draft: false
Name: Birds
short-description: Two birds sing to each other controlled by a Turing-style shift register sequencer with clock in and CV/pulse out.
Language: C++ (Pico SDK + ComputerCard)
Creator: Tom Whitwell
Version: "0.5.0"
Status: Released
License: MIT
date-created: 2026-05-25
date-updated: 2026-05-25
demo-link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJqv-TFYq6Q

contact:
  website: https://www.musicthing.co.uk/

summary: |
  Two interacting birds are generated from a Turing-style looped random sequencer.
  Main controls random/loop behaviour, X shifts bird pitch, Y controls phrase speed,
  Z selects Natural, Robot, or Reseed mode, and Pulse In 1 can replace the internal clock.

panel:
  inputs:
    - id: CVIn1
      name: Pitch CV
      description: Adds to the X knob to control bird voice oscillator pitch

    - id: CVIn2
      name: Speed CV 
      description: Adds to the Y knob to control sequence playback timing

    - id: PulseIn1
      name: Clock In
      description: Rising-edge clock input; when present, it overrides internal timing

  outputs:
    - id: AudioOut1
      name: Bird 1 Audio
      description: Bird 1 audio voice

    - id: AudioOut2
      name: Bird 2 Audio
      description: Bird 2 audio voice

    - id: CVOut1
      name: Bird 1 Pitch Trace
      description: Held CV trace derived from Bird 1 pitch contour

    - id: CVOut2
      name: Bird 2 Pitch Trace
      description: Held CV trace derived from Bird 2 pitch contour

    - id: PulseOut1
      name: Bird 1 Pulse
      description: Triggers at phrase starts and internal trill/run sub-events for Bird 1

    - id: PulseOut2
      name: Bird 2 Pulse
      description: Triggers at phrase starts and internal trill/run sub-events for Bird 2

controls:
  switch:
    up:
      name: Robot mode
      description: More likely to produce wild, R2D2-like sounds

    middle:
      name: Natural mode
      description: Normal two-bird mode

    down:
      name: Reseed
      description: Randomises the sequence

  knobs:
    - main:
        name: Random/ Loop
        description: Centre is unstable; clockwise locks the pattern, anticlockwise locks an inverted double pass

      x:
        name: Bird Pitch
        description: Controls pitch with CVIn1 summed in

      y:
        name: Tweet Speed
        description: Left is slower phrase timing; right is faster

  leds:
    - display: list
      items:
        - id: LED0
          name: Bird 1 Pitch High
          description: Upper pitch indicator for Bird 1

        - id: LED1
          name: Bird 2 Pitch High
          description: Upper pitch indicator for Bird 2

        - id: LED2
          name: Bird 1 Pitch Low
          description: Lower/complementary pitch indicator for Bird 1

        - id: LED3
          name: Bird 2 Pitch Low
          description: Lower/complementary pitch indicator for Bird 2

        - id: LED4
          name: Bird 1 Pulse Activity
          description: Indicates PulseOut1 activity

        - id: LED5
          name: Bird 2 Pulse Activity
          description: Indicates PulseOut2 activity