad. Adapt for piano keys.

Code: Select all

from microbit import *

cols = pin0, pin1, pin2
rows = pin8, pin12, pin14, pin16

keys = (
  ('*', '0', '#'),
  ('7', '8', '9'),
  ('4', '5', '6'),
  ('1', '2', '3'),
)

for pin in rows + cols:
    pin.write_digital(0)

while True:
    for r, row in enumerate(rows):
        row.write_digital(1)
        for c, col in enumerate(cols):
            if col.read_digital():
                key = keys[r][c]
                display.show(key, delay=100, clear=True)
        row.write_digital(0)

lujo

[DPaul]

Thanks lujo,

Will try this immediately.
I see a big difference right away, might be the solution ...

Paul

[DPaul]

Hi,

I have taken into acount all the remarks, and changed 2 things. As far as i can tell, it works !
1) i got inspired by the cols and rows to turn the program around, writing digital zero instead of 1
2) i changed the hardware config, now the leg with the 10k resistor goes to GND, the other to VCC, when the circuit closes.
This is the program:

Code: Select all

from microbit import *
import music

noteC = pin1
noteD = pin2
noteE = pin8
noteF = pin13
noteG = pin14
noteA = pin15
noteB = pin16

notes = [noteC, noteD, noteE, noteF, noteG, noteA, noteB]

for pin in notes:
    pin.write_digital(0)

while True:
    if noteC.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('c')
        noteC.write_digital(0)
    if noteD.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('d')
        noteD.write_digital(0)
    if noteE.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('e')
        noteE.write_digital(0)
    if noteF.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('f')
        noteF.write_digital(0)
    if noteG.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('g')
        noteG.write_digital(0)
    if noteA.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('a')
        noteA.write_digital(0)
    if noteB.read_digital() == 1:
        music.play('b')
        noteB.write_digital(0)
    sleep(20)

Paul