Using an Arduino board, a protoshield, shift register and a few hours tinkering, Jen Shen turned an aged Casio SA-47 piano into a MIDI keyboard that actually works. By determining how the keyboard is wired, Jen connects the matrix to the shift register and reads the keyboard using the parallel-out shift register technique. Then the Arduino can convert the signals into MIDI data and send it off to the outside world. Here's a quick video of the keyboard in action:
That's a fine example of hardware hacking and making something more useful from a toy. For complete instructions visit the project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
When creating projects with external circuitry hacking existing devices - consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with.
