Week 12 – Final Proposal Megan

Concept

My project is called Music Producer, and it’s basically an interactive system where you take something super simple, like your voice saying “hello”, and turn it into a full song and visual artwork.

You start by recording your voice directly in p5.js. After that, everything becomes about experimenting and building on top of it. The idea is that you’re not just editing sound, you’re playing with it. You can change how it sounds, slow it down, make it higher or lower, and then start adding layers like beats, piano, or bass.

What I find interesting is that the same controls can mean different things depending on what mode you’re in. So instead of having a million controls, you have a simple setup that changes function depending on what you’re trying to do. At the same time, everything you add or change shows up visually, so by the end you don’t just have music, you have something that looks like a living artwork.

Mediums

This project uses p5.js and Arduino, but they do very different things.

• p5.js is where everything actually happens. It records the audio, plays it back, lets you edit it, and also creates all the visuals. It also has different “sections” or modes, like pitch, tempo, piano, beats, and bass.
• Arduino is just the controller. It doesn’t deal with sound directly. Instead, it sends inputs using buttons and a potentiometer. The buttons are used to trigger things like adding beats or notes, and the potentiometer controls continuous changes like pitch or tempo.

So basically, p5.js is the brain, and Arduino is the hands.

Process

First, I’m going to make sure I can record and loop audio in p5.js, since that’s the base of everything.

Then I’ll build the Arduino circuit with the buttons, LEDs, and potentiometer, and make sure it sends clean data through serial.

After that, I’ll connect both systems and start mapping inputs. The important part here is that the controls change depending on the mode you’re in. For example:

• in pitch mode, the potentiometer controls pitch
• in tempo mode, it controls speed
• in piano mode, the buttons trigger notes

Then I’ll add different sound layers like beats, bass, and simple melodies.

At the same time, I’ll design the visuals so they match each element:

• voice looks like waveforms moving and changing size
• piano shows points that grow and shrink
• beats look like stars or pulses
• bass looks like slower waves
• different notes have different colors

Finally, I’ll focus on making everything feel smooth, responsive, and easy to understand.

Final Goal and Interaction

The goal is that you can take something super basic, like one word, and turn it into a full composition.

The interaction is very simple but keeps going:

• you record your voice
• you choose a mode
• you use the physical controls to change or add things
• the system responds instantly with sound and visuals
• you keep building

By the end, you have your own song, and at the same time a visual piece that represents everything you created.

Expectations for the Project

I want this project to feel fun and intuitive, not confusing. It should be clear what you’re controlling, and every action should have an immediate result.

I also want people to feel like they’re actually creating something, not just pressing buttons. Even if the input is simple, the output should feel complex and expressive.

Overall, I’m expecting a system where sound, visuals, and interaction all feel connected, and where the user can experiment freely and end up with something that feels like their own piece of art.