# BLOWFINGER breath-controlled instrument for iPad (wind and breath controller) is live!



## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 6, 2013)

This is the app monster programmer Stefan Podell and I have been working on. It's out!

Blowfinger is a MIDI wind controller with both Keyboard and Wind modes, it can also work as just a breath controller, plus it has pads for keyswitches/program changes that you can name.

But wait there's more...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blowfinger/id767728385

The App Store summary is up with screen dumps, and we'll have more info up on our site shortly.


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## sbkp (Dec 6, 2013)

Finally! A breath controller you don't have to spend $100-$200 on!

It was all Nick's idea. He's like that with great ideas.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 6, 2013)

Feh. sbkp did the heavy lifting of actually programming it.


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## Mr. Anxiety (Dec 9, 2013)

Nice Nick, congrats on getting this released!

Mr A


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## Giant_Shadow (Dec 9, 2013)

Awesome idea guys! Waiting for some itunes cards for Xmas and will be getting. 

I know some of the newer ipads are multi tasking. Could I have this app and say Logic Remote running at the same time ?

Does this need a midi interface ?

Can't wait to try this with The Trumpet when i get it next year.

James


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 9, 2013)

Thanks Mr. A.

GS, I don't think you can run Logic Remote at the same time as Blowfinger (and my original iPad doesn't run LR to run here and check), but it might work in "breath-only" mode in the background - i.e. when you're using it as a breath controller rather than a wind controller.

You can run Core MIDI-compatible syths in the background and control them with Blowfinger, though.

It doesn't need a MIDI interface - Network MIDI works over wi-fi works really well. But it does supporet any and all MIDI interfaces you have hooked up (simultaneously).


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## Giant_Shadow (Dec 9, 2013)

Thanks again Nick, Are you guys going to be doing a youtube for it ?


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## sbkp (Dec 9, 2013)

Yep. Videos and all sorts of stuff are coming.

Thanks for the interest!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 9, 2013)

Yup, Batzdorf is working on videos. He's so slow!


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## DaddyO (Dec 10, 2013)

Will this always be limited to an Apple environment, or is a Windows version to be expected in the future?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 10, 2013)

It works very well with the free rtpMIDI driver on Windows, exactly the same way it works with Network MIDI on a Mac!

<http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/rtpmidi.html>

Or do you mean iOS is an Apple environment? There doesn't seem to be any call for a Windows tablet or even Android version.


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## KingIdiot (Dec 10, 2013)

good deal!


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## germancomponist (Dec 10, 2013)

What a cool idea! 

Congrats, Nick & Stefan!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks.

By the way, DaddyO, I should underline that the output is simply MIDI, which is platform-agnostic.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 10, 2013)

http://batzode.com/2013/12/simple-blowfinger-mouthpieces/ (http://batzode.com/2013/12/simple-blowf ... uthpieces/)


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## germancomponist (Dec 10, 2013)

I will share this on facebook, Nick.


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## sbkp (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks, Gunther!


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## chimuelo (Dec 10, 2013)

Congrats NickyBatz.
I remember you wanting something better for a long time.
Seems you guys will make your mark.

I hope I can use this w/ Windows somehow, I haven't read thoroughly yet, but I am looking at custom made EuroRack MIDI DIY stuff, and having Joysticks and BC options is sweet.

Cheerz.. o-[][]-o


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 10, 2013)

You can use it with Windows!

If I may, what in the blurb makes it seem like you can't? You're the second person in this thread to bring that up, so obviously there's something subliminal in my copy. 

I want to change whatever it is, because people form quick impressions when they're reading about products - nobody can be expected to pore over all the details.

And thanks Chim.


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## Justin Miller (Dec 10, 2013)

Hey, can you explain how the breath control works? Also how well does it work with monitors blasting away in the same room?


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## DaddyO (Dec 11, 2013)

Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Dec 10 said:


> You can use it with Windows!
> 
> If I may, what in the blurb makes it seem like you can't? You're the second person in this thread to bring that up, so obviously there's something subliminal in my copy.
> 
> ...



I guess the fact that it is on the iTunes app store. I've never bought any apps from the site, so I simply assumed it was Apple only. 

Oh, and this verbiage from the listing: 
"Compatibility: Requires iOS 5.1 or later. Compatible with iPad"

I have never had an iPhone or any Apple product.


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## DaddyO (Dec 11, 2013)

Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Dec 10 said:


> It works very well with the free rtpMIDI driver on Windows, exactly the same way it works with Network MIDI on a Mac!
> 
> <http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/rtpmidi.html>
> 
> Or do you mean iOS is an Apple environment? There doesn't seem to be any call for a Windows tablet or even Android version.



OK, if this works with Windows 7, what is required to set that up? I just download this rtpmidi file and install it on my PC? Then, from the link you supplied, it appears there is some hardware adapter required. This leads me to conclude that the program can be jury-rigged to run on WIndows, but it is not natively programmed to run on Windows. Is that correct?

Not everybody is tech-savvy with regard to iOS <> WIndows interoperability, and I'm a case in point, although I imagine that most who work in a studio of any size are familiar with these things.


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## sbkp (Dec 11, 2013)

DaddyO,

It does require an iPad. As you correctly concluded, its presence on the iTunes App Store means that Blowfinger itself doesn't run in Windows. What Nick was saying is that from the iPad it will _talk_ to a Windows machine over wi-fi and the Windows program called "rtpMidi."

I hope that clarifies.

Best,
Stefan


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## chimuelo (Dec 11, 2013)

Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Dec 10 said:


> You can use it with Windows!
> 
> If I may, what in the blurb makes it seem like you can't? You're the second person in this thread to bring that up, so obviously there's something subliminal in my copy.
> 
> ...



My Bad.
Whenever I see an Apple ad with an iPad I assume it's proprietary, but now I see how it can be used with MIDI which is the language I speak.
Now to finish the BCF 2000 replacement, knowing this will be the BC choice.

Already have the joystick and wheels spoken for. Livid Elements on order too.
Should be nice when finished, will share some shots when it's done.


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## DaddyO (Dec 11, 2013)

sbkp @ Wed Dec 11 said:


> DaddyO,
> 
> It does require an iPad. As you correctly concluded, its presence on the iTunes App Store means that Blowfinger itself doesn't run in Windows. What Nick was saying is that from the iPad it will _talk_ to a Windows machine over wi-fi and the Windows program called "rtpMidi."
> 
> ...



Ah, OK. I don't have an iPad and probably won't, so that clarifies things for me.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 11, 2013)

Justin, it converts the wind noise from blowing across any mic into a MIDI CC. But the devil is in the details - it's very smooth.

You'd think the sound from your speakers would trigger the mic, but in practice the wind noise is so much louder than any ambient sound that it doesn't. We do have a threshold control, however.

That's addressed in the last paragraph here (not that you will snooze at what comes before the last paragraph  ):

http://batzode.com/2013/12/simple-blowfinger-mouthpieces/ (http://batzode.com/2013/12/simple-blowf ... uthpieces/)


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## minimidi (Dec 12, 2013)

Before getting my first real breath controller (from TEC) I spent an awful lot of time playing with Max software and a microphone, trying to implement a poor man's breath controller.

My conclusion in a nutshell: it can't be made to work acceptably well. The reason: microphone based implementations are only sensitive to varying pressure (the DC and anything below 20-100 Hz, depending on soundcard, is blocked in the soundcard) and an envelope detector must be used to demodulate the amplitude of the audio signal:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envelope_detector



> Most practical envelope detectors use either half-wave or full-wave rectification of the signal to convert the AC audio input into a pulsed DC signal. Filtering is then used to smooth the final result. This filtering is rarely perfect and some "ripple" is likely to remain on the envelope follower output, particularly for low frequency inputs such as notes from a bass guitar. *More filtering gives a smoother result, but decreases the responsiveness*; thus, real-world designs must be optimized for the application.









In my experience tuning the filter acceptably is impossible. To get acceptably fast dynamic response, the filter must be fast which allows a lot of ripple and noise through. To get acceptably low ripple, filtering must be increased which results in impossibly slow response.

In addition the response is dependent on the type of audio signal you blow in the microphone, for example high pitch whistling works a bit better but you quickly tire of doing that.

Another problem, the thing is sensitive to the same audio you are producing which is itself a nightmare. 

Yes you could have some fun with this and it's cheap enough to try. But after having tried a proper breath controller with a real pressure sensor, I can tell you there is absolutely no contest: the two types of devices are a universe apart. 

So if you can afford one, get a proper BC. There are now at least two alternatives (TEC and MRT) to the discontinued Yamaha BC3a so it's not as expensive and difficult as it used to be.


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## yujade (Dec 29, 2013)

I am interested in this app, but would like to see a demonstration video of it, or sound sample, or something before I do, since it is a little pricier than the average app, and I am not sure how smooth it would be. I hope that people will put in some reviews for you - as an iOS app developer myself, it is frustrating when there are few reviews. But hopefully they will be positive!


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## Will Blackburn (Dec 30, 2013)

android please


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 30, 2013)

I'm working on a video, yujade. Thanks for your interest. I'll post here when it's up.

And I just read minimidi's post.

You played around with Max and have therefore decided that Blowfinger isn't a "proper BC?"

I own or have owned the BC1, BC-3A, two different EWIs (a wind controller, but it has breath control as well), the Air Command breath controller I introduced briefly...and I can tell you unequivocally that Blowfinger works extremely well.

Also, Blowfinger is more than a breath controller.

If anyone wants to criticize it after trying it, no problem, but I submit that none of what mm is saying has anything to do with actual reality.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Dec 30, 2013)

wcb123, that's a possibility.


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## Will Blackburn (Jan 4, 2014)

Nick Batzdorf @ Mon Dec 30 said:


> wcb123, that's a possibility.



I don't understand why so many developers are only considering Android. Its overtaken IOS in popularity!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 4, 2014)

We started on the iOS version before that was the case. But the main question is whether there are enough Android-using *musicians* to support Blowfinger - and I'm not saying the answer is no, just that it's an open question.

The question after that is how complicated it is to support lots of different hardware. I don't know the answer to that either.

But your interest is appreciated, and I'm not just saying that!


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## hendyb (Jan 22, 2014)

is there any video instruction on how to use it? or someone has reviewed this app?

It is very hard to jump to buy the product if it doesn't have any manual, video instruction, or even a review from someone who has tried it.


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## markwind (Jan 22, 2014)

Youtube videos would be hugely helpful to evaluate it. Also, any idea when the Iphone version will be up?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 22, 2014)

It has a manual, but I'm very slow with the video.

My apologies- I'm almost there!

Here's the manual:

http://batzode.com/blowfinger/user-guide/


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