For musicians familiar with the metronome, an instrument that produces rhythmic ticks to help maintain steady tempo, PendulumSynth offers a unique twist on the concept. With PendulumSynth, [mrezanvari] repurposes the traditional pendulum in a novel musical application.
This innovative build features a 10-inch plastic ball as the weighted end of the pendulum, housing a STM32F411CE BlackPill board, a BNO085 IMU, and an nRF radio module for transmitting data for external processing. The motion of the pendulum is translated into MIDI data or CV to drive musical hardware responsible for sound generation.
PendulumSynth offers several operational modes. In Gravity mode, it continuously outputs MIDI data and CV based on the pendulum’s ongoing motion, while DIV3 mode monitors the pendulum’s movement and generates 3 regular trigger points accordingly.
The intuitive physicality of the pendulum combined with its substantial size creates an engaging musical experience. Similar captivating musical installations have been showcased in the past. Watch the video below to see PendulumSynth in action.
