Sound Affects with MakeCode and micro:bit
Have you heard that MakeCode has new features that enables the creation of your own sounds to augment your projects? But even better – the visual editor can help students make a connection between what they hear and sound waves they can see and manipulate! What??? Where are my science and music colleagues? What an awesome way to use coding in investigations and to model the concepts and properties of sound!
Let’s take a closer look. In the Music drawer, scroll down to find the play sound block.
When you click on the + sign in the sound affect block you’ll see a couple of parameters open up. My music and science colleagues will recognize frequency and love how easy it is to play with those numbers and experiment with frequency. What a way for students to notice that the higher the frequency or faster the sound wave, the higher the pitch. The built-in simulator provides instant feedback!
Clicking on the sound editor reveals a host of ways to explore sound!
Start with the gallery – soo many autogenerated sounds to play with!
Experiment with the waveform or shape of the sound wave! What affect does wave shape have on sound?
Under Effect play with music dynamics and controls like vibrato or tremolo.
Or maybe just start playing with Generating Similar Sound.
A video to get you started can be found here.
The MakeCode simulator provides a quick and easy way to get started but downloading your sound creations to the micro:bit provides students with a excellent way to tie their coding to a physical handheld microcomputer.
Check out my creation! Maybe there’s a light and sound experiment in the offing?? School’s just around the corner – take some time to check out the new sound editor!
Share your explorations, we love learning from you!!
About the Author:
Barb Seaton is brought to you by the letter M - Math, Micro:bit, Makey Makey and Minecraft! A professional learning associate with Fair Chance Learning, previous educator and Provincial Mathematics Professional Learning Facilitator, Barb offers a wealth of knowledge and expertise in integrating new technology with math curriculum. Barb works with District School Boards across Canada delivering professional learning on computational thinking, coding and integrating programmable devices. Catch Barb on twitter @barb_seaton