Making a Sound

Content:

  1. Note Value Blocks
  2. Pitch Blocks
  3. Chords
  4. Rests
  5. Drums


1. Note Value Blocks

At the heart of Music Blocks is the Note value block. The Note value block is a container for a Pitch block that specifies the duration (note value) of the pitch.



At the top of the example above, a single (detached) Note value block is shown. The 1/8 is value of the note, which is, in this case, an eighth note. At the bottom, two notes that are played consecutively are shown. They are both 1/8 notes, making the duration of the entire sequence 1/4.


In this example, different note values are shown. From top to bottom, they are: 1/4 for an quarter note, 1/16 for a sixteenth note, and 1/2 for a half note. Note that any mathematical operations can be used as input to the Note value.


Please refer to the following image for a visual representation of note values.


2. Pitch Blocks

As we have seen, Pitch blocks are used inside the Note value blocks. The Pitch block specifies the pitch name and pitch octave of a note that in combination determines the frequency (and therefore pitch) at which the note is played.



There are many systems you can use to specify a pitch block's name and octave. Some examples are shown above. The top Pitch block is specified using a Solfege block (Sol in Octave 6), which contains the notes Do Re Me Fa Sol La Ti. The middle block is specified using a Pitch-name block (B flat in Octave 4), which contains the notes C D E F G A B. The last block is specified using the Hertz block in conjunction with a Number block (440 Hertz) , which corresponds to the frequency of the sound made.
The octave is specified using a number block and is restricted to whole numbers. In the case where the pitch name is specified by frequency, the octave is ignored.
Note that the pitch name can also be specified using a Text block.
Please refer to the below charts for a visual representation of where notes are located on a keyboard or staff.



3. Chords

A chord (multiple, simultaneous pitches) can be specified by adding multiple Pitch blocks into a single Note value block, like the below example.


4. Rests

A rest of the specified note value duration can be constructed using a Silence block in place of a pitch block.


5. Drums


Anywhere a Pitch block can be used—e.g., inside of the matrix or a Note value block—a Drum Sample block can also be used instead. Currently there about two dozen different samples from which to choose. The default drum is a kick drum.