Music Maker II — Scratch L4 Lesson 10

Learnt28 min · notes, instruments, a sing block
Basic24 min · the Studio Theme
Challenge 1–327 min · higher, two hands, a keyboard
Extrabonus · the whole band

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Every note you play shows its letter. The letter climbs when the music goes up and drops when it comes down.

C, E, G — going up

faded sprite = where it ends up

Review — drums and the beat 5 min

Music blocks count in beats, not seconds.
The tempo decides how long one beat is.
rest for (1) beats is a beat of silence.

Quick-fire

The tempo is 120. A drum plays 4 times, each for 0.5 beats. How many seconds does that take?

Reveal the answer

1 second. Four halves make 2 beats, and at tempo 120 each beat is half a second.

Today’s Topic 3 min

play note (60) for (0.5) beats — notes have numbers
set instrument to [(1) Piano v]
A sing My Block that plays a note and shows it
Rests inside a tune

Learning outcome

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Find a note’s number and play it for a number of beats.
Change the instrument a sprite plays.
Play a whole tune, with a rest in it, from one My Block.

Learnt — notes and instruments 28 min

1 · Play a note

Open Music and drag out play note (60) for (0.25) beats.
Click the white circle with 60 in it. A little piano pops up.
Click a key. The number changes to that key’s number.
Click the block to hear the note.

Every key has a number. 60 is middle C. Each key to the right is one more. These are the white keys we use:

Letter	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Number	60	62	64	65	67	69	71	72

Add 12 and you get the same letter, one octave higher. 72 is a high C.

2 · How long is a note?


play note (60) for (1) beats

A long note: one whole beat.


play note (60) for (0.5) beats

A short note: half a beat.

The block waits until the note ends. So notes stacked under each other play one after another, like the drums did.

3 · Choose an instrument

set instrument to [(1) Piano v] changes the sound of every note the sprite plays after it. There are 21 to try.

Number	Instrument
1	Piano
4	Guitar
6	Bass
12	Flute
16	Vibraphone
18	Steel Drum

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — four notes, four times, on four instruments.

The same four notes on Piano, Guitar, Flute and Steel Drum.

4 · A block that sings — and shows the note

Typing 60, 64 and 67 is easy. Seeing them is better. We make a My Block called sing. It plays a note and shows its letter at a height that matches it.

Add one sprite with the letters C D E F G A B as its costumes. The Glow letters in the sprite library are perfect.
Make a list called letters. Put in 12 items, one per key from C up: C C D D E F F G G A A B. A black key shows the letter below it.
Make a Block called sing with two number inputs: note and beats.
Build the definition below.


define sing (note) (beats)
switch costume to (item (((note) mod (12)) + (1)) of [letters v])
set y to ((((note) - (60)) * (6)) - (20))
show
play note (note) for (beats) beats

((note) mod (12)) finds the key inside its octave, from 0 to 11. Each key up lifts the letter 6 steps.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

The C scale: eight white keys from 60 up to 72. Each key up lifts the letter 6 steps.

60 → 72

faded sprite = where it ends up

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — the letter climbs the scale and comes back down.

Fifteen calls to sing: up from 60 to 72, then back down.

5 · A rest in a tune

Music needs gaps. For a rest, hide the letter and use rest for (0.5) beats. The next sing shows it again.

Basic — the Studio Theme 24 min

You are going to play a short tune written for this course. It is 8 beats long and has one rest.

Step 1 — the singer

Make the letter sprite, the letters list and the sing block from the Learnt.
Test it: one call to sing (67) (1) :: custom should show a G.

Step 2 — set up the music

when flag clicked
set tempo to (120)
set instrument to [(1) Piano v]

Step 3 — the tune

Add one sing for each note in this table, in order. Every note is 0.5 beats except the last.

Bar	Notes
1	C 60 · E 64 · G 67 · E 64
2	F 65 · A 69 · G 67 · rest
3	E 64 · G 67 · C 72 · G 67
4	F 65 · D 62 · C 60 for 1 beat

Step 4 — the rest, and the ending

Where the table says rest: hide, then rest for (0.5) beats.
At the end: say [Studio Theme!] for (2) seconds.


when flag clicked
set tempo to (120)
set instrument to [(1) Piano v]
sing (60) (0.5) :: custom
sing (64) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
sing (64) (0.5) :: custom
sing (65) (0.5) :: custom
sing (69) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
hide
rest for (0.5) beats
sing (64) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
sing (72) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
sing (65) (0.5) :: custom
sing (62) (0.5) :: custom
sing (60) (1) :: custom
say [Studio Theme!] for (2) seconds

Fifteen notes and one rest. Count the beats: they add up to 8.

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — follow the letter as it plays the tune.

What you are aiming at: the Studio Theme, with the letter hiding for the rest.

The letter is always C.

Check the list has exactly 12 items in the right order, and that the costume names are single capital letters: C, not Glow-C.

The letter never moves up or down.

The set y to (0) line is using a number instead of the sum. Drag the note input out of the define hat into the sum.

The letter vanishes after the rest and never comes back.

show is missing from the sing block. Only the sing block brings the letter back.

CHALLENGE 1 · L4-10-M1🪙 30 Adcoins8 min

An octave higher

Play the tune twice. The second time, every note is 12 keys higher.

Make a variable called shift.
Change only the sing block, so it plays note + shift.
The tune is the same both times. You do not type a second tune.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Challenge 1 — the same tune, twelve keys higher. The letters are the same; they sit higher up.

shift 0

shift 12

panels run left to right

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — the tune plays, then plays again higher up.

Same letters, same tune. The second time it sits higher on the Stage.

Done when: the shift box shows 0 and then 12, and the second time every letter is higher than the first time.

Teacher reveal


define sing (note) (beats)
switch costume to (item ((((note) + (shift)) mod (12)) + (1)) of [letters v])
set y to (((((note) + (shift)) - (60)) * (6)) - (20))
show
play note ((note) + (shift)) for (beats) beats

The script sets shift to 0, plays the tune, sets it to 12, plays it again. Adding 12 keeps every letter the same, because of the mod 12.

CHALLENGE 2 · L4-10-M2🪙 50 Adcoins9 min

Two hands

A piano player uses two hands. Give the tune a bass line.

Duplicate the letter sprite and call it Bass. It uses instrument 6, Bass.
It plays: C 48 for 2 beats, F 53 for 2, C 48 for 2, G 43 for 1, C 48 for 1.
The Stage sets the tempo, then broadcasts go. Both sprites start on go.
Both parts end together.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Challenge 2 — the tune on top, a slow bass line underneath, both at one tempo.

two parts at once

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — watch the low letter move slowly while the tune moves fast.

Two sprites, two instruments, one tempo.

Done when: the bass letter changes on beats 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8, and both parts stop at the same moment.

Teacher reveal


when I receive [go v]
set [color v] effect to (120)
set instrument to [(6) Bass v]
sing (48) (2) :: custom
sing (53) (2) :: custom
sing (48) (2) :: custom
sing (43) (1) :: custom
sing (48) (1) :: custom

The bass adds up to 8 beats, the same as the tune — that is why they end together. The colour effect just makes the two letters easy to tell apart.

CHALLENGE 3 · L4-10-M3🪙 70 Adcoins10 min

A keyboard on your keyboard

Turn the computer keys into piano keys.

The keys A S D F G H J K play C D E F G A B C — 60 up to 72.
Each key plays its note for half a beat and shows its letter.
When the flag is clicked, the letter tells the player which keys to press.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Challenge 3 — eight keys on the keyboard play the eight notes of the scale.

press A … K

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag, then click the stage once and press A, S, D, F, G, H, J or K to play a note.

Eight keys, eight notes. Play the scale from A to K.

Done when: pressing A to K in order plays the scale and the letter climbs step by step.

Teacher reveal


when [a v] key pressed
say []
sing (60) (0.5) :: custom

when [s v] key pressed
say []
sing (62) (0.5) :: custom

Eight scripts like these, one per key. Pupils can play the Studio Theme from the table by ear — a good test that their numbers are right.

EXTRA MISSION · L4-10-MX🪙 100 Adcoinsbonus

The whole band

Bring back last week’s drums and dancer, and play the tune over the beat.

The Stage sets bpm to 120 and broadcasts go.
The tune plays twice. The kick and snare play under it for 16 beats.
The Ballerina steps on every beat.
Everything stops together.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Extra — the tune, the drums and the dancer, all playing to one tempo.

the band

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — the tune plays twice over the beat while the Ballerina dances.

Tune, drums and dancer, all at tempo 120.

Teacher reveal


when flag clicked
set [bpm v] to (120)
set tempo to (bpm)
broadcast [go v]

when I receive [go v]
repeat (8)
  rest for (1) beats
  switch costume to [drum-snare-b v]
  play drum [(1) Snare Drum v] for (0.25) beats
  switch costume to [drum-snare-a v]
  rest for (0.75) beats
end

The Stage, then the Snare. The Kick loops 8 times through a hit and a rest, sending beat twice per loop for the dancer, as in Lesson 9. The tune is the Basic stack under when I receive [go v], played twice.

Summary 5 min

Every key has a number. 60 is middle C; each key up is one more.
Add 12 for the same letter an octave higher.
play note (60) for (0.5) beats waits until the note ends.
Each sprite has its own instrument. All sprites share the tempo.
A sing My Block plays the note and shows it, so you can see the tune.

Note number: The number of a piano key. 60 is middle C.
Octave: Twelve keys. The same letter, higher or lower.
Instrument: The sound a sprite uses to play its notes.
Melody: The tune — the notes you could hum.
Bass line: Low, slow notes played under the melody.

Hand in

Save your tune. Next lesson the notes move out of the script and into two lists — and one loop plays any song you put in them.

Learnt28 min · notes, instruments, a sing block
Basic24 min · the Studio Theme
Challenge 1–327 min · higher, two hands, a keyboard
Extrabonus · the whole band

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Every note you play shows its letter. The letter climbs when the music goes up and drops when it comes down.

C, E, G — going up

faded sprite = where it ends up

Review — drums and the beat 5 min

Music blocks count in beats, not seconds.
The tempo decides how long one beat is.
rest for (1) beats is a beat of silence.

Quick-fire

The tempo is 120. A drum plays 4 times, each for 0.5 beats. How many seconds does that take?

Reveal the answer

1 second. Four halves make 2 beats, and at tempo 120 each beat is half a second.

Today’s Topic 3 min

play note (60) for (0.5) beats — notes have numbers
set instrument to [(1) Piano v]
A sing My Block that plays a note and shows it
Rests inside a tune

Learning outcome

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Find a note’s number and play it for a number of beats.
Change the instrument a sprite plays.
Play a whole tune, with a rest in it, from one My Block.

Learnt — notes and instruments 28 min

1 · Play a note

Open Music and drag out play note (60) for (0.25) beats.
Click the white circle with 60 in it. A little piano pops up.
Click a key. The number changes to that key’s number.
Click the block to hear the note.

Every key has a number. 60 is middle C. Each key to the right is one more. These are the white keys we use:

Letter	C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
Number	60	62	64	65	67	69	71	72

Add 12 and you get the same letter, one octave higher. 72 is a high C.

2 · How long is a note?


play note (60) for (1) beats

A long note: one whole beat.


play note (60) for (0.5) beats

A short note: half a beat.

The block waits until the note ends. So notes stacked under each other play one after another, like the drums did.

3 · Choose an instrument

set instrument to [(1) Piano v] changes the sound of every note the sprite plays after it. There are 21 to try.

Number	Instrument
1	Piano
4	Guitar
6	Bass
12	Flute
16	Vibraphone
18	Steel Drum

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — four notes, four times, on four instruments.

The same four notes on Piano, Guitar, Flute and Steel Drum.

4 · A block that sings — and shows the note

Typing 60, 64 and 67 is easy. Seeing them is better. We make a My Block called sing. It plays a note and shows its letter at a height that matches it.

Add one sprite with the letters C D E F G A B as its costumes. The Glow letters in the sprite library are perfect.
Make a list called letters. Put in 12 items, one per key from C up: C C D D E F F G G A A B. A black key shows the letter below it.
Make a Block called sing with two number inputs: note and beats.
Build the definition below.


define sing (note) (beats)
switch costume to (item (((note) mod (12)) + (1)) of [letters v])
set y to ((((note) - (60)) * (6)) - (20))
show
play note (note) for (beats) beats

((note) mod (12)) finds the key inside its octave, from 0 to 11. Each key up lifts the letter 6 steps.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

The C scale: eight white keys from 60 up to 72. Each key up lifts the letter 6 steps.

60 → 72

faded sprite = where it ends up

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — the letter climbs the scale and comes back down.

Fifteen calls to sing: up from 60 to 72, then back down.

5 · A rest in a tune

Music needs gaps. For a rest, hide the letter and use rest for (0.5) beats. The next sing shows it again.

Basic — the Studio Theme 24 min

You are going to play a short tune written for this course. It is 8 beats long and has one rest.

Step 1 — the singer

Make the letter sprite, the letters list and the sing block from the Learnt.
Test it: one call to sing (67) (1) :: custom should show a G.

Step 2 — set up the music

when flag clicked
set tempo to (120)
set instrument to [(1) Piano v]

Step 3 — the tune

Add one sing for each note in this table, in order. Every note is 0.5 beats except the last.

Bar	Notes
1	C 60 · E 64 · G 67 · E 64
2	F 65 · A 69 · G 67 · rest
3	E 64 · G 67 · C 72 · G 67
4	F 65 · D 62 · C 60 for 1 beat

Step 4 — the rest, and the ending

Where the table says rest: hide, then rest for (0.5) beats.
At the end: say [Studio Theme!] for (2) seconds.


when flag clicked
set tempo to (120)
set instrument to [(1) Piano v]
sing (60) (0.5) :: custom
sing (64) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
sing (64) (0.5) :: custom
sing (65) (0.5) :: custom
sing (69) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
hide
rest for (0.5) beats
sing (64) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
sing (72) (0.5) :: custom
sing (67) (0.5) :: custom
sing (65) (0.5) :: custom
sing (62) (0.5) :: custom
sing (60) (1) :: custom
say [Studio Theme!] for (2) seconds

Fifteen notes and one rest. Count the beats: they add up to 8.

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — follow the letter as it plays the tune.

What you are aiming at: the Studio Theme, with the letter hiding for the rest.

The letter is always C.

Check the list has exactly 12 items in the right order, and that the costume names are single capital letters: C, not Glow-C.

The letter never moves up or down.

The set y to (0) line is using a number instead of the sum. Drag the note input out of the define hat into the sum.

The letter vanishes after the rest and never comes back.

show is missing from the sing block. Only the sing block brings the letter back.

CHALLENGE 1 · L4-10-M1🪙 30 Adcoins8 min

An octave higher

Play the tune twice. The second time, every note is 12 keys higher.

Make a variable called shift.
Change only the sing block, so it plays note + shift.
The tune is the same both times. You do not type a second tune.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Challenge 1 — the same tune, twelve keys higher. The letters are the same; they sit higher up.

shift 0

shift 12

panels run left to right

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — the tune plays, then plays again higher up.

Same letters, same tune. The second time it sits higher on the Stage.

Done when: the shift box shows 0 and then 12, and the second time every letter is higher than the first time.

Teacher reveal


define sing (note) (beats)
switch costume to (item ((((note) + (shift)) mod (12)) + (1)) of [letters v])
set y to (((((note) + (shift)) - (60)) * (6)) - (20))
show
play note ((note) + (shift)) for (beats) beats

The script sets shift to 0, plays the tune, sets it to 12, plays it again. Adding 12 keeps every letter the same, because of the mod 12.

CHALLENGE 2 · L4-10-M2🪙 50 Adcoins9 min

Two hands

A piano player uses two hands. Give the tune a bass line.

Duplicate the letter sprite and call it Bass. It uses instrument 6, Bass.
It plays: C 48 for 2 beats, F 53 for 2, C 48 for 2, G 43 for 1, C 48 for 1.
The Stage sets the tempo, then broadcasts go. Both sprites start on go.
Both parts end together.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Challenge 2 — the tune on top, a slow bass line underneath, both at one tempo.

two parts at once

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — watch the low letter move slowly while the tune moves fast.

Two sprites, two instruments, one tempo.

Done when: the bass letter changes on beats 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8, and both parts stop at the same moment.

Teacher reveal


when I receive [go v]
set [color v] effect to (120)
set instrument to [(6) Bass v]
sing (48) (2) :: custom
sing (53) (2) :: custom
sing (48) (2) :: custom
sing (43) (1) :: custom
sing (48) (1) :: custom

The bass adds up to 8 beats, the same as the tune — that is why they end together. The colour effect just makes the two letters easy to tell apart.

CHALLENGE 3 · L4-10-M3🪙 70 Adcoins10 min

A keyboard on your keyboard

Turn the computer keys into piano keys.

The keys A S D F G H J K play C D E F G A B C — 60 up to 72.
Each key plays its note for half a beat and shows its letter.
When the flag is clicked, the letter tells the player which keys to press.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Challenge 3 — eight keys on the keyboard play the eight notes of the scale.

press A … K

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag, then click the stage once and press A, S, D, F, G, H, J or K to play a note.

Eight keys, eight notes. Play the scale from A to K.

Done when: pressing A to K in order plays the scale and the letter climbs step by step.

Teacher reveal


when [a v] key pressed
say []
sing (60) (0.5) :: custom

when [s v] key pressed
say []
sing (62) (0.5) :: custom

Eight scripts like these, one per key. Pupils can play the Studio Theme from the table by ear — a good test that their numbers are right.

EXTRA MISSION · L4-10-MX🪙 100 Adcoinsbonus

The whole band

Bring back last week’s drums and dancer, and play the tune over the beat.

The Stage sets bpm to 120 and broadcasts go.
The tune plays twice. The kick and snare play under it for 16 beats.
The Ballerina steps on every beat.
Everything stops together.

WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

Extra — the tune, the drums and the dancer, all playing to one tempo.

the band

Runs here in the page. Nothing to install.

How to use this: Click the green flag. Nothing else to press — the tune plays twice over the beat while the Ballerina dances.

Tune, drums and dancer, all at tempo 120.

Teacher reveal


when flag clicked
set [bpm v] to (120)
set tempo to (bpm)
broadcast [go v]

when I receive [go v]
repeat (8)
  rest for (1) beats
  switch costume to [drum-snare-b v]
  play drum [(1) Snare Drum v] for (0.25) beats
  switch costume to [drum-snare-a v]
  rest for (0.75) beats
end

Summary 5 min

Every key has a number. 60 is middle C; each key up is one more.
Add 12 for the same letter an octave higher.
play note (60) for (0.5) beats waits until the note ends.
Each sprite has its own instrument. All sprites share the tempo.
A sing My Block plays the note and shows it, so you can see the tune.

Note number: The number of a piano key. 60 is middle C.
Octave: Twelve keys. The same letter, higher or lower.
Instrument: The sound a sprite uses to play its notes.
Melody: The tune — the notes you could hum.
Bass line: Low, slow notes played under the melody.

Hand in

Save your tune. Next lesson the notes move out of the script and into two lists — and one loop plays any song you put in them.