5.05 Create a soundscape

MIT Scratch 05. Music maker 5.05 Create a soundscape

Music is experienced by people in many different ways. Sometimes music includes visuals, beats, a band, art, dancing, and even things like echos and animal sounds. Create a soundscape for your music maker.

Think about your instrument and what it sounds like. What would you like to add to create a soundscape?

You can See inside the example projects to look at how they work.

Example projects:

Tip: Use the Backpack to copy scripts or sprites and use them in your project.

You can use your Scratch Backpack to store costumes, sprites, sounds, and scripts that you want to copy between projects.
You can only access your own Backpack, and you must be logged in to your Scratch account to use it.
To open your Backpack, click on the Backpack tab at the bottom of the screen.

To add a sprite to your Backpack, drag the sprite from the Sprite list to the Backpack. This will store the full sprite in your Backpack, including all of its costumes, sounds, and scripts.

To add a backdrop to your Backpack, select the Stage pane and click on the Backdrops tab, then choose the backdrop that you want and drag it to your Backpack.

To use an item in your Backpack in another project, open the project and drag the item from the Backpack to the correct pane or tab.

To delete an item in your Backpack, find the item in the Backpack tab, then right-click (or on a tablet, tap and hold) on the item and select delete.

You can hide your Backpack when you are not using it. To do this, click on the Backpack tab at the bottom of the screen.

You could add to the theme of your soundscape.

You can use backdrops in a Scratch project to create different pages or levels.

Changing backdrop tutorial: See inside

Click on the Stage pane and then the Backdrops tab to view the backdrops for your project. You can drag the backdrops to reorder them.

There are lots of ways to move to the next backdrop. Choose one that works for your project.

Go to the Choose a Backdrop menu and click on Paint:

The 'Paint' option in the 'Choose a Backdrop' menu.

You will be taken to the Paint editor, where the new backdrop will be highlighted in the list. If you have other backdrops in your project, you will also see them in the list.

The new backdrop open in the Paint editor and highlighted in the list.

To set the main colour of the backdrop, click on the Rectangle tool, then use the Fill colour chooser to select a colour, then drag the shape over the full backdrop canvas:

The Fill colour chooser menu with 'Color', 'Saturation', and 'Brightness' sliders.

A light-blue rectangle drawn larger than the canvas to create an entirely light-blue backdrop.

If you want to add more details to your backdrop, you can use the Rectangle tool, Circle tool, or Brush tool, or a combination of all three!

The backdrop canvas with the light-blue rectangle, and in front of it, a smaller green circle representing a hill.

When you have finished, make sure that you give your new backdrop a name that makes sense:

The backdrop name box with the word 'Hill' typed in.

Your new backdrop will be shown on the Stage and will be available to use in Looks blocks.

The new Hill backdrop and the Scratch Cat sprite on the Stage.

Rooster effects: See inside

The set color effect to and change color effect by blocks both have drop-down menus in which you can choose from a range of different graphic effects that can be used to change your sprite’s appearance:

color: from 0 to 199 (bigger numbers will wrap around, so 200 is the same as 0)
fisheye: 0 means no effect, bigger numbers cause a bigger ‘fisheye’ effect, and negative numbers cause a reverse ‘fisheye’ effect
whirl: 0 means no effect, big numbers make a big whirl to the left, and big negative numbers make a big whirl to the right
pixelate: 0 means no effect, and bigger numbers create more pixels
mosaic: 0 means no effect, and bigger or negative numbers affect the number of copies
brightness: 0 means no effect, numbers up to 100 make the sprite lighter, and negative numbers down to -100 make the sprite darker
ghost: 0 means no effect, and numbers up to 100 make the sprite more transparent

Try to set the different effect values to see what each one does. Explore how different effect changes make your sprite look.

Tip: A color effect of 225 is the same as a color effect of 25, so you can keep changing the colour. For other graphic effects, no other changes will be made after you reach the maximum or minimum number for the effect.

Use the clear graphic effects block to start again. Clicking on the green flag also clears all graphic effects.

To set a graphic effect for a sprite when the project is started, place a set graphic effect to block under a when green flag clicked block:

Tip: You can also set and change graphic effects for the Stage.

Your instrument could play along to some background music, or you could add other sprites that make sounds (for example, a bird chirping). You could even add in a song you like.

Select the sprite that you want to have the new sound, then select the Sounds tab. Each sprite starts with a default sound:

The Sounds tab open in the Scratch editor.

Scratch has a library of sounds that you can add to your sprites. Click on the Choose a Sound icon to open the Sound Library:

To play a sound, hold your mouse cursor (or your finger, if you are using a tablet) over the Play icon:

Click on any sound to add it to your sprite. You will be taken straight back to the Sounds tab and you will be able to see the sound that you have just added:

A newly inserted sound in the Sounds tab.

If you switch to the Code tab and look at the Sound blocks menu, you will be able to select the new sound:

The 'Sound' blocks menu, with the new sound available for use within blocks.

Tip: You can also add sounds to the Stage.

Select the sprite that you want to have the new recorded sound, then select the Sounds tab:

Go to the Choose a Sound menu and select the Record option:

The 'Choose a Sound' menu, with the 'Record' option highlighted.

When you are ready, click the Record button to start recording your sound:

The 'Record Sound' pop-up window with the 'Record' button.

Click the Stop recording button to stop recording your sound:

The 'Record Sound' pop-up window with the 'Stop recording' button.

Your new recording will be shown. You can Re-record your sound if you are not happy with it.

Drag the orange circles to crop your sound; the part of the sound with a blue background (between the orange circles) will be the part that is kept:

The recorded sound in full, with orange circles adjusted to show only part of the sound within a blue background. The rest of the sound is in an orange shaded area.

When you are happy with your recording, click the Save button. You will be taken straight back to the Sounds tab and you will be able to see the sound that you have just added:

The Sounds tab, with recording1 showing in the list of sounds.

If you switch to the Code tab and look at the Sound blocks menu, you will be able to select the new sound:

The 'Sound' blocks menu, with recording1 available for use within blocks.

Pico and Giga talk with the speech extension: See inside

Click on Add Extension:

Choose Text to Speech:

The 'Text to Speech' extension highlighted.

You will get a new Text to Speech blocks menu:

You can use the blocks in the Text to Speech blocks menu to make your sprites talk out loud.

You can make a sprite talk out loud when clicked:

You can even give your sprite a kitten voice!

You can make your music maker more interactive. Does it move? If you have any characters, do they emote?

Abby thinks “Hmm”: See inside

You can use switch costume to blocks before and after a say for, think for, play sound, or wait block to make your character show their feelings

Tip: Make sure that you use a block that has a time value, not a start sound, say, or think block, otherwise, you will not see the costume change.

Hedgehog walking: See insid e

You can use switch costume to and move blocks in a repeat loop to animate a moving character. Change the time in the wait block to change the speed.

Tip: If you want to use all the costumes that a sprite has, you can just use the next costume block in a loop.

Tip: Increase the number of steps in each move block to make the sprite go faster. Change the number in the repeat loop to adjust the distance.

Tip: To make the sprite move backwards, you can use negative numbers, for example, move -3 steps. Or, you can use a point in direction -90 block to change the sprite’s direction before the sprite moves (-90 points to the left).

Quizzes

5.06 Quick quiz

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