Drumm.Tech

Inspiration

While brainstorming ideas, we remembered an article in the news a few months ago related to learning the piano (Georgia Tech). Essentially, researchers found that delivering patterned motor vibrations could improve the speed at which users learned to play songs on the piano. More interestingly, participants in the study could learn the piano passively using those motors while participating in another task. Some of us have experience playing the snare drums in a band environment. By extending the results of this study, and throwing in some other features, we created an interesting educational hack that makes music education more effective.

What it does

The various components of Drummtech provide improved drum education in various ways. The Pebble watch provides the timed vibration component from the news article we read. An app on the watch fires off the vibrator at time intervals corresponding to the song being learned. The Myo band analyzes the form of the drummer and provides feedback on whether they are playing with correct form. The Arduino underneath the drum pad delivers feedback to ensure that the drummer is playing with enough force and on the correct part of the drum. All these technologies come together to create the multi featured Drummtech educational system.

How we built it

This project was built using Myo armbands, cardboard, Pebble Time Watches, 3D printed PLA, an Arduino, and the software glue for all this technology.

Challenges we ran into

Working with multiple Myo bands and keeping them synchronized was difficult. Doing signal analysis on the Myo output was an interesting problem which required some mathematics. Building a prototype device to encapsulate all the components was not easy due to our lack of access to the 3D printer and other supplies. Creating a workflow to develop for the Pebble using only a Chromebook was an stimulating challenge. Getting our domain verified in time (it took 9 hours) was a challenging time constraint.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of self sourcing a pair of drumsticks with the supplies we had. All the algorithms for this were fun problems to solve and bringing the project togther is a nice accomplishment.

What we learned

We learned Arduino breadboarding, PLA Welding, basic 3D printing techniques, the Pebble API, the Myo API and how to use pointers in C++.

What's next for Drumm.Tech

A fully featured version of this system could be sold to school bands and music schools. This is an interesting educational opportunity that could bring music education into the future.

Behind the name

A drum tech, or snare tech, is a person who makes sure that the drummers in a band have proper form and are using the correct technique. They are also in charged with the responsibility of ensuring that proper musical expression is abundant in the percussionist's playing. Thus, we chose a .tech domain to increase SEO recognizability and to offer a unique feel to our product.

Built With

• arduino
• bootstrap
• c++
• construct-2
• javascript
• myo