The noise:bit is a handy speaker to make music with, and there are many ways you can use your micro:bit to trigger that music. In this activity we look at the starting point of one gesture, one sound, and go from there.
You will need:
- a micro:bit per participant/pair
- a noise:bit per participant/pair
- a computer and USB cable, for programming
Activity:
If your class have not met a micro:bit before, introduce them to it and the accelerometer. Explain how the accelerometer can detect different gestures (movements) you make with it. You can use these to trigger sounds.
The first task is to load the simple program (pictured above) onto the micro:bit and then expand the simple program into a different note for a different gesture. There is an example on the task sheet. There is also a simplified version of a tune to try playing.
Discuss the limitations of the one note/one gesture.
One of the ways around it is to break a song into pieces and play a few notes per gesture. This example uses a festive song, but you could replace it with one that your group are familiar with if needed. They could work in a group of 5 and take one part each, or they could assign one part to each of 5 different gestures (remember you can use the buttons too!).
If anyone is feeling like giving a performance, you could have a bit of a concert at the end!