How to hook up music to christmas lights
Last Updated: March 10, To create this article, 89 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 1, times. Learn article source You've probably seen here of Christmas lights that are synchronized to music.
How to Make Your Christmas Lights Flash to Music: 12 Steps
Blow molds are plastic lighted sculptures of deer, Santas, etc. They are usually placed throughout the yard. C9 Lights are bulbous, colorful lights that usually go on the yard perimeter. Program your show. Here comes the time consuming part! Decide on music that you will synchronize to, then start programming on your time grid.
Don't do everything at once. This will probably take a couple of months, depending on the length of your show and how many channels you have. How program your show varies, depending on the software program you choose.
Let them hear you. Use a way that will create a spectacular sound yet keep everybody at peace. Speakers playing the same music over and over again would drive the neighbors crazy, so in most cases you will need to broadcast over an FM frequency. Please see the warnings section at the bottom of this page.
Respectfully inform your neighbors of your plan to create an animated display; having the neighbors on your side is important if you want your display to last long enough for other people to see it.
Stick to a single showing at the top of the hour, once or twice a night. If the neighbors know that the display will only last three minutes, and will show nightly at 8 and 9 PM, they'll probably be more understanding than if you blasted it regularly from Get powered up.
Make sure your home has enough outside power to run your lights. Speaking of power, computerizing your display will have a lower electric bill than a static display since not all the lights are on at once. Please see the warnings section at the end. Put a sign in your yard. Make a website. List on a display listing site. Tell your friends. Doing all this work will not be worth it if no one comes to see your display. Don't go to extremes, but make sure people know about you.
Again, inform your neighbors that you are publicizing your display. They'll be much more accommodating if they know your plan to attract attention from around the neighborhood. Maintain your display. Go outside every morning and check your display. Repair or replace broken lights or damage caused by weather or vandals.
Make sure things are ready to run that night. How can I get the lights to change different colors at different points in the song?
I use multiple colored strings in the same bush or tree. The controller selects which string to light and sometimes all or multiple colors in the same tree. All shrubs have white and another color. The controller dims the white at times to make the color stand out. Not Helpful 3 Helpful You can buy a device to broadcast over a short distance, or DIY something from a Raspberry Pi or Arduino for a lot less.
Be aware that FM broadcasting is typically frowned upon by law enforcement, so choose a channel that's empty and away from other stations. Not Helpful 7 Helpful You should buy the ones that don't if you're using a controller. The lights that flash typically do so at a set interval that can't be changed.
Regular lights don't have that restriction. In addition to being able to flash them any rate or to any rhythm, regular lights can also be used to create animations. Not Helpful 12 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. If your neighborhood has a lot of pets and kids, make sure your set is kids and pet-friendly to avoid any injuries.
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Use your time wisely. This is a big project, so don't be afraid to get help or try to do things more efficiently.
Try to take your time for checking your lights and making sure there are no fire hazards! Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Get people who know their electronics to help out, maybe someone in your neighborhood is a pro at this. Who knows? Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Be considerate. Your neighbors may not appreciate you flashing lights or loud music at night, so you should turn them off at some point during the evening.
Some areas may have laws about lights or sounds at certain times. Some would recommend that you start and stop the same time each night or each day s of the week.
For example, Sunday through Thursday, from to pm, and Friday - Saturday from to pm. Send letters to neighbors asking if they have any problems with the times. Use a control system appropriate for your locale. Many countries use voltages higher than in the U. Some places may even need lights with voltage-reducing transformers. Check with the manufacturer of your product, or the designs you followed, to see if your control system is acceptable for your locale.
This is time consuming. Start at least 6 months in advance, more for DIY systems. The transmitters will broadcast at a very low power, so they should not cause any interference.
The FCC allows you feet When you are dealing with lights you are dealing with high-voltage. United States line voltage volts AC , in the right place and amount, can kill you. Always use a GFCI on any circuit that is outside, including your lights, for your safety and the safety of the public. Do not do anything to the Belkin other than extend the antenna. Building an amplifier is not recommended. If the transmitter causes anyone to have interference, your only choice is to shut it down.
You Might Also Like How to. How to. Co-authors: Updated: March 10, Categories: Featured Articles Christmas Lighting. Article Summary X To make your Christmas lights flash to music, start by getting a control system that you can hook up to your computer and lights. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,, times. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better.
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. About This Article Co-authors: Featured Articles How to. Trending Articles How to. If you're ambitious and more of a tech-wizard, you may wish to hand-code a program in almost any major programming language.
Note, however, that you won't be able to use this option for pre-built products, as most of their protocols are closed-source. The software that you choose will basically break the song you're syncing your lights to into very short segments. There are essentially three commercial options for software. Light-O-Rama is the vendor for most residential lights displays.
It is, however, pretty complex, and can take as much as four hours per minute of the song to program channels. Animated Lighting is more expensive but easier to program.
Some residential light displays and most commercial ones choose Animated Lighting. D-Lights is the second from the least expensive of the bunch, but you need to have some passing familiarity with and knowledge of control systems and electrical engineering.
Design your display. Design the actual outside portion of your display. Common elements to include are: Mini lights or net lights go on landscaping. Icicle lights or c-series lights usually go on the roof. Mini Trees are two- to three-foot-tall trees, often made of tomato cages wrapped in lights of one or multiple colors.
Arranged in a line or a triangle, they are very useful in an animated display. A Mega Tree usually consists of a large pole with lights extending from the top to a large ring around the base. Again, it is very useful in animation. Wireframes are metal frames with lights attached. Blow molds are plastic lighted sculptures of deer, Santas, etc.
They are usually placed throughout the yard. C9 Lights are bulbous, colorful lights that usually go on the yard perimeter. Program your show. Here comes the time consuming part! Decide on music that you will synchronize to, then start programming on your time grid. Don't do everything at once. This will probably take a couple of months, depending on the length of your show and how many channels you have. How program your show varies, depending on the software program you choose.
Let them hear you. Use a way that will create a spectacular sound yet keep everybody at peace. Speakers playing the same music over and over again would drive the neighbors crazy, so in most cases you will need to broadcast over an FM frequency. Please see the warnings section at the bottom of this page. Respectfully inform your neighbors of your plan to create an animated display; having the neighbors on your side is important if you want your display to last long enough for other people to see it.
Stick to a single showing at the top of the hour, once or twice a night. If the neighbors know that the display will only last three minutes, and will show nightly at 8 and 9 PM, they'll probably be more understanding than if you blasted it regularly from Get powered up.
Make sure your home has enough outside power to run your lights. Speaking of power, computerizing your display will have a lower electric bill than a static display since not all the lights are on at once.
Please see the warnings section at the end. Put a sign in your yard. Make a website. List on a display listing site. Tell your friends. Doing all this work will not be worth it if no one comes to see your display. Don't go to extremes, but make sure people know about you. Again, inform your neighbors that you are publicizing your display.
They'll be much more accommodating if they know your plan to attract attention from around the neighborhood. Maintain your display. Go outside every morning and check your display. Repair or replace broken lights or damage caused by weather or vandals. Make sure things are ready to run that night. How can I get the lights to change different colors at different points in the song?
I use multiple colored strings in the same bush or tree. The controller selects which string to light and sometimes all or multiple colors in the same tree.
All shrubs have white and another color. The controller dims the white at times to make the color stand out. Not Helpful 3 Helpful You can buy a device to broadcast over a short distance, or DIY something from a Raspberry Pi or Arduino for a lot less.
Be aware that FM broadcasting is typically frowned upon by law enforcement, so choose a channel that's empty and away from other stations. Not Helpful 7 Helpful You should buy the ones that don't if you're using a controller. The lights that flash typically do so at a set interval that can't be changed. Regular lights don't have that restriction. In addition to being able to flash them any rate or to any rhythm, regular lights can also be used to create animations.
Not Helpful 12 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. If your neighborhood has a lot of pets and kids, make sure your set is kids and pet-friendly to avoid any injuries. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Use your time wisely. This is a big project, so don't be afraid to get help or try to do things more efficiently.
Try to take your time for checking your lights and making sure there are no fire hazards! Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Get people who know their electronics to help out, maybe someone in your neighborhood is a pro at this. Who knows? Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Be considerate. Your neighbors may not appreciate you flashing lights or loud music at night, so you should turn them off at some point during the evening.
Some areas may have laws about lights or sounds at certain times. Some would recommend that you start and stop the same time each night or each day s of the week. For example, Sunday through Thursday, from to pm, and Friday - Saturday from to pm. Send letters to neighbors asking if they have any problems with the times. Use a control system appropriate for your locale. Many countries use voltages higher than in the U.
Some places may even need lights with voltage-reducing transformers. Check with the manufacturer of your product, or the designs you followed, to see if your control system is acceptable for your locale. This is time consuming. Start at least 6 months in advance, more for DIY systems. The transmitters will broadcast at a very low power, so they should not cause any interference. The FCC allows you feet When you are dealing with lights you are dealing with high-voltage.