Dance to the Beat

1. Introduction

The new micro:bit has speakers so you can hear sounds without being tied down!

Let’s use movement to create an electronic beat of our own.

2. Add Play Sound Block

To start your electronic beat, you’ll want to repeat a sound forever.

⇼ Open the ||music:Music|| category and drag the ||music:play sound [♫ ∿∿∿∿ +] [until done]|| block into the empty ||basic:forever|| loop container.

basic.forever(function(){
    music.playSoundEffect(music.createSoundEffect(WaveShape.Sine, 5000, 0, 255, 0, 500, SoundExpressionEffect.None, InterpolationCurve.Linear), SoundExpressionPlayMode.UntilDone)
})

3. Listen Close

When your code runs again, you should hear a short laser/alarm sound that repeats over and over forever.

💡 You can press the stop button (⏹️) beneath the simulator to prevent the noise from bothering you while you’re coding.

4. Make a Change

For the sound to change with your speed of movement, we need to put the micro:bit acceleration value in the sound block.

⇼ On the ||music:play sound [♫ ∿∿∿ +] [until done]|| block, click the plus icon (+) to show the start frequency value of 5000.

⇼ From the ||input:Input|| category, drag the ||input:acceleration (mg) [x]|| value block to replace 5000.

basic.forever(function(){
    music.playSoundEffect(music.createSoundEffect(WaveShape.Sine, input.acceleration(Dimension.X), 0, 255, 0, 500, SoundExpressionEffect.None, InterpolationCurve.Linear), SoundExpressionPlayMode.UntilDone)
})

5. Listen Again

Run your code again.

This time, hover around above the micro:bit to simulate swinging it from side to side. You should hear the sound change as the micro:bit moves.

6. Rotation Values

You can make the beat even more fun by changing the end frequency as the micro:bit rotates.

⇼ From the ||input:...more|| category, drag the ||input:rotation (°) [pitch]|| value block to replace the frequency 0.

basic.forever(function(){
    music.playSoundEffect(music.createSoundEffect(WaveShape.Sine, input.acceleration(Dimension.X), input.rotation(Rotation.Pitch), 255, 0, 500, SoundExpressionEffect.None, InterpolationCurve.Linear), SoundExpressionPlayMode.UntilDone)
})

7. Listen Again

Run your code again.

This time, roll over the micro:bit in all directions to simulate turning it while you swing it around.

You should hear the sound change from high to low and low to high.

Try moving the micro:bit in different ways. Can you make a fun beat?

8. Customize Your Beat

Try changing the duration of the beat to something other than 500.
Then, change the dropdown selection inside both the acceleration and rotation blocks.

What else can you click on to edit your sound?

Finale

👏 YOU DID IT! 👏

Imagine how exciting this project will be when it’s loaded on a micro:bit!

If you have a micro:bit v2 (the one with the shiny gold logo at the top), download this code and hold your micro:bit while you dance.

Congratulations, you are your own DJ!

basic.forever(function () {
    music.playSoundEffect(music.createSoundEffect(
    WaveShape.Sine,
    input.acceleration(Dimension.X),
    input.rotation(Rotation.Pitch),
    255,
    0,
    500,
    SoundExpressionEffect.None,
    InterpolationCurve.Linear
    ), SoundExpressionPlayMode.UntilDone)
})

basic.forever(function () {
    serial.writeValue("Accel", input.acceleration(Dimension.X))
    serial.writeValue("Rotation", input.rotation(Rotation.Pitch),)
    music.playSoundEffect(music.createSoundEffect(
    WaveShape.Sine,
    input.acceleration(Dimension.X),
    input.rotation(Rotation.Pitch),
    255,
    0,
    500,
    SoundExpressionEffect.None,
    InterpolationCurve.Linear
    ), SoundExpressionPlayMode.UntilDone)
})