Xtrument Turns Your Computer Keyboard Into A MIDI Controller

Brazilian synthfreak musicappsbr sent this Xtrument synth jam our way.

If you’re not familiar Xtrument, it’s an open-source Mac app, created by Rob Fielding, that lets you use your keyboard as a MIDI controller. Fielding is the programmer behind the iPad music app Mugician.

Xtrument is available here (.tar).

Below, Jordan Rudess explains how Xtrument works.

via mvpadrini:

Playing with the amazing Xtrument created by Rob Fielding. It works as a virtual MIDI controller for your Mac using the keyboard. The Xtrument is open source.

More about MusicApps and Mobile Music on www.MusicApps.com.br

Tocando com o incrível Xtrument criado por Rob FIelding. Ele funciona com um controlador MIDI virtual para seu Mac usando o teclado. O Xtrument é open source e pode ser obtido gratuitamente.

Mais sobre apps musicais e músic móvel no www.MusicApps.com.br

44 thoughts on “Xtrument Turns Your Computer Keyboard Into A MIDI Controller”

  22. Hello! The Xtrument is a MIDI controller and it has no sounds. To use it first of all you have to activate your IAC MIDI driver on your Mac. For doing this:

    Configure your IAC MIDI driver on your Mac:

    * Click on Applications -> Utilities -> Audio Settings and Midi.
    * On the top menu screen, click Window -> Show MIDI Window.
    * Double click on IAC Driver.
    * Make sure that the box "This device is connected" is checked.
    * Ready! Now you can use the IAC driver as an MIDI input or output for any application you want. The IAC driver is nothing more than a virtual midi device from Apple.

    Run the software you want to control. On the MIDI/AUDIO settings of your virtual instrument or DAW you will see the IAC Driver as a MIDI input (and it has to be ON).

    Run the Xtrument and keep it foreground. You should be able to play with Xtrument controlling your MIDI software.

    Hope this helps…

  31. I wish that this was how arpeggiating worked on my little 2 octave keyboard. 😉 ("manual arpeggiator"? anyways, if you do a lot of odd time sigs, then the automated arpeggiating is too dumb.) One rub is that flat fifth / sharp fourth is chromatically ambiguous. The system has to know which diatonic scale you are playing relative to, because what it does is to say that (diatonically) there are no intervals larger than a fourth. Every interval is converted to it's 1st/2nd/3rd/4th diatonic equivalent.

  32. I wish that this was how arpeggiating worked on my little 2 octave keyboard. 😉 ("manual arpeggiator"? anyways, if you do a lot of odd time sigs, then the automated arpeggiating is too dumb.) One rub is that flat fifth / sharp fourth is chromatically ambiguous. The system has to know which diatonic scale you are playing relative to, because what it does is to say that (diatonically) there are no intervals larger than a fourth. Every interval is converted to it's 1st/2nd/3rd/4th diatonic equivalent.

  33. I wish that this was how arpeggiating worked on my little 2 octave keyboard. 😉 ("manual arpeggiator"? anyways, if you do a lot of odd time sigs, then the automated arpeggiating is too dumb.) One rub is that flat fifth / sharp fourth is chromatically ambiguous. The system has to know which diatonic scale you are playing relative to, because what it does is to say that (diatonically) there are no intervals larger than a fourth. Every interval is converted to it's 1st/2nd/3rd/4th diatonic equivalent.

  34. I wish that this was how arpeggiating worked on my little 2 octave keyboard. 😉 ("manual arpeggiator"? anyways, if you do a lot of odd time sigs, then the automated arpeggiating is too dumb.) One rub is that flat fifth / sharp fourth is chromatically ambiguous. The system has to know which diatonic scale you are playing relative to, because what it does is to say that (diatonically) there are no intervals larger than a fourth. Every interval is converted to it's 1st/2nd/3rd/4th diatonic equivalent.

  35. I wish that this was how arpeggiating worked on my little 2 octave keyboard. 😉 ("manual arpeggiator"? anyways, if you do a lot of odd time sigs, then the automated arpeggiating is too dumb.) One rub is that flat fifth / sharp fourth is chromatically ambiguous. The system has to know which diatonic scale you are playing relative to, because what it does is to say that (diatonically) there are no intervals larger than a fourth. Every interval is converted to it's 1st/2nd/3rd/4th diatonic equivalent.

  36. I wish that this was how arpeggiating worked on my little 2 octave keyboard. 😉 ("manual arpeggiator"? anyways, if you do a lot of odd time sigs, then the automated arpeggiating is too dumb.) One rub is that flat fifth / sharp fourth is chromatically ambiguous. The system has to know which diatonic scale you are playing relative to, because what it does is to say that (diatonically) there are no intervals larger than a fourth. Every interval is converted to it's 1st/2nd/3rd/4th diatonic equivalent.

  37. map it? do you mean the second link in the above post, that gives a picture of what notes do what?

    read about Leon Gruenbaum's Samchillian. You play *intervals* rather than notes. The layout is really arbitrary due to the limitations of the computer keyboard, and mine is a little bit different from his because it's specifically for Macbook pro and quartertone scales (rather than Kinesis kb, which Leon uses).

  38. map it? do you mean the second link in the above post, that gives a picture of what notes do what?

    read about Leon Gruenbaum's Samchillian. You play *intervals* rather than notes. The layout is really arbitrary due to the limitations of the computer keyboard, and mine is a little bit different from his because it's specifically for Macbook pro and quartertone scales (rather than Kinesis kb, which Leon uses).

  39. map it? do you mean the second link in the above post, that gives a picture of what notes do what?

    read about Leon Gruenbaum's Samchillian. You play *intervals* rather than notes. The layout is really arbitrary due to the limitations of the computer keyboard, and mine is a little bit different from his because it's specifically for Macbook pro and quartertone scales (rather than Kinesis kb, which Leon uses).

  40. map it? do you mean the second link in the above post, that gives a picture of what notes do what?

    read about Leon Gruenbaum's Samchillian. You play *intervals* rather than notes. The layout is really arbitrary due to the limitations of the computer keyboard, and mine is a little bit different from his because it's specifically for Macbook pro and quartertone scales (rather than Kinesis kb, which Leon uses).

  41. map it? do you mean the second link in the above post, that gives a picture of what notes do what?

    read about Leon Gruenbaum's Samchillian. You play *intervals* rather than notes. The layout is really arbitrary due to the limitations of the computer keyboard, and mine is a little bit different from his because it's specifically for Macbook pro and quartertone scales (rather than Kinesis kb, which Leon uses).

  42. map it? do you mean the second link in the above post, that gives a picture of what notes do what?

    read about Leon Gruenbaum's Samchillian. You play *intervals* rather than notes. The layout is really arbitrary due to the limitations of the computer keyboard, and mine is a little bit different from his because it's specifically for Macbook pro and quartertone scales (rather than Kinesis kb, which Leon uses).

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