NAME
Music::SimpleDrumMachine - Simple 16th-note-phrase Drummer
VERSION
version 0.0509
SYNOPSIS
use Music::SimpleDrumMachine ();
my $dm = Music::SimpleDrumMachine->new( # use defaults
port_name => 'midi device', # required
);
# OR:
$dm = Music::SimpleDrumMachine->new(
port_name => 'midi device',
bpm => 100,
parts => {
part_A => \&part_A,
part_B => \&part_B,
},
next_part => 'part_A',
fills => { fill_A => \&fill_A },
next_fill => 'fill_A',
verbose => 1,
);
sub part_A {
print "part A\n";
my %patterns = (
closed => [qw(1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0)],
kick => [qw(1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1)],
snare => [qw(0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0)],
);
my $next = 'part_B';
return $next, \%patterns;
}
sub part_B {
print "part B\n";
my %patterns = (
closed => [qw(1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1)],
kick => [qw(1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0)],
snare => [qw(0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0)],
);
my $next = 'part_A';
return $next, \%patterns;
}
sub fill_A {
print "Fill A\n";
my %patterns = (
snare => [qw(1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0)],
);
my $next = 'fill_A';
return $next, \%patterns;
}DESCRIPTION
Music::SimpleDrumMachine is a simple 16th-note-phrase drummer. By invoking this module, your MIDI device will begin playing in real-time.
* Triplets are not supported. Boo!
* Use the extra-handy eg/list_devices.pl program to see the names of the open MIDI ports on the system.
ATTRIBUTES
add_drums
add_drums => \%drums,Add an array-ref of hash-refs of the form [{ drum => 'name', num => midi_num, chan => channel }] to the known drums in the constructor. The chan key is optional and is only necessary if you want to assign a drum to a specific channel.
beats
$beats = $dm->beats;The number of beats in a phrase.
Default: 16
bpm
$bpm = $dm->bpm;The beats per minute.
Default: 120
chan
$chan = $dm->chan;The MIDI channel.
If the channel is set to -1, multi-timbral mode is turned on and channels 0, 1, ... and up are used, instead of a single channel for all the percussion.
Default: 9
divisions
$divisions = $dm->divisions;The number of divisions of a quarter-note into the number of beat-notes. For the default, this is the number of divisions of a quarter-note to get 16ths.
Default: 4
drums
$drums = $dm->drums;
$dm->drums($drums);The known drums (with short, abbreviated names that I made up).
Default:
kick => 36 # Bass Drum 1
snare => 38 # Acoustic Snare
closed => 42 # Closed Hi Hat
fillcrash => 49 # Crash Cymbal 1
open => 46 # Open Hi Hat
rimshot => 37 # Side Stick
clap => 39 # Hand Clap
shaker => 70 # Maracas
cowbell => 56 # Cowbell
crash => 57 # Crash Cymbal 2
hi_tom => 48 # Hi Mid Tom
mid_tom => 47 # Low Mid Tom
low_tom => 45 # Low Tom
conga => 63 # Open Hi Conga
kick2 => 35 # Acoustic Bass Drum
snare2 => 40 # Electric Snare
pedal => 44 # Pedal Hi Hat
low_floor => 41 # Low Floor Tom
hi_floor => 43 # High Floor Tom
hihi_tom => 50 # High Tom
ride => 51 # Ride Cymbal 1
ride_bell => 53 # Ride Bell
ride2 => 59 # Ride Cymbal 2
china => 52 # Chinese Cymbal
splash => 55 # Splash Cymbal
tamborine => 54 # Tambourine
vibraslap => 58 # Vibraslap
hi_bongo => 60 # Hi Bongo
low_bongo => 61 # Low Bongo
mute_conga => 62 # Mute Hi Conga
low_conga => 64 # Low Conga
hi_timbale => 65 # High Timbale
low_timbale => 66 # Low Timbale
hi_agogo => 67 # High Agogo
low_agogo => 68 # Low Agogo
cabasa => 69 # Cabasa
whistle => 71 # Short Whistle
long_whistle => 72 # Long Whistle
guiro => 73 # Short Guiro
long_guiro => 74 # Long Guiro
claves => 75 # Claves
wood_block => 76 # Hi Wood Block
low_block => 77 # Low Wood Block
mute_cuica => 78 # Mute Cuica
open_cuica => 79 # Open Cuica
mute_tri => 80 # Mute Triangle
open_tri => 81 # Open TriangleBut literally any name could be used, as long as the number is a known MIDI percussion instrument number.
fill_crash
$fill_crash = $dm->fill_crash;
$dm->fill_crash($boolean);Should we crash after a fill?
Default: 1
fills
$fills = $dm->fills;
$dm->fills($fills);List of named code-refs of the fills to play.
Default: { _default_fill => \&_default_fill }
filling
$filling = $dm->filling;
$dm->filling($boolean);Should we fill between parts?
Default: 1
next_fill
$next_fill = $dm->next_fill;
$dm->next_fill($next_fill);Name of the fill to play first and set subsequently in a fill.
Default: '_default_fill'
next_part
$next_part = $dm->next_part;
$dm->next_part($next_part);Name of the part or list of parts to play first and also set subsequently in a part.
If this is an array-reference, the named parts or fills are played in succession.
Default: '_default_part'
notes
$notes = $dm->notes;
$dm->notes($notes);The notes to set for each drum - why not?
Default: [60, 64, 67]
parts
$parts = $dm->parts;
$dm->parts($parts);List of named code-refs of the parts to play.
If a part has 'fill' in the name, it will be played for a single bar, on the 3rd bar of a 4-bar phrase iff the filling attribute is set to zero.
Default: { _default_part => \&_default_part }
port_name
$port = $dm->port_name;The name of the MIDI output port. This can be the full name or a unique part of the name, like 'usb' for 'USB MIDI Interface', for instance. Case is ignored.
Default: usb
ppqn
$ppqn = $dm->ppqn;The "pulses per quarter-note" or "clocks per beat."
Default: 24
prefill_part
$prefill_part = $dm->prefill_part;Code-ref of the part to play for 1/2-bar fills.
Default: \&_default_part
velo_max
$velo_max = $dm->velo_max;
$dm->velo_max($max);The maximum allowed relative velocity from the velo_off offset.
Default: 10
velo_min
$velo_min = $dm->velo_min;
$dm->velo_min($min);The minimum allowed relative velocity from the velo_off offset.
Default: -10
velo_off
$velo_off = $dm->velo_off;
$dm->velo_off($offset);The velocity offset.
Default: 110
verbose
$verbose = $dm->verbose;Show progress.
Default: 0
METHODS
new
$dm = Music::SimpleDrumMachine->new(%arguments);Create a new Music::SimpleDrumMachine object.
velocity
$dm->velocity;Return a random velocity between the velo_min (minimum) and velo_max (maximum), starting at the velo_off offset.
So, for -10, 10, 110 (the default), a number between 100 and 120 will be returned. The triple 0, 0, 127 will return 127 every time.
SEE ALSO
The eg/*.pl programs in this distribution.
AUTHOR
Gene Boggs <gene.boggs@gmail.com>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2026 by Gene Boggs.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.