Michael Eskin's midi apps

[jggunn]

I am posting this on the general discussion forum, because it is important for many who might not pick it up on the teaching and learning forum. The apps that Michael Eskin has created for a variety of instruments including the Anglo and English concertinas and a large variety of other instruments is truly amazing and can be played on a variety of Apple devices including phones and IPAD. If anyone has not seen his posts on the forum, I would encourage them to view them on the recent posts on the teaching and learning forum. And he is extremely helpful in answering questions. For those who might own a midi concertina, the possibilities are endless, but they really work well with the concertina surfaces he provides.

[Michael Eskin]

Thanks for the kind words!

 

The websites with all the detailed info and demo videos of the apps with various software and hardware synths are:

 

iPad versions:

http://www.tradlessons.com/MIDIAngloXL.html

http://www.tradlessons.com/MIDITinaXL.html

 

iPhone versions:

http://www.tradlessons.com/MIDIAnglo.html

http://www.tradlessons.com/MIDITina.html

 

Full catalog, including MIDI accordions and bagpipes apps at:

 

http://www.tradlessons.com/apps.html#coremidi

 

Cheers and thanks,

 

Michael

[michael sam wild]

Hi Mike ,I always enjoy the links you send by email . Is there anywhere I can read about the background principles to it all in layman's terms ?

[Michael Eskin]

Essentially, the goal with the apps was to, as best as I could on a flat screen, create a virtual Anglo or English concertina that would allow someone who already plays the instrument in real life to practice anywhere in headphones using an iPad. I play all the instruments I have apps for in real life and use the apps myself for practice in situations would be impractical to play the real instrument.

 

There have been two flavors of the apps over the past two years. The original versions, called "ConcertinaXL" and "EnglitinaXL" included audio samples from my own instrument and sounded like a concertina.

 

For Anglo Concertina, I use the accelerometers on the device to simulate the push/pull of the bellows. A tilt to the right represents a pull, to the left a push. This simulates the hand motion of an Anglo player who anchors the instrument on the left knee. The amount of tilt required to change bellows direction is adjustable. I'm a Noel Hill student, so that's how I play. It only takes a few minutes to get used to the control system. A couple of years ago at the Oregon Noel Hill school, one of the students loaned Noel an iPad for the week. It was amazing watching him play reels at full speed on the iPad using the app.

 

Most recently, Apple standardized how one music app (usually some sort of controller, like a keyboard or set of drum pad) to control another (usually a synthesizer) using standard MIDI control streams or for an app to control a hardware synthesizer module over a cable connected to the iPad.

 

This made is possible to build versions of the apps that didn't make any sound on their own, but were just for controlling other sound producing hardware or apps. The equivalent would be the Wakker MIDI concertinas, they don't make sound, they are just for controlling other devices. My most recent apps "MIDIAngloXL" and "MIDITinaXL" are exactly the same thing.

 

You run a synthesizer app like "SampleTank" or "ThumbJam" first, pick the sound you want to play from their sample libraries, then launch my app and play the sound you selected using English or Anglo Concertina fingerings and techniques.

 

Alternately, if you have a hardware MIDI synth module (I use a Roland JV-1080), you plug a little MIDI interface (I use the inexpensive iRig MIDI from IK Multimedia) into the dock connector on the iPad and then connect the cable from the interface to the MIDI-In connector on the back of the synth module. You can then play the sounds on the MIDI synth using the app.

 

There are also iPhone versions call "Concertina" and "Englitina" for the acoustic versions, and "MIDIAnglo" and "MIDITina" for the MIDI controller versions, but because of the smaller screen on the iPhone I had to leave off some buttons, but both apps have the range of the fiddle for traditional Irish music (my focus) and can be transposed up or down up to one octave in semitone increments.

 

All of the apps have an option to show the note names on the buttons, which is a great tool for someone just starting out learning their way around the button board. On the Anglo-based apps the button names track the push/pull state.

 

One of my goals with the apps, besides having a supplemental side income, is to create a potentially large population of people who have some sense of what it would be like to play any of the instruments I emulate. In particular, I’ve focused a lot on Anglo and English concertinas, with the hope that they might think "I can do this, let me see about buying a real instrument".

 

I’ve used myself as a guinea pig to see if what I assert about the apps is true. 16 months ago, I started out using my Hohner B/C Melodeon apps to see if I might be able to play the instrument. After a few weeks, I was playing tunes, so I got my first real B/C accordion (Hohner DoubleRay) and am now playing it regularly in sessions. I would have never invested the money to buy an accordion just to see if I might have some ability to play it.

Edited December 9, 2012 by eskin

[Don Taylor]

Michael

 

What generations of iPad do your apps require to work well?

 

I am thinking about buying a used iPad to use for your apps.

 

Thx. Don

[Michael Eskin]

They work fine on the original iPad running iOS 4.3 or later. Personally, I use an iPad 2 running iOS 5.1.