EEG output to MIDI to sound

billybobwbillybobw uk
in General Discussion

Hi, my name is Will and I'm new here. My company do lots of musical work with students with limited movement/capacity. We have noticed there are some students who love the music sessions although are unable to join in due to their disabilities. We would like to harness their brain patterns and convert these in to a simple modal soundscape which could fit with a group composition.

I have had a good look at this discussion board and I can see this is totally possible although a lot of the relevant discussions are from 4-5 years back. I am wondering about developments in this department recently (a lot changes in this time) and if anyone has any pointers to kickstart our project.

Apologies if this has already been discussed, I may have missed it.
All the best,
Will.

Comments

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA

    Will, hi.

    Most of the VPL (Visual Programming Languages) apps can do the EEG to MIDI conversion: BrainBay, BioEra, Neuromore, etc. It is also possible to pipe the EEG stream out of the OpenBCI_GUI, and into music apps like Max MSP or Pure Data. I know OSC (Open Sound Control) packets are support by Neuromore, Max and PD.

    Richard @retiutut has done quite a bit of this, and may further comment.

    Basically what the apps do is allow you to filter the EEG by band, then apply some type of function to map that band amplitude to MIDI notes. Can map just single band, or combinations of bands. Or other more complex functions.

    William

  • billybobwbillybobw uk

    Hi William,
    thank you for your reply. I can see that it can certainly be done with some good results although is as yet an untamed beast. I will purchase some bits and see how we get on this end. I checked out Richard Waltman's stuff. I will see if I can give him a shout at some point, once I get going.
    Any other contacts and links greatly appreciated.

    Hope all is well.
    Will.

  • retiututretiutut Louisiana, USA
    edited January 2021

    It is also possible to pipe the EEG stream out of the OpenBCI_GUI, and into music apps like Max MSP or Pure Data. I know OSC (Open Sound Control) packets are support by Neuromore, Max and PD.

    This is the way to go!

    Direct EEG channel -> MIDI note (with amplitude mapped to note volume) will sound like Alvin Lucier's "Music for Solo Performer", which is a foundational work in the area of neuroscience + art.

    Using BandPower data from the GUI -> MaxMSP or PureData will likely achieve a stable ebb/flow of data.

    Take Care,
    RW

  • retiututretiutut Louisiana, USA

    Direct EEG channel -> MIDI note (with amplitude mapped to note volume) will sound like Alvin Lucier's "Music for Solo Performer", which is a foundational work in the area of neuroscience + art.

    Direct EEG channel -> MIDI note (with amplitude mapped to note volume and note trigger)

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