See more from Coding and the Arts
This project is featured in chapter 3 of Coding and the Arts.
Starter Project
As long as students know how to define and modify variables in Ruby or Sonic Pi there’s no need for a starter project here. The following starter is a useful demonstration of variable definition, modification, and the first few steps of a scale.
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| use_bpm 120 | |
| current_note = 60 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 1 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| # Continue the pattern to finish a C Major scale |
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Exemplar Project
This exemplar shows two different ways to apply intervals to create a scale. The first simply finishes the sequence in the starter code, but the second is a more elegant and concise solution that places the intervals in a list and then iterates over it with a loop. These are but two of many ways that your students might use intervals to play a scale.
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| use_bpm 120 | |
| current_note = 60 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| # C Major scale using single variable | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 1 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 2 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| current_note = current_note + 1 | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| # Minor scale using a list of intervals and a loop | |
| intervals = [0, 2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2] | |
| 8.times do |index| | |
| current_note = current_note + intervals[index] | |
| play(current_note) | |
| sleep(1) | |
| end |
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