Micro:bit Hero: Using MakeCode to Replicate Popular Songs

Abstract

This lesson opens with an introduction of how to program the Micro:bit using block code to play music using the piano keyboard embedded in the music section of Micro:bit Make Code.  In this lesson, students explore how to make music using this feature and learn how to program the Micro:bit using MakeCode to incorporate rests and different notes (quarter, half, and full) to replicate nursery rhymes or popular songs.  The lesson concludes with a discussion of the challenges/limitations of coding the Micro:bit to play music.  Students also  shared their musical creations with their peers through a “Name that Tune” game where they attempted to guess which popular song or nursery rhyme their peers had replicated in MakeCode. Time: 30-45 minutes