AR · MIDI

MIDI Bleep Blop

A MIDI library and bridge that turns a Snap Spectacles lens into a controller for real hardware synths. #Lensfest May 2026 OSS, with a Tester Lens.

Source on GitHub Read launch story

What it is

A MIDI library that lets you generate MIDI notes from different platforms — including a Snap Spectacles ‘24 lens — and play them on real synths. Pure TypeScript, MIT-licensed, with device-catalog data under CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Released as a #Lensfest May 2026 OSS submission, complete with a Tester Lens so you can try the whole chain on your own Spectacles before touching the code. There’s a demo video of a live performance.

How it works

Spectacles can’t speak MIDI to a synth directly, so MIDI Bleep Blop routes the data off-device:

  • A lens generates note and control-change events.
  • Those ship over a WebSocket bridge to a companion process on your computer.
  • The bridge hands them to the OS MIDI subsystem — CoreMIDI (macOS), ALSA (Linux), or WinMM (Windows).
  • From there it’s just MIDI — any synth, soft or hard, picks it up.

What it ships

  • Pure-TS MIDI library — note and CC helpers with state tracking, no native dependencies.
  • WebSocket transports for both Node and Lens Studio.
  • Device catalogs for hardware synths, starting with the KORG Volca line.
  • Groove generators — built-in acid, house, and trance patterns.
  • Lens Studio components — a piano keyboard and CC parameter controls, plus per-channel output routing.
  • A Tester Lens for a no-code first run.

Why

Music performance is a natural fit for spatial computing — hands free, infinite surface, and a latency budget forgiving enough to survive a WebSocket hop. MIDI Bleep Blop is the reference plumbing for turning a Spectacles lens into an instrument.

Status

Active. macOS is the primary bridge target; Linux and Windows are supported. Release thread on r/Spectacles.