Coding + Composition + Chiptune Music, Shawna Longo

Have you ever written any code? Maybe not, but all music educators have done at least some music composition. At the core, music composition and code have many similarities. The current trends of STEM, STEAM, Arts Integration, and Project-Based Learning provide opportunities for us to engage students and our colleagues in a more connected way of learning.

Our educational system is evolving from the STEM craze to STEAM. STEAM is an acronym for “Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.” Many people confuse the “A” for visual art, but it is representative of all arts disciplines (music, theater, dance, visual arts, and media arts). STEAM emphasizes the importance of STEM, but contends that the arts can create new ways of seeing, thinking, and learning. The connection that is made by adding, or acknowledging, the “A” stimulates inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking in the STEM world. STEAM encourages a student-centered classroom with teachers serving as guides, or facilitators, along the way.

Arts Integration is another term in education right now. As defined by Susan Riley of Education Closet, “Arts integration is an approach to teaching and learning through which content standards are taught and assessed equitably in and through the arts.” What is the difference between STEAM and Arts Integration? STEAM falls under the umbrella of arts integration. And although there are similarities between the two approaches, they function differently. Below is a graphic to breakdown the similarities and differences between arts integration and STEAM.

As part of the STEAM movement, coding is also at the forefront of education right now. Google results for “coding” displays six education-based websites are on the first page of the about 176,000,000 results. A user-friendly resource for coding is www.code.org. This website offers free educator training, as well as courses for students, broken down by grade level (elementary, middle school, and high school). Code.org even has learning modules for pre-readers. The website states: “25% of U.S students have accounts on Code.org.” “800K teachers use Code. org.” and “44 U.S. states changed policy to support computer science.” And, “10% of the world’s students have tried the Hour of Code.” Our daily lives are affected by coding and it has become a prominent component within our educational system.

One of the many benefits of a STEAM approach to learning is that it makes authentic, natural connections for students between content areas and the real world. An authentic, natural way to connect coding with music is through composing using technology. If we breakdown coding, it contains the following components: vision, planning, logic, design, and structure. These are also key components in music composition. John Mlynczak of Noteflight discussed the connection between coding and music composition at ISTE 2018. He stated, “Coding is defined as step-by-step instructions giving precise directions to tell a COMPUTER to do something amazing. Composition is defined as step-by-step instructions giving precise directions to tell a MUSICIAN how to do something amazing.”

Chiptune Music is a fun, engaging way to connect coding with music composition. You might be asking yourself - What is Chiptune Music? As defined by the artist Chipocrite, Chiptune Music is “music created with or inspired by the onboard sound capabilities of old video game systems or computers.” Think late 80’s-90s video game music. Hopefully right now the theme song from Super Mario Brothers is running through your head… sorry about that!

When I introduce the concept of Chiptune Music to my students, I start with a listening strategy, called ‘Hear, Think, Wonder.’ First, we listen to and discuss a number of Chiptune songs by artists like Chipocrite. I suggest searching YouTube for “I Quit” and “Little Computer People” to start. Chipocrite’s video for “Henceforth” is beneficial as it showcases the balance between chip-based composition and the use of instruments, guitar and drum set, which can extend your discussion. While watching, I have my students answer the following questions: • What do you hear? • What do you think? • What does it make you wonder? • How does the tempo (speed) of the music affect your emotional response?

After listening and discussing the Chiptune Music examples, I then play them examples of retro video game music. These examples can include the Super Mario Bros. theme song, Zelda theme song, or any other example that can foster connections for your students. For these examples, I ask them to answer the following question: • How does the tempo of the music affect your emotional response?

Keep in mind that retro video game chip-based music does not utilize the number or types of instruments that are available today. It only uses a synthesizer “bleep blop” sound that you can program to emulate various instruments. After we analyze and discuss each example, I ask the students to tell me about their favorite video games. I guide the conversation to focus them in on the music and visual images. When does the music change? Why does the music change at that point in the video game? For current video games, I also ask them, why did the composer choose that specific instrument for the music? Once we have discussed a number of examples, I ask them to answer the following question: • When combined, how do the visual images and music affect your emotional response while playing a video game?

After laying a solid foundation of what Chiptune Music is and how video game music has evolved over the past three decades, we can then start making connections between coding and music composition. The learning outcomes for students in this unit are: • Students will make connections between coding and traditional music composition. • Students will learn the basic function of Little Sound

Dj (LSDj) software and a Gameboy emulator.

• Students will learn to compose a piece of music that uses all four channels (PU1, PU2, Wave, Noise) and various instrument sounds. • Students will further develop skills using texture, melody, harmony, percussion, dynamics, pitch, and rhythm in composing music.

These outcomes create natural, authentic connections between science, technology, engineering, music, and math.

The materials needed for this unit include: • Little Sound Dj (software) – This can be found online and downloaded for a suggested donation of $5. • Emulator – I suggest using KiGB with Emulator

Enhancer ($30) available for MAC or Windows. You will only need the Emulator Enhancer if you choose to use NES controllers. • NES Controllers with USB or just a computer keyboard – Your choice, but the students really enjoy using the NES controller. They cost approximately $12 for a pair on Amazon.

An excellent resource for learning how to compose music using LSDJ can be found on the Soundfly website (www.soundfly.com). Chipocrite, the Chiptune Music artist, has created three Soundfly courses that teach you how to use the software through the creation of songs, free of charge. I use these courses with my students to lay a solid foundation as they truly enjoy learning from the artist himself. The courses are titled: • Chiptune Crash Course: “Getting Started with Chip

Music” • Chiptune Crash Course: “Arranging in Four Channels” • Chiptune Crash Course: “Chip It! The Chiptune Cover

Challenge”

I also suggest downloading a copy of the Little Sound Dj Operating Manuel (v3.7.4), which can also be found online. A frequently overlooked resource is the artists themselves. Social media has made it very easy to reach out to Chiptune artists. I tweeted about my student’s work, tagged Chipocrite, and he reached out to me. The Chiptune music community of artists is open to working with teachers and their students. Chipocrite even provided my students with feedback on their compositions. Another great real-world connection to make for your students is to set-up a Skype interview with a Chiptune artist.

If LSDj intimidates you, or you would like to adapt this for younger students, check out Scratch 8-bit Music Maker [https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/87829696] and Beepbox [www.beepbox.co]. Both of these websites offer a simpler version, but do not offer the depth of connection between coding and composition that LSDj offers.

Experimentation using the LSDj software affords our students the opportunity to hear and see their composition in real time, while having fun. It also facilitates learning the patterns of coding while creating something individuals will connect with musically and emotionally.

This article was originally written for inTune Monthly and circulated via Education Closet’s website.

Shawna E. Longo is the General Music (Music Technology) teacher at Hopatcong Middle School, Hopatcong, NJ. She also serves as the Arts Integration & STEAM Specialist for TMI Education; Fellow Writer, & Coach for Education Closet; and Ambassador for Music First. She is a clinician and consultant for music education, arts integration, and STEAM. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Mike Kovins Teacher of the Year for Ti:ME, 2018 NJMEA Master Music Teacher Award and 2016 Governor’s Educator of the Year for Hopatcong Middle School. She can be reached at shawnalongo@gmail.com.