How to use the WiiMote with Wiinstrument

Wiinstrument is a small and easy to use program that shows you some possibilities of how you can use your WiiMote to make music in Windows. In this article I’ll try to explain how you could easily connect the Wii Remote (and your Wii Nunchuck) to this program called Wiinstrument.

Prerequisites (what you need to get it working):

  • Hardware
    • Computer
    • Bluetooth adapter (an adapter for using an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances).
    • Wii Remote (also known as a wiimote, the primary controller for Nintendo’s Wii console)
    • Wii Nunchuck(Like the Wii Remote, the Nunchuk also provides a three-axis accelerometer for motion-sensing and tilting, but without a speaker, a rumble function, or a pointer function)
  • Software

Here is a step by step explanation:

First you’ll have to connect your Wii Remote to your computer. If you don’t know how to, read this article on my website.

Now let’s start using the Wii Remote (and the Wii Nunchuck) with Wiinstrument (which you can download here).

Download the software and extract is into a folder you prefer. Wiinstrument doesn’t come with an installer so you have to create a folder yourself and extract the zip-file into the empty folder. In my case I created a folder called “C:\Program Files\Wiinstrument”. I also created a shortcut to my desktop (right click “The Wiinstrument.exe”, send to, shortcut to desktop).

Hookup your Nunchuck to your WiiMote.

If you haven’t got your Wii mote connected already, now is the time to do so!

After you’ve got your WiiMote connected start the executable called “The Wiinstrument.exe” (or double click the icon you created on your desktop). You should see something similar as the following screenshot. You can test your connectivity and the working of your WiiMote and Nunchuck by shaking them. Shaking them should result into sinusoid like graphics in the accelerometers window.

Now let’s start drumming by pressing the “home” button on your WiiMote. You can select which note to play by pressing the plus and minus buttons.

Now, that ain’t all… You can also use the program as a Wii Remote triggered sampler (press the “home” button again).

This is pretty amazing isn’t!? But we ain’t finished yet! Press the “home” button one more time… And you’ve got yourself a Wiimote Kiiboard

By pressing the “home” button again you’re back at the first page of Wiinstrument.

Suggestions for improving this article are welcome, please let me know and drop me a line.