22 April 2008

We Will, We Will, Rock You
Accelerometer based music composer

Wow, this is like chain reaction, it seem that music composing on Symbian phones is the very popular lately, we got lot of dedicated music applications for S60 phones in last few weeks and the latest addition to the music applications family just appeared over at our forum section.

Imagination is the only limit to what can be created with motion based technology and it's interesting to see the kind of ideas people are coming up with lately.

N95 drum application accelerometer based application based on the similar concept as the Asier’s NiiMe Drum application that I’ve review yesterday. It uses the build in accelerometer to detect the user’s action and in synergy with PC converts phone motion into music.

Application simulates playing musical instruments using the motion sensing technology and simply immerses you into the role of rock star :] Sure, you could do the same thing with buttons, but this is something completely different and adds entire new level to music composing, it enables you to interact with the music in a new, intuitive and unique way that offer unlimited freedom in music creating.

Installation procedure is a little bit complicated and requires lot of patient to get it to work but In my personal opinion it worth trying.

Installation instructions:

1. Install in the prescribed order: Python 2.5.2, pywin32, PySerial.
2. Place C:\Python25 in the Path environment variable.
3. Extract the API folder to your PC.
4. Set up Incoming Bluetooth COM Port, say COM4.
5. Change the COM port number in the file pythonserver\syncA.config
   
   >>>> PC Done!!
   
6. Connect your phone to PC install the following softwares by double clicking the installation files: PythonForS60, PythonScriptShell, N95RDAccelerometer, aXYZ.
7. On PC, browse to the phone's directory. Then to drive "E" of the phone. Then to folder "Python". Create directory "lib" in folder "Python" on the phone.
8. Copy the files phcomm.py, keyboard_module.py, phone_bd_component.py, phone_instrument.py from "to phone" folder in our package to the "lib" directory on the phone, created from previous step.
9. Copy phone_client.py to the folder "Python" on the phone.

>>>> Phone Done!!

On PC:

• Supposedly, we put all the files on PC into folder "project"
• In folder project: run_javaserver.bat, run_pythonserver_A.bat (currently opening connection over Bluetooth com port 9; you should change confA.config to open connection over the Bluetooth com port available on your PC), global.config, risset.config, string.config and string.config.
• In project\javaserver: MyDemoServer.class, MyDemoInstrumentThread.class, folder classes, SoundModels, ASWCore.jar
• In project\libs: instrument_server.py, phcomm.py, server_bd_component.py
• In project\pythonserver: pyserver.py, confA.config (open connection over bluetooth comm port 9)
• Run these two executables run_javaserver.bat, run_pythonserver_A.bat

On phone:

• Open python, run script, choose phone_client.py.
• In the pop up menu, choose Other... (for the first time) or Default host (for subsequent times).
• In the list, choose the PC name that you're connecting to, then choose the Bluetooth Com Port that the python server on PC is opening. For the first time, on your PC, there'll be a small notification box in yellow popping up in the right bottom corner. Click on that and authorize the phone. Remember to tick Always authorize.
• Choose the desired instrument you want to play.
• Press Exit to quit.

**Note: If you want to play multiple instruments, run various python server listening to differnt COM ports.

** You can change confA.config, confB.config and confC.config to open python server listening to your desired Bluetooth COM port.

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