Now available on the iTunes App Store
Now available on the iTunes App Store
MidiAnglo is a WiFi-based wireless Anglo Concertina-style MIDI Controller for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
MidiAnglo doesn't make any sound on its own, it is designed for controlling hardware or software MIDI synthesizers via a WiFi connection to a Windows or Mac OS X based computer.
Multiple iPhone or iPod Touch devices (up to 16) can run MidiAnglo simultaneously, each sending messages on its own MIDI channel to the hardware or software synthesizer.
Anglo concertinas are commonly used for playing traditional Irish dance tunes, and is a much-favored instrument in County Clare, Ireland.
The Anglo concertina is diatonic, meaning the instrument plays a different note for each button depending on whether you are pushing or pulling on the bellows.
In MidiAnglo, to play, simply tip the iPhone/iPod Touch to the left for a bellows push note, or to the right for a bellows pull note, and press a button. The PUSH/PULL display on the bottom of the screen shows which direction the bellows is moving.
You may reverse the bellows while pushing a button simply by tipping in the opposite direction.
Multiple buttons (up to 5) may be pressed at the same time to play chords.
Note Guide (touch the '?' icon) shows the note names for each button when pushed or pulled.
Touch the '?' icon a second time for "Real-time Note Guide". This shows the notes for each button in realtime depending on push or pull.
Adjust the tilt sensitivity, right vs. left handed bellows pull select, and MIDI parameters on the settings page.
The button layout is based on a 17-key modified Jeffries style for playing traditional Irish dance tunes in the most common keys.
Includes five beautiful background skins inspired by classic wood and black lacquer sided instruments.
MidiAnglo requires two pieces of software to do its job. The first is the MidiAnglo app itself, running on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
The other is a small free open-source DSWiFiMIDI server application that you run on your PC or Mac before launching MidiAnglo.
The server application receives the MIDI messages from MidiAnglo via WiFi, and sends them along to either an external MIDI interface or a loopback MIDI driver to talk to software synthesizers running on the same computer.
Please read the instructions below for information on downloading and installing the open-source DSMIDIWiFi server application for your system.
For the most reliable performance with the lowest possible latency, I highly recommend that you connect the PC or Mac to the wireless access point that will be used by the iPhone/iPod Touch via a wired ethernet cable rather than use wireless for both the computer and the iPhone/iPod Touch. The computer and wireless gateway that the iPhone/iPod Touch is connected to must be on the same network.
To get the full benefit from MidiAnglo, you should be familiar with the use of MIDI control surfaces, hardware and/or software VST synthesizers.
If you have any concern about the compatibility of MidiAnglo with your own MIDI setup, I recommend first testing with one of these free DSMIDIWiFi-based apps available on the iTunes App Store before purchasing MidiAnglo:
Maple Skin:
Wood Skin:
Black Lacquer Skin:
Art Skin:
Static Note Guide (touch the '?' on the main page):
Real-time Note Guide on Push (touch the '?' on the main page):
(Touch the MIDI connector icon on the lower right of the main screen)
Touch the Tradlessons.com logo to go directly to the support website.
Select your skin using the Skin selector.
Set the transmit channel using the MIDI Channel slider. Any channel from 1-16 may be selected. Channel 1 is the default. Multiple devices can simultaneously talk to the MIDI synth, just make sure each device is on its own MIDI channel.
If you want to transpose the pitches being sent out, you may set a transpose value up to +/- one octave in semitone increments on the Transpose (semitones) slider. No transpose is the default.
Note-on events are sent with a fixed velocity. Set the velocity using the Velocity slider. Any value from 0-127 may be selected. Default value is 100.
If you ever have "stuck" notes, you may touch the "!" icon on the main screen to send a MIDI "All Notes Off" message and stop the sounds.
All settings are saved when exiting MidiAnglo and restored the next time it is run.
Installing the LoopBe1 MIDI Loopback Driver
To communicate with your Windows MIDI applications such as software synthesizers or sequencers, the DSMIDIWiFi Server needs a MIDI Loopback driver to send the data through to your application. If you have a hardware MIDI interface, and only want to directly control external MIDI synthesizers with MidiAnglo, the loopback driver is not required and you can skip down to the section below on installing the DSMIDIWiFi server.
For non-commercial use, there is a free MIDI loopback driver called "LoopBe1" available from nerds.de (click on the image for more information):
The download page for LoopBe1 on nerds.de is at:
The LoopBe1 installer is available for download at the bottom of that page. Click the link that says "Download setuploopbe1.exe"
Save the file to your hard drive and then run "setuploopbe1.exe" to install the loopback driver.
Download and Install the DSMIDIWiFi Server:
1. Please download the DSMI server installer for Windows from the DSMI Project Page on Google Code (click the image):
The file to download is labeled "dsmidiwifi-v1.01.zip - DSMI server for Windows"
2. Save the file "dsmidiwifi-v1.01.zip" to your hard drive.
3. Open the .zip archive by double-clicking on the downloaded file.
4. Copy all the files in the .zip archive to your desktop or another folder. This includes the DSMIDIWiFi.exe application and several supporting .dll files.
Running the DSMIDIWifi Server and Connecting via MIDI to your Music Programs:
1. Running the server is very easy, simply double-click the DSMIDIWiFi.exe application in the destination folder where you previously copied the unzipped files.
2. Select the MIDI Loopback driver as the MIDI output in the DSMIDI Server.
3. In your Windows MIDI application, select the loopback driver as your MIDI input.
4. Make sure your iPhone/iTouch is connected over WiFi and you should now be able to send MIDI data to your desktop applications.
Running the DSMIDIWifi Server and Connecting via MIDI to Hardware Synthesizers:
1. If you have a hardware MIDI interface on your computer connected to external hardware MIDI sythesizers, you may play them directly from your iPhone/iPod Touch. No additional loopback driver is required.
2. In the DSMIDIWiFi.exe Server application, select your hardware MIDI interface output port that is connected to the hardware synthesizers.
3. Please check that the hardware synthesizer is set to receive on the MIDI channel MidiAnglo is transmitting on (Channel 1 by default, but can be changed on the settings page).
Download and Install the DSMIDIWiFi Server:
1. Please download the DSMI server installer for Mac OS X from the DSMI Project Page on Google Code (click the image):
The file to download is labeled "dsmidiwifi-v1.02.dmg - DSMI Server for OSX"
2. Open the .dmg file by double clicking on the downloaded file.
3. Locate the DSMIDIWifi Server program file and copy it to your Applications folder
Running the DSMIDIWifi Server and Connecting via MIDI to your Music Programs:
1. Running the server is very easy, just double-click the DSMIDIWifi program in your Applications folder to start.
2. When the server is running, your MIDI capable applications will show a MIDI in port called "DSMIDIWifi-out". Choose this as your MIDI input.
3. Make sure your iPhone/iTouch is connected over WiFi and you should now be able to send MIDI data to your desktop applications.
Running the DSMIDIWifi Server and Connecting via MIDI to Hardware Synthesizers:
1. If you have a hardware MIDI interface on your computer connected to external hardware MIDI sythesizers, you may play them directly from your iPhone/iPod Touch.
2. In the DSMIDIWiFi Server application, select your hardware MIDI interface output port that is connected to the hardware synthesizers.
3. Please check that the hardware synthesizer is set to receive on the MIDI channel MidiAnglo is transmitting on (Channel 1 by default, but can be changed on the settings page).
Playing Tips:
You can slide between notes, this can be very useful for all kinds of percussion and other effects.
Up to 16 iPhone or iPod Touch devices can run MidiAnglo simultaneously on the same network, just ensure that each is on its own MIDI channel using the MIDI Channel slider on the settings page and that each MIDI channel has been assigned to an instrument on the hardware or software synthesizer.
There are several notes on the English Concertina button map that are duplicates: the first and second octave G#/Ab as well as the second octave D#/Eb. These are great to use for percussion sounds where you want to be able to stike the same note quickly. Use the transpose feature and the settings on your synthesizer to map these notes to the sounds you require.
FAQ:
Q: What do you use as a hardware setup for portable use?
A: I use an older Windows XP based laptop (Pentium M based) and a small WiFi router that I connect to the laptop via Ethernet. LoopBe1 is installed on the laptop for MIDI loopback. I found this much simpler and more robust than trying to setup an Ad-Hoc WiFi network. I set the WiFi access point up with the SSID "DSMIDIWiFi" and then connect my iPhone via WiFi.I then run the DSMIDIWiFi program on the laptop and launch my software synth programs.
Q: I'm using MidiAnglo on Windows with the default "Microsoft GW Wavetable SW Synth" and the latency is very high, what's wrong?
A: That isn't anything having to do with my app, that's because the Microsoft GS synth wasn't designed for realtime playback. The app really is intended for use with low latency VST software synths and/or hardware MIDI modules, I've tested on both of those configurations and have extremely low latency.
Q: I'm getting dropped notes and very bad latency, what can I do?
A: If your computer is connected to the network via a wireless adapter, try switching to a wired ethernet connection. The most reliable performance and lowest latency can only be acheived if the PC or Mac is connected to the network via a hardware ethernet interface. This is particularly true for older/slower laptops.
Q: I'm on a Windows system and nothing is working! Help!
A: Make sure that you don't have the Windows Firewall blocking data from getting to DSMIDIWiFi or the LoopBe1 driver. Also check that no other network-aware components, such as realtime network virus scanners are filtering or interfering with the flow of data from the network to the DSMIDIWiFi server.
Q: Where can I learn more about how to play the Anglo Concertina?
A: Please visit the following sites for more information and online learning materials:
Q: Now that I've learned the Anglo Concertina fingerings for some tunes on the iPhone/iPod Touch app, I'd like to buy a real instrument. Who do you recommend?
A: The Button Box carries a wide range of new and vintage instruments.
Future Plans:
I am very interested in any suggestions for features or improvements to MidiAnglos for future updates, please drop me an email anytime with your ideas!
Other Apps by Michael Eskin:
Concertina - Anglo Concertinas in C/G, Bb/F, A/E, and G/D.
Englitina - High Quality Treble/Baritone English Concertinas
JustDrones - Three Uilleann pipes drones in the keys of Bb, B, C, C#, D, E, F, G, and A, with additional interval drone.
3QuarterSet - Three Uilleann pipes drones and two regulators in the keys of D, C#, C, B, and Bb, designed for live play
4QuarterSet - Full set of three Uilleann pipes drones and three regulators in the keys of D, C#, C, and B
Uillitina - Uilleann Pipes as an English Concertina
PipeKeys - Uilleann pipes 3/4 sets in D, C, and B as a standard piano keyboard
ButtonBox - 3 Reed Bank Irish Button Accordion using English concertina fingerings
BoxKeys - 3 Reed Bank Irish Piano Accordion
Haydentina - Hayden-style Duet Concertina
Canntina - MacCann-style Duet Concertina
MIDIKeys - Wireless MIDI Keyboard Controller
MidiAnglo - Wireless Concertina-style MIDI Controller
3QSWiFi - Uilleann pipe drones + two regulators wireless MIDI Controller
4QSWiFi - Uilleann pipe drones + three regulators wireless MIDI Controller
Duettina - Two-sided Hayden-style Duet Concertina
HexJam - Hexagonal Jammer Concertina
mJammer - mJammer - Wireless MIDI Jammer-style Control Surface for the iPhone/iPod Touch
iJammer - iJammer - Wireless MIDI Jammer-style Control Surface for the iPad
A huge thank you to Janelle Shane and Art Tawanghar for generously developing truly inspiring artwork for the background skins.
Known issues:
None at this time.
For more information, please contact Michael Eskin or visit the Tradlessons.com website:
