#pi-day — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pi-day, aggregated by home.social.
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Minimalist Lo-Fi Minimalism – Part 2
Last year I programmed up an Arduino with my Pi Day MIDI Sequencer to play a short extract from Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach. You can read all about that here: Minimalist Lo-Fi Minimalism.
Having spent a fair bit of the time since then playing around with an Arduino and SP0256A-AL2 and finally getting it hooked up to MIDI, I parked an idle though that it might be interesting to get it “singing” part of Einstein on the Beach. This post comes back to that idea.
https://makertube.net/w/4upxhBNemynPiFKfdzzea2
Warning! I strongly recommend using old or second hand equipment for your experiments. I am not responsible for any damage to expensive instruments!
These are the key Arduino tutorials for the main concepts used in this project:
- Minimalist Lo-Fi Minimalism
- SP0256A-AL2 Speech Synthesis
- Arduino and SP0256A-AL2 – Part 6
- Pi Day MIDI Sequencer
If you are new to Arduino, see the Getting Started pages.
Parts list
- 2x Arduino Uno
- Pi Day MIDI Sequencer
- Arduino SP0256A-AL2 Shield Design
The Circuit
I did wonder about combining both the Pi Day sequencer and SP0256A-AL2 shield into a single device, but then decided it would be simpler to treat them as two separate devices and use MIDI to pass control between them.
Consequently I’ve ended up as follows:
- Pi Sequencer -> MIDI TRS -> SL0256A-AL2 -> MIDI TRS -> synth
Where the Pi sequencer is running the code for Minimalist Lo-Fi Minimalism with a small update to send additional MIDI messages to be interpreted by the SL0256A-AL2. All other MIDI is passed through the SL0256A onto a MIDI synth as before.
The Code
Having decided on the basic architecture, the next decision was how to encode the information destined for the speech synthesizer. I need to be able to tell it a pitch and a number to be “sung”. I toyed with the following ideas:
- MIDI NoteOn with pitch, but using note velocity to encode the number to sing.
- MIDI Program Control to select the number, then MIDI pitch and velocity as normal.
- Use the MIDI channel for the number, and pitch and velocity as normal.
I opted for the last option, treating each number as a different instrument on a different MIDI channel. This is a bit wasteful but was a lot easier for testing than attempting to get a specific velocity or having to send MIDI PC messages to keep reselecting the “voice” before each note.
As described previously in Minimalist Lo-Fi Minimalism MIDI channels 1,2 and 3 are already used for the bass and two voice lines, so I’m using MIDI channels 4 through to 13 for the numbers one to ten.
The code for the Glass already has pitch and which number encoded into the data structures. To trigger the “singing” via the speech synthesizer I’m using the Soprano voice pitches, but an octave lower, so it is a relatively simple matter of adding in an additional MIDI send as follows:
MIDI.sendNoteOn(sop[i], 64, MIDI_CHANNEL_SOP); // Original code
MIDI.sendNoteOn(sop[i]-12, 64, MIDI_CHANNEL_NUM-1+num[i]); // New code
lastsop = sop[i]; // Original codeIt is using the “NUM” MIDI channel – 1 as I’m encoding the numbers 1 to 10 which are stored in the num[] array. As the speech synthesis is essentially running at a fixed duration for each utterance, I’m not even bothering with a Note Off message.
On the speech synth side, again essentially all of the code is the same as for the Arduino and SP0256A-AL2 – Part 6 MIDI code, but instead of singing “do, re, mi”, etc linked to pitch, I need to take the word from the MIDI channel. To do this, I’ve expanded the speak() function to include the number and call it as follows from the NoteOn callback:
speak(channel-MIDI_CH2NUM, pitch);
This will result in a number from 1 to 10 and a MIDI pitch which can then be used to select the playback frequency as before and then say the allophones corresponding to the received number.
void speak (uint8_t num, uint8_t note) {
midi2clock (note);
switch(num){
case 1: // One
spAllo(WW1);
spAllo(AX1);
spAllo(NN1);
break;
case 2: // Two
spAllo(TT2);
spAllo(UW2);
break;
}
spAllo(PA3);
}The SP0256A-AL2 datasheet lists the allophones to use for the basic numbers.
I’ve used, in a few cases, slightly shortened versions of the numbers from one to ten. In particular I’ve removed the duplicate allophones for six and seven to make them a little shorter to playback.
The allophones for “One” includes the use of “SX” but I can find no other mention of that in the datasheet, so I’ve ignored it.
One final change was to tweak the timings of the original playback. I’ve had to slow it down a lot to give the SP0256A-AL2 time to say each number, and I’ve also introduced a small delay between sending the MIDI messages and updating the numbers on the display to allow them to sync up a little better.
If the MIDI went to the synth directly from the Pi Day sequencer then a delay would probably be required there too, but as it has to go through the SP0256A-AL2 and get sent back out using the “software THRU” of the Arduino MIDI library, it has a natural slight delay already and isn’t too noticeably out of sync.
Closing Thoughts
I always knew there would be a few limitations, not least of which due to the time it takes to play back the allophones, but in essence I believe this works. I’d rather it was a little more up tempo, but sometimes one just has to work with what is available.
I think it is certainly keeping within the spirit of attempting an extract of the original opera on 8-bit microcontrollers, so it’s not doing too badly.
Kevin
#arduinoUno #midi #Minimalism #PhilipGlass #piday #sp0256aal2 -
The Altmetric Explorer is belatedly celebrating #PiDay in its own way.
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R to @ERC_Research: One example: mathematicians Christoph Thiele & Floris van Doorn received a €6.4M ERC Synergy Grant in 2025 to explore whether computers could verify mathematical proofs.
Read more: https://bit.ly/4s9sSXE
#PiDay #Mathematics
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https://nitter.net/ERC_Research/status/2032773895821078607#m -
Did you know the ERC has funded some 625 mathematics projects since its creation, worth over €880 million and hosted by 170 institutions across Europe?
#PiDay #Mathematics
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https://nitter.net/ERC_Research/status/2032773856486896094#m -
Another #PiDay themed visualisation for #TidyTuesday this week!
📊 Made with #ggplot2
🛠️ Function to shown first n digits and highlight specific ones
🪄 Gif created with {magick}Code: https://github.com/nrennie/tidytuesday/tree/main/2026/2026-03-24
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LAST CHANCE: Our Pi Day Sale ends March 21st! Get 50% off Raspberry Pi Geek and MakerSpace products
Customers in Europe or the UK (EUR/GBP):
https://shop.sparkhausmedia.com/shop/category/pi-day-sale-106Customers in All Other Countries (USD):
https://shop.linuxnewmedia.com/shop/category/pi-day-sale-105#PiDay #RaspberryPi #makers #Arduino #OpenHardware #FPGA #RetroGaming #projects #tutorials #OpenSource
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Happy belated Pi Day! π 3.1415926535897932385...
Artwork by Jessica Warrick ❤️😋 #PiDay
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💁🏻♀️ ICYMI: 🥧🔢 AsapSCIENCE’s Mitchell Moffit continues a fun annual tradition for March 14 with a new mnemonic #song.
Watch as he sets out to help you learn 400 digits of #pi just in time for #PiDay. The lyrics pair random #numbers with rhymes to help those digits stick in your #brain.
#animation #classical #music #drawing #geometry #math #play #song #tksst #video
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Approximately Pie
We made an Oreo Peanut Butter Pie (from one of Prairie Vegan‘s digital recipes)… a day late for Pi Day because we were missing an ingredient.
Super sweet and super delicious!
I might have slightly burnt the ganache; definitely follow the instruction to remove from heat, unlike me. We used Unreal peanut butter cups for the garnish since the plant-based Reese’s weren’t in stock anywhere around here.
#baking #math #piDay #pie #vegan -
New Mosterdgeel recipe for Pi-day: Banana bread from a French cryptographer
https://www.mosterdgeel.nl/recepten/bananenbrood/ (in Dutch)
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New blog post: the end of fake spring 2, #abolishice , seed starting, celebrating #Piday with cherry pie, and reading some really good #books https://astoneintheriver.net/2026/03/15/the-end-of-fake-spring-part-two/
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The End of Fake Spring Part Two
It was 60F /15.5 C a week ago and close to that on the day after! I even dried laundry out on the clothesline. Then fake spring the second came to a screeching halt last Tuesday night while James and I were out on neighborhood patrol. The wind was already gusting and then it started sleeting. If you have ever had sleet slamming into your face you are currently cringing and thinking, ouch! If you have never had the pleasure, perhaps you have had sand or small bits of gravel grit whipped against your bare skin? Now pretend they are ice instead. It’s a barrage of cold needle pricks. And when you think it can’t get any worse, one hits you in the eye.
We stuck it out a little longer because we had reported two ICE-y vehicles prowling the neighborhood and we wanted to be able to send an update if they slunk by again. But when you have to put your hands up over your eyes to protect them from the sleet, it is kind of hard to see what else is happening on the other side of your mittens. So we reluctantly called it a night and went home and crawled into bed early for a little relaxing reading time.
Minneapolis has dropped like a stone out of the headlines since the government announced the anti-immigration surge was over. But, while there are fewer Department of Homeland Security agents here—nobody knows how many, some report 180 and some 900 and both got these numbers from the government (my guess is closer to 900)—there are still abductions happening every day. Since Bovino and Noem have been fired the abductions have become quieter and more targeted rather than the in-your-face performances requiring tear gas thrown into peaceful crowds and gallons of pepper spray aimed at anyone who dares to stop and look and question what is going on.
But they are getting ready for something and we don’t know what, though there are guesses. Over the last several days ICE has taken delivery of over 100 new SUVs at headquarters. None of them have yet been driven off the base. I suspect they are planning on something for March 17th, the day the protected status for Somali refugees expires. Thing is though, something like 90-95% of Somalis in Minnesota are United States citizens, having either been naturalized or born here. However, according to the Star Tribune (local paper), there are 2,500 Somalis who currently have protected status in the United States and most of them live in Minnesota (gift link). If you have been paying attention, you know the disgusting things the President has said about Somalia and Somali people, including Ilhan Omar my Congressional Representative. Except none of this is about immigration to begin with, but rather a terror campaign conducted in an effort to consolidate authoritarian power.
Kind of like the war Trump started against Iran, which by a number of reports, appears that Trump was pressed into it by the Israeli government. Spend a little time thinking about what that means. And while you’re at it, take a look at some recent reporting about plans for Gaza. If those reconstruction plans go through some people will be making a lot of money and they won’t be Palestinian.
It’s hard to know what is going on with Trump these days, he is seriously boffo and even more incoherent by the second. He accuses people of covering up for Biden and his problems, I can only imagine how much is being covered up with Trump. Actually, I don’t want to try and imagine it because it is just too horrific. It will all come out eventually but by then it will be far too late. So we continue to suffer from his incomprehensible whims and desire for revenge and self-aggrandizement. We’re spending over a billion dollars a day on an unnecessary war but somehow have no money to fund health care or food stamps or anything for people who actually need help instead of billionaires whose only goal in life is to have the biggest bank account, everyone and everything else be damned. What sad, broken men they are, and they are pretty much all men.
I wish I could say fake spring part 3 or even real spring has arrived, but there is currently a blizzard going on outside my windows. We were on foot patrol Saturday afternoon and in an amazingly accurate for a change forecast, it began snowing only ten minutes before the winter storm watch went into effect. It’s been snowing since then, though I can’t tell how much has fallen because the 24 mph winds are whipping it all around.
I did a first round of shoveling early this morning after breakfast and there was about 6 inches/ 15 cm of heavy, sticky snow. I haven’t been out since, but will need to venture out at some point. Added to the insult of the snow and wind, temperatures by Monday night will be subzero F /-18 C.
Meanwhile, indoors, the seedlings are doing great. I have already had to raise the grow light above the tomatoes. It might not be spring outside, but it is spring in my kitchen and in my heart.
The seed sprouting setup. Tomatoes and peppers on the top shelf, herbs on the shelf below. You can see snow on the grapevine outside the window.One of the best things about getting connected with neighbors for ICE watch and mutual aid, is also finding other ways to connect. I am now part of a neighborhood garden group who will be raising extra veg for the purpose of donating it to the neighborhood food shelf. A couple folks have organized a seed swap for next weekend. Yesterday I went through all my seeds and made up quite a few envelopes of tomato, bean, squash, herb and flower seeds to share. In sharing my seeds I have no plans to bring home any new seeds. Does anyone want to wager on how many seed packets I come home with?
Life has gotten increasingly busier and rewarding, but I have also made sure to take time to rest. Some days I don’t feel like I have rested enough, but I do what I can. Yesterday, life was a pie full of cherries. Well, and today too because leftovers. Saturday was Pi Day y’all, at least in the weird way Americans write our dates. To celebrate the magic of 3.14, James made cherry pie. The cherries are from the garden cherry bushes and have been waiting quietly in the freezer since August. James also made vanilla ice cream. Not exactly ice cream weather as it turned out, but with hot coffee and tea and warm pie it was all perfect. And there is still some leftover so I will get to enjoy it a third time.
Take a gander at the cherry pie! James got fancy and cut hearts in the top crust.I’ve also been enjoying some great books. I am in the midst of Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, and enjoying it immensely. Also reading Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times by Tracy K. Smith. I enjoy reading poets analyzing poetry and Smith is really good at it, meaning she doesn’t write in academic jargon but everyday language. The book is about overcoming the fear of poetry, which I don’t have but I know many people do, as well as a discussion about the importance of poetry, especially in uncertain times. It is a slim book that I am slowly savoring.
Then there is Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney and Mothers of the Novel by Dale Spender both of which I am reading because of Marcie at Buried in Print, darn her! I’m not far along in either book, but they are tickling something I need at the moment, and I find myself thinking about them and the novelists they write about even when I am not reading the books. I have already made a reading date with a friend to do a summer read together of Frances Burney’s Evelina. No doubt, there will be other novels sneaking onto my TBR pile.
As for poetry, I am reading June Jordan, Marie Howe, and Wendy Barker. All of them very different and all of them very good.
And with that, I have a few handwritten notes yet to write, some snow to assess, a couple chores to finish, some yoga to ease my tired muscles, and some books to fall into. And perhaps a second helping of pie.
Send warm, melty spring thoughts my way please!
#blizzard #cherryPie #fakeSpring #Gaza #ICE #Iran #PiDay #seedStarting #sleet #Somalia #winter -
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@evan Well, obviously I missed my 3:14pm target, but the dessert was Apple Crumble Pie, served with Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream. There was once piece left over, which I claimed for breakfast today. There was leftover pizza for lunch, so my last three meals have been pie and pie, pie, and pie. #Winning #PiDay
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Pi got redefined to 15.032026 obviously. It's not just a minority of people pushing a "international pi day" because of their own date system. That also makes it easier to use as it is now a finite number.
/s -
3/
Curiously, #Ramanujan [2] noted another approx. [B] (longer) with the same accuracy as in the case [A] for f(163): "31 places of decimals".
In #GNUlinux Bash, easy to compare the two even with bc:
echo 'scale=60; l( 640320^3 + 744 ) / sqrt(163)' | bc -l;
echo 'scale=60; 4/sqrt(522)*l( ((5+sqrt(29))/sqrt(2))^3 * (5*sqrt(29) + 11*sqrt(6) ) * ( sqrt((9+3*sqrt(6))/4 ) + sqrt((5+3*sqrt(6))/4 ) )^6 )' | bc -l;
To show π in bc, use π = 4 arctan(1):
echo 'scale=60; 4*a(1)' | bc -l;
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I'm a few hours late with my #PiDay post, but here's some of the testing for my #RaspberryPi powered home TV network.
In the garage, there's a bit of a mess of cables, but the orange box in the lower left is the RF modulator which converts composite signals from the Pis into radio frequencies which can be pushed to the rabbit ears antenna in the upper right.
Then, the TV in the den can pick up those signals via its own rabbit ears on the same type of analog stations it used to tune to.
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Pi day should really be celebrated on W22-7. That way it is always a Sunday.
2026-W22-7 is 2026-05-31
