UNO R4 Stars: Meet Gustavo Silveira
The launch of the Arduino UNO R4 marks a huge leap forward for our community. For us, it’s also the chance to celebrate the people who bring our ecosystem to life with their bright ideas, radiant enthusiasm, and shining insight.
That is how the UNO R4 Stars blog post series began: to highlight makers who have not only created amazing projects with Arduino, but who are giving back to the community by sharing as they go and helping others make anything they wish.
We invite you to discover each profile, hoping you might find a North Star to navigate around an expanding galaxy or venture into completely new universes.
Officially a composer and multimedia artist, Gustavo Silveira has been a self-proclaimed “nerd musician” ever since he discovered the technological tools to build his own instruments. His most iconic project so far is the XT Synth — a mix of guitar, violin, and MIDI controller with a slightly psychedelic look he is particularly proud of.
What motivates him in his work is the possibility to create objects that didn’t exist before, to make art in completely new ways. After all, for Silveira making is a form of creativity: when he started “messing with Arduino” he immediately felt he could express himself artistically – not only through the results of his projects, but also through the process itself.
Sharing his work came naturally, as a way of giving back: “I learned everything I know from the community, so nowadays being able to teach – by making videos for YouTube, writing the blog, posting on Instagram – for me is really, really cool.”
We asked Silveira, “What’s your favorite part of the UNO R4?”
- This new version is now HID, so it can be recognized as a USB device. So you basically have a plug-and-play, MIDI-class compliant tool to create all your next “nerd music” projects.*
- It’s equipped with a very fast processor and already has a DAC and an amplifier: as a musician or sound designer, this means you can test, prototype, and then listen right there on the UNO R4 and do synthesis or audio processing.
- It can replace any UNO project, but also opens up new possibilities for making that were simply not there with the previous versions.
Find out more about Silveira on his website and follow him on YouTube or Instagram. You can also check out the XT Synth project in detail here, or explore his playlist on MIDI programming with Arduino.
*A high level library for using the USB MIDI capabilities of UNO R4 boards is not yet available. USB MIDI projects using these boards are recommended for those with proficiency in programming and familiarity with the subject area. If you are interested in a more accessible alternative for making MIDI projects with UNO R4 boards, check out our tutorial for sending MIDI messages over the serial port.