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I have MIDI keyboard (MIDI interface, not MIDI through USB) and want to make it to control 12 colored lights (LEDs probably as incandescent bulbs may not be fast enough to follow the music), one per musical halftone. The LED should light when the key is pressed down and go off when the key is released up.

One of the approach would be connecting the musical keyboard to PC through adapter, write some software and add USB to relays controller to control the lights. This adds the complexity of the whole personal computer (ok, maybe laptop) involved. I would strongly prefer to have the independent device instead.

Is it possible to build such a controller without building and using a PC?

h22
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    Yes. Any MCU with a UART should work. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Oct 26 '16 at 07:25
  • The [MIDI specification](https://www.midi.org/specifications/item/the-midi-1-0-specification) is free. You have to receive the note-on/-off messages over an UART, and handle them appropriately. – CL. Oct 26 '16 at 07:32
  • Definitely yes. Be aware that the PHY of midi is not exactly trivial, I bet there are dedicated asics on the market to take care of that. After you convert the signal to std logic levels, virtually any microcontroller has an UART included. And you need the relays of course! – Vladimir Cravero Oct 26 '16 at 07:32
  • And, this look like a cool project from a music and EE lover, just like me. Have my internet points! – Vladimir Cravero Oct 26 '16 at 07:33
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    @VladimirCravero The PHY is a simple line receiver for a current loop. See [Use a PC123 optocoupler for MIDI input](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/q/195787/29811) or [MIDI IN : many circuits](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/q/165255/29811). – CL. Oct 26 '16 at 07:36
  • I am not a big master, google for MCU and find Marvel Cinematic Universe. Please at least expand the abbreviations. – h22 Oct 26 '16 at 07:37
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    @h22 MCU is MicroController Unit. But if you didn't know that, you may have a few things to learn before succesfully designing this. That may take some time... – dim Oct 26 '16 at 07:41
  • MCU = micro controller unit. You can even use an arduino if you are a beginner. UART is universal asynchronous receiver transmitter, MIDI is a special kind of UART. You will need the circuit linked by CL above. – Vladimir Cravero Oct 26 '16 at 07:41
  • From the consensus of comments I see this could be done using Arduino board or similar. Almost all of then have digital outputs that could drive my lights when amplified and all seem having UART controller that seems a project to program but ok, if to learn then to learn. The answer like this would be ok to accept. – h22 Oct 27 '16 at 07:44

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