In simple words

For years I owned a soundproofed cabin where I played the bandoneon without bothering anybody. I sold that cabin while moving to another flat and faced again the issue of practicing silently. As my day-to-day job is embedded systems, I slowly thought about turning my instrument into a MIDI one. That's how that project came to life.

Please note that the project files are hosted on Gitlab (https://gitlab.com/HLeBoucher/bandomidi). You will also find 2 videos showing how does this project run.

What it does.

  • when you press a key, it generates a MIDI note.
  • there is one instrument by hand. This means you can have different soundfonts on right and left hands.

What it does not.

  • being silent means no bellow. Since there is no register (as in an accordeon or an organ), using the bellow will sound. Big limitation, I know.
  • as I play chromatic bandoneon (similar notes either pushing or pulling), I did not take into account specificities related to bi-sonoric bandoneon.
  • it does not manage intensity: notes are On or Off. Though it would not be hard to add a basic pressure sensor.
  • the 4 highest notes of the right hand are not MIDIfied: mechanically speaking, they are completely appart and since I never play them (do you?) I decided that they do not exist.
  • it is not wireless. But it would be a great idea: finally cables are a bit annoying.