PicoSound

PicoSound

Dual-core audio engine for Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040).

PicoSound delivers glitch-free audio for any RP2040 application by dedicating Core1 exclusively to audio processing. While your main program runs on Core0 (handling graphics, I/O, calculations, or game logic), Core1 manages the audio mixer and output independently.

This architecture eliminates audio dropouts caused by blocking operations like SPI transfers, flash writes, or heavy computations. Audio continues uninterrupted regardless of what Core0 is doing.

Supports both synthesized sounds (waveforms, melodies, effects) and streaming from WAV files. Suitable for any project requiring reliable audio output: synthesizers, musical instruments, notification systems, interactive installations, games or educational tools.

Works seamlessly with both Arduino IDE and PlatformIO. The library uses standard C++ structure (.h/.cpp files) ensuring compatibility across development environments.

Configuration Approach

Simple examples are provided and depending on the development environment (Arduino IDE or PlatformIO), they differ only in the place you can configure your sounds:

 * Arduino IDE ----→ into your *.ino file
 * PlatformIO  ----→ inside a dedicated config.h file   

Features

• Non-blocking audio on Core1
• 8-channel mixer
• I2S (MAX98357A) or PWM output
• Synthesized sounds (sine, square, sawtooth, triangle, noise, explosion)
• Melody sequencer
• WAV streaming (LittleFS or PROGMEM)
• Frequency sweeps
• Arduino IDE and PlatformIO compatible

Software Architecture

Core0: Program logic     Core1: Audio engine
        ↓                       ↓
SendAudioCommand() ----→ PicoSound.loop()
  (via PicoSem)          (mixer + output)

Audio runs independently. No blocking, no glitches.

Overall resource consumption

Resource	Used	Pi Pico	%
RAM	4KB	264KB	1.5%
Flash	20KB	2MB	1%
DMA channels	1	12	8%
Cores	1	2	50%

• Audio latency: ~35µs
• WAV files: ~32 seconds/MB (e.g. 4 sounds of ~4" and 8 of ~2", for each MB)

Above values ​​refer to a standard configuration: 16Khz - 16 bit/sample - Mono - 8 Channel Mixer

If you need more space for WAV sounds, use a Pi Pico with 16MB Flash avaliable on Amazon or AliExpress

To experiment different sample frequency:

Arduino IDE:  edit PicoSound.h and change the value of PICOSOUND_DEFAULT_SAMPLE_RATE  

PlatformIO:   in your platformio.ini add -D PICOSOUND_DEFAULT_SAMPLE_RATE="your rate"

---

Arduino IDE - quick start

1. Install

Download: Code → Download ZIP
Arduino IDE: Sketch → Include Library → Add .ZIP Library

2. Code

// ========== CONFIGURATION (before includes) ==========
#define USER_SND_OUT    OUT_I2S
#define USER_PIN_BCK    14
#define USER_PIN_WS     15
#define USER_PIN_DATA   16

typedef enum {
  SND_NONE = 0,
  SND_BEEP,
  SND_LASER,
} SoundID;

// ========== INCLUDES ==========
#include <PicoSound_AudioCore.h>
#include <PicoSound_DualCore.h>

// ========== SOUND TABLE ==========
const SoundDefinition PICOSOUND_TABLE[] = {
  {WAVE_NONE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 100, nullptr, 0, false, nullptr, false},
  {WAVE_SQUARE, 440, 0, 100, 12000, 80, nullptr, 0, false, nullptr, false},
  {WAVE_SQUARE, 1500, 200, 200, 12000, 70, nullptr, 0, false, nullptr, false},
};

// ============ YOUR PROGRAM ON CORE0 =============
void setup() {
  // Your setup here
}
void loop() {
  // ...
  // Your computing logic, graphics, I/O, etc
  // ...  

  SendAudioCommand(CMD_PLAY_SOUND, SND_BEEP, 80);
  delay(1000);    // Your program can be "blocking"
}

// ========== AUDIO ENGINE RUNS ON CORE1 ==========
void setup1() {
  PicoSound_AudioCore_Setup1();
}
// ======= NON-BLOCKING LOOP TO PLAY AUDIO ========
void loop1() {
  PicoSound_AudioCore_Loop1();
}  

See examples for complete code.

---

PlatformIO - quick start

1. Install Library

If you already have a platformio.ini into your project, just add:

lib_deps = 
    https://github.com/IWILZ/PicoSound.git
    https://github.com/IWILZ/PicoSem.git

; Memory config to reserve space for WAVs on LittleFS
board_build.filesystem_size = 1m
board_build.filesystem = littlefs

otherwise for a full example, see the README in the example/ folder.

2. Configuration Templates

The library provides three templates to help you better organize your work by dividing (where appropriate) the definition of your sounds into:

• picosound_user_cfg_template.h --> synthesized sounds and LittleFS files
• picosound_melodies_template.h --> melody definitions
• picosound_samples_template.h --> WAV samples stored in PROGMEM

You can simply use picosound_user_cfg_template.h to create the mandatory picosound_user_cfg.h file, including the other 2 inside it when the number of your sounds increases and you want a better organization for your work.

cp lib/PicoSound/src/templates/picosound_user_cfg_template.h include/picosound_user_cfg.h

Or manually copy from lib/PicoSound/src/templates/ to your project’s include/ folder.

3. Customize Configuration

Edit include/picosound_user_cfg.h:

// Set your hardware pins
#define USER_SND_OUT    OUT_I2S
#define USER_PIN_BCK    14
#define USER_PIN_WS     15
#define USER_PIN_DATA   16

// Define your sounds
typedef enum {
  SND_NONE = 0,
  SND_BEEP,
  SND_LASER,
  SND_EXPLOSION,
  SND_MAX    // Always end with SND_MAX
} SoundID;

// Add sounds to table
inline const SoundDefinition PICOSOUND_TABLE[] = {
  {WAVE_NONE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 100, nullptr, 0, false, nullptr, false},
  {WAVE_SQUARE, 440, 0, 100, 12000, 80, nullptr, 0, false, nullptr, false},
  // ... your sounds ...
};

4. Write Your Code

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <PicoSound_AudioCore.h>
#include <PicoSound_DualCore.h>

// ============ YOUR PROGRAM ON CORE0 =============
void setup() {
  // Your setup here
}
void loop() {
  // ...
  // Your computing logic, graphics, I/O, etc
  // ...  

  SendAudioCommand(CMD_PLAY_SOUND, SND_BEEP, 80);
  delay(1000);    // Your program can be "blocking"
}

// ========== AUDIO ENGINE RUNS ON CORE1 ==========
void setup1() {
  PicoSound_AudioCore_Setup1();
}
// ======= NON-BLOCKING LOOP TO PLAY AUDIO ========
void loop1() {
  PicoSound_AudioCore_Loop1();
}

Configuration is loaded automatically from your include/picosound_user_cfg.h.

5. Build and Upload

pio run --target upload

---

API

High-level functions (recommended):

PlayTone(frequency, duration, volume);
PlayMelody(melody_array, length, waveform, volume);
SendAudioCommand(CMD_PLAY_SOUND, sound_id, volume);
StopAllSounds();
SetMasterVolume(volume);

See docs/API.md for complete reference.

Hardware Setup

I2S (MAX98357A)

Pico GP14 → BCK
Pico GP15 → WS (LRCLK)
Pico GP16 → DIN
MAX98357A SD → 3.3V (or GPIO for mute control)

PWM (Speaker/Amplifier)

Pico GP17 → Speaker (+) via capacitor
GND → Speaker (-)

See docs/HARDWARE.md for detailed description.

Configuration Styles Comparison

Approach	Best For	Config Location
Inline	Arduino IDE	In .ino file
Separate files	PlatformIO	include/picosound_user_cfg.h

Inline Configuration

Advantages:

• ✅ Works perfectly in Arduino IDE
• ✅ Configuration per-project
• ✅ Survives library updates
• ✅ Self-documenting code

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ Large sound tables in main file
• ⚠️ Less modular for complex projects

Separate Config Files

Advantages:

• ✅ Cleaner code organization
• ✅ Reusable config across files
• ✅ Better for large projects

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Arduino IDE doesn’t support this well
• ⚠️ PlatformIO/VSCode only

Examples

See example/ folder for both type of development environments.

Requirements

• Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040)
• Arduino-Pico core (Earle Philhower)
• PicoSem library

Special thanks to Earle Philhower for his great work!

License

GPL-3.0

Author

IWILZ (2026)