"MIDIFlute"
Irish Flute/Whistle MIDI Controller for the iPad

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MIDIFlute is an Irish Flute/Whistle MIDI controller for the iPad.

The fingerings are based on those used for the 6-hole keyless Irish flute or whistle.

MIDIFlute doesn't produce any sound on its own, it is designed for playing hardware and software VST-style MIDI synthesizers via a MIDI compatible interface connected to the dock connector or virtual MIDI instruments like Roland Sound Canvas for iOS, IK Multimedia SampleTank®, or ThumbJam running on your iPad.

To get started playing, first show the help labels by touching the '?' icon at the lower right corner of the screen.

Start by touching the top half of the flute starting with the tips of your left index, middle, and ring fingers on holes #6, 5, and 4. The holes light up when touched.

Next touch the bottom half of the flute with the tips of your right index, middle, and ring fingers, on holes #3, 2, and 1.

To play the second octave, touch the "Octave" bar next to the flute with your left little finger while using the same fingerings as the first octave.

To play the second octave, touch the "Octave" bar next to the flute with your left little finger while using the same fingerings as the first octave.

Touch the "Stop" bar at the top of the screen with your left thumb to stop the sound while fingering a note. This can be used for repeated notes in the place of doing a cut or tap.

The purple "Semitone Down" bar next to the bottom of the flute, played with the right little finger, may be used to shift the pitch down one semitone for playing the notes F-natural, G#, D#, and Bb.

Finger vibrato may be done with the middle finger of the right hand on many notes. The amount of vibrato is adjustable using the MIDI control sliders.

Touch the MIDI icon at the bottom left corner of the screen to show/hide the MIDI controls. All settings are saved and restored the next time the app is run.

You may select the volume, attack velocity, vibrato depth and MIDI chanel using the sliders.

The entire range may be transposed up or down up to one octaves (zero transpose is "C") in semitone increments using the transpose slider.

Use the "Transmit MIDI Port" switch to choose between "Omni" sending MIDI data to all CoreMIDI apps (matches previous versions of MIDIFlute) or "Virtual Port" sending to a named CoreMIDI virtual output port. When the "Virtual Port option is selected, MIDIFlute will show up as an input option in apps that support virtual ports like Sonosaurus ThumbJam, Universal-Piper, and MidiBridge. "Omni" mode is selected by default.

All MIDI settings are saved when the app quits and restored the next time it is run.

Touch the 'Shhh' icon at the top left to quiet any "stuck" notes if they occur.


How to use MIDIFlute with Popular Synthesizer Apps


Sonosaurus ThumbJam

- In "Preferences", under "Options", enabled "Background Audio".

If using the "Virtual Port" transmit port option, enable the input port under Preferences / MIDI Control / MIDI Input Connections.

- The "Channel Start" value in "Input Options" is already set to 1 by default.


IK Multimedia SampleTank

- In Settings (touch the gear icon), enable "Background Audio".


IK Multimedia iRig MIDI Hardware Interface

- For simple direct connection, in MIDIFlute, set the "Transmit MIDI Port" option to "Omni".

- If using a MIDI filtering app like MidiBridge to modify the data stream, in MIDIFlute, set the "Transmit MIDI Port" option to "Virtual Port".


Other CoreMIDI compatible synth apps will have similar settings.


Demonstration Videos


MIDI Configuration Tutorial for "ThumbJam"


Playing IK Multimedia SampleTank


Main Screen, All controls and Help Showing

IMG_0711


Questions and Answers


Q: The sound stops when I put four fingers on the screen.

A: Go into the iPad Settings app, and disable the "Multitasking Gestures" feature.

If it is on, when you put 4 fingers on the screen, Apple completely takes over the system, stops the sound and starts switching between apps.


Q: I'm running a CoreMIDI-compliant virtual synth app on my device, but I don't hear any sound when using your MIDI control surfaces.

A: Please check that "Background Audio" is enabled on the virtual synth app you are running.

Also check that the virtual synth app has an active patch on the same MIDI channel(s) you are sending from the control surface app.


Battery Saving Tips

Synthesizer apps running in the background often continue to consume power even after you are done playing.

Be sure to "Force Quit" the synthesizer app when you are done playing to ensure that you don't run down your battery.


ThumbJam Tips

On my iPad, I create user patches from the built-in patches that have the realtime tilt controls all disabled.

In ThumbJam into the Edit/Controls for the patch, set the Volume selector to "Fixed" and the Pan, Vibrato, Tremolo, and Pitch Bend to "None"

Then save the setup as a new user patch.

thumbjam_controls

If the sound level is too low through the speaker on your device, go into the Sound/(Volume/iPod) page and turn the "App Vol Boost" up to where the sound is louder but doesn't distort.

thumbjam_boost


More Apps To Enjoy

AppCordions iOS Apps Catalog


Contact

For more information, please contact Michael Eskin or visit the AppCordions.com website:

Visit AppCordions.com


Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc.,
registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc..
SampleTank® for iOS is a registered trademark of IK Multimedia
ThumbJam is a trademark of Sonosaurus, LLC