This was a lesson plan written in 2015. You can teach this as a lesson as a teacher, or if you are a whimsical kid, feel free to teach your teachers! :D

Objectives

• Introduce the key mapping concept
• Use time order to sequence steps and music
• Identify how important sequence is in music
• Use singing to reproduce melodies
• Demonstrate awareness of rhythm and phrasing in music
• Identify themes, musical phrases, and note structures in music
• Perform rounds, partner songs and four-part harmony from vocal arrangements

Note: Soundplant is an application you have to download; it will not work on a Chromebook.

To make musical water with Scratch, use this "Getting Started with Scratch and Makey Makey" guide. 

Follow the steps in the image to prepare telephone wires or an old Ethernet cable if you do not have long alligator clips. If you have the STEM pack, you should use the longer wires or extended alligator clips for this experiment.

You will use Audacity (or a web application), to record your own voice or an instrument. This recording you make will be saved as a .wav or .mp3 file. To use with a Makey Makey, you will connect those wav/mp3 files to keys on your computer utilizing a keymapping software called Soundplant. Lastly, the Makey Makey will allow you to play your recordings by linking the water to the keys on your computer keyboard.

Here are the different ways you can create a wav or mp3 file:

• Download and use Audacity to record voices or instruments and export files as .wav or .mp3 files. (Picture 1)
• Vocaroo - This is a super simple way to make a recording via the web. Make sure you "allow flash" and then you will just need to download the .mp3 or .wav file that is created.
• Speakpipe- This is another free online recording web app. Just "start recording," then "save on server." Once it is saved, you'll open the link to the recording so you can download the file. (See Picture 2)
• Alternatively, you can import a file into Audacity and select different musical phrases to export as a .wav file.

How will you make your musical water?

What will you do? 

The key mapping concept with the software Soundplant. Note: Soundplant is an application you have to download; it will not work on a Chromebook.

To use Soundplant, you simply find the mp3 you recorded and drag it to specific keys on the keymapping software. So if you drag a file to the "w" key, when you press the "w" your sound will now play. To make your water play the sound, just use an alligator clip to a hook up wire plugged into the "w" on the back of your Makey Makey.

Choose the keys you want to use and upload wav/mp3 files or drag and drop wav/mp3 files to desired keys.

Hooking up to Makey Makey

Use the alligator clips to plug into the Makey Makey inputs and match the keys you programmed with Soundplant.

Connect Wires to Water

• Set up water in cups, tubs, etc. Then put the other end of the alligator clips (or wire) directly into each cup of water. (Or run a strip of copper tape inside the cup and clip to the tape- just make sure the water touches the tape or you won't have a connection.)

Create a Ground

• Create an "earth" or ground
• You can set up a foil hand for your musical water, hold the alligator clip, make a grounding bracelet, etc.

Now you are ready to Play Musical Water!

• Share your musical water creation with others! Make a video with Flipgrid, share gallery style in the classroom, or share it however you'd like. In fact you can even add your creation in this guide!

Extensions

• Check out our other musical guides for inventing new ways to interact with music and coding!