Creative Coding:
Simple Strategies for Incorporating Technology in the Music Classroom
Music and technology have an increasingly complex relationship. As our lives continue to be saturated with new and diverse forms of digital media, the ability to construct - or code - this media can be empowering for students and teachers while opening doors for creativity and learning. Coding allows students to claim agency when working with technology by illuminating the inner workings of the computers they use everyday. While it is also a fun way to explore sound and technology, connecting music with coding expands the music classroom to include cross-disciplinary learning while keeping a focus on musical thinking and creativity.
Through composition-based activities, educators can incorporate computer coding into music classrooms while supporting creative problem solving and musical thinking.
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1. Creative coding augments musical knowledge​
Making music with computer code can supplement musical knowledge with essential technological knowledge. It can foreground the hidden functions of computers and make devices more malleable for creative expression.
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2. Creative coding extends musical engagement
Creative coding can open up new ways for individuals to be musical by highlighting the expansiveness of technology. By engaging with music in these new ways, musicians can also create interdisciplinary connections between domains.
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3. Creative coding promotes problem solving in context
Individuals use logic as they engage with music and computer code simultaneously. When musicians troubleshoot technological problems with computer code, they are engaged in debugging that is happening in a real-world musical context. ​​
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4. Creative coding is aligned with current practice​
Music and computer code are already creatively used by many artists, designers, and engineers to express ideas and innovate musical thinking. ​
Sample Introductory Activity:
A Musical Puzzle
Use your problem solving skills to help the computer play this song in the correct order.
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Step 1: Navigate to this song in Scratch
Step 2: Click "See inside"
Step 3: Use the "1", "2", "3", "Q", and "W" keys to listen to each segment
Step 4: Determine how to put this song in order!
NOTE: The note numbers on each block correspond to the MIDI number and represent the keys on a piano.
Musical creativity requires both convergent and divergent thinking.
Convergent Thinking
To get started with convergent thinking when working with computer code, try to do the following:
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Start with a prescriptive sequence.
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Focus on specific musical or technological skills.
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Consider having a specific ending in mind.
Try These Convergent Thinking Prompts:
1. Call & Response (Scratch)
Code at least one response to this phrase in Scratch. Aim to compliment the call and make your response the same length.
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2. Creative Chords (TunePad)
Listen to the first chord (c1) and create 6 additional chords (3 edits and 3 extensions). Use the playNote function to create a sequence of 4 chords that sounds interesting to you. Click "Remix" at the top to edit this template.
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3. Variable Groove (TunePad)
Determine which variable in this drum beat goes with which rhythm. Change ONLY the number assigned to each variable so this drum part is more interesting. Click "Remix" at the top to edit/rearrange this template.
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4. Building a B Section (EarSketch)
Using the A section as a guide, code a B section that compliments it. Click "Import to edit" then use the fitMedia function and the sound collection (on the left) to code the new section. Remember to click "Run" after you make changes.
5. Exploring Effects (EarSketch)
This beat block repeats the exact same thing for 16 measures. Your goal is to create four interesting 4-bar sections. HOWEVER, rather than change the samples used (from the sound collection), explore different effects for each of the 4 sections (A section, B section, C section, D section). Right now the effects are all set to VOLUME, GAIN. Learn about the other effects in the curriculum here (right side of screen). Remember to click "Run" after you make changes.
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6. DIY musical puzzle (any platform)
Create your own version of a musical puzzle, just like this example.
Divergent Thinking
Musical creativity is both divergent and convergent. To get started with divergent thinking when working with computer code, try to do the following:
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Keep activities open-ended.
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Make sure prompts can be addressed on multiple technological platforms.​
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Aim for a low-barrier to entry.
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Keep prompts short and concise.
Try These Divergent Thinking Prompts:
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Create something that makes you want to dance.
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Create something that makes you want to lay down and relax.
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Create something that has two (or more) different perspectives or voices. (example)​
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Create something that reminds you of a movie. (example)
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Create something that reminds you of a significant event with your family.
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Create something that reminds you of nature.
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Create something that you think might come from an alien planet. (example)​
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Create something that sounds as if your favorite animal were a musician.
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Create something you know really well, but turn it to an opposite.
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Create something that sounds like the soundtrack to your morning routine.
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Create something that reminds you of an image that inspires you. (example)​
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Create a short story with a beginning that does NOT match the end. (example)​
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Create a short story about a tense or awkward moment.
Resources
Mountain Lake Colloquium 2023 - Materials
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Platforms that Bridge Coding & Composition
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Graphical Programming Languages
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Books with Lesson Ideas
Computational Thinking in Sound
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References
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Dennis, B. (1970). Experimental Music in Schools. Oxford University Press.
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Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. BasicBooks.
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Maeda, J. (2004). Creative Code: Aesthetics + Computation . Thames & Hudson Inc.
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Webster, P. R. (2002). Creative Thinking in Music: Advancing a Model. In L. Willingham & T. Sullivan (Eds.), Creativity and Music Education (pp. 16–33). Canadian Music Educators’ Association.