MIDI Trackpad Controller

Converts Mac trackpad pressure values to a virtual MIDI Control Change message. Uses Apple’s private MultitouchSupport framework, so it might change on newer macOS versions.

Currently tested against a M1 Pro Macbook running macOS Tahoe 26.2

Requirements

• macOS with a Force Touch trackpad
• Python 3.11

Installation and Usage

To install:

pip install -e .

To use, you can create and run a virtual MIDI port, which will start sending the pressure values to the specified CC at a rate of 60hz. The --cc value will default to 1, which is the Modulation Wheel:

python3 -m miditrackpad --port {PORT} --cc {CC}

Then select the your port as input in your DAW and arm a software instrument track.

Choosing a different CC

Change --cc to another number (e.g., 11 for expression, 74 for filter cutoff). You can find a list of CC numbers and their use in the MIDI 1 specification.