What melodiescan befound intypography?
What melodies can be found in typography? The question popped into my head while I was experimenting with audio in Ableton Live and VCV Rack. I imagined characters becoming a piano roll. Could I connect Processing to either program? I chose VCV Rack. Once I had a proof of concept, I was hooked. Over the next few weeks, I built it out, adding features as I went.
Specs
Processing sends MIDI note data—pitch, velocity, and gate—to VCV Rack. From there, you can patch it into any setup. The tool is built on layered tracks: each track can be routed to its own channel and has tweakable options. You can change the character sequence, typeface, and clock speed. I’ve added multiple scales—currently all in C—but the system could grow into a full instrument. To prevent floods of notes, each track has a range control on the right: drag the top or bottom rows to set the active band.
I had a lot of fun building this tool. It gave me a chance to combine my love of music with coding. For context, I’m a beginner in VCV Rack—most of my patches came from tutorials. If you’re experienced with VCV Rack, I’d love to see what you can make with it. There’s a download link below.