Action: Adding Power To Our Voice

Activity 2: Preparing the Final Song! (20 minutes + homework)

Reflect on the final song you want to create, will you:

• Revise and finalize your existing song

OR 

• Create a new song

B: Hard-Code or Code with Variables?

You might decide ahead of time which functions will be hard-coded (e.g., def intro(): and which ones will be coded with variables. E.g., def chorus(start, end):

• Use Hard-Coded Functions?  def intro(): 

OR  

• Functions with Variables? def chorus(start, end):

OR

• A mix of both?

C: What Else Will You Add?

Do you want to

• Add more tracks?
• Change the tempo?
• Add any additional comments?

If you need a review on any of the EarSketch topics, use the curriculum on the right of the code editor console to review selected topics.

Think about the call to action and how you can build on your EarSketch knowledge to use code to express your voice through your song. Below you will find resources to help you continue to work on your submission. When you have completed your code, submit it to the competition.

Here are some tips from music producers on what makes a hit song along, with some other examples of EarSketch functions to advance your code.

Music Tips

• Choose a form and structure for your song (for example, ABAB).
• Be personal. Write from the heart. Tell a story.
• Create repetition - Include an earworm or hook. Make your melody memorable.
• Build variation in your song - including contrast and change between minor and major chords.
• Match beats between verses. Keep your verses to the same number or a multiple number of beats.
• Maybe try some of the other 'effects' from Extension B in Module 4!

Activity 3: Add Voice to Your Code (30 minutes or Homework)

Comments is a way to express your voice to others who read your code (including judges for Your Voice is Power) 

Comments start with a hashtag (#), they help to structure your song and communicate your voice as a coder and programmer.

Add comments to highlight sections that show the 4 R’s:  respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility

# This lyric is an example of 

# Institutional Racism, prison Pipeline
fitmedia(ENTREP_VOX_BK_LETOUT,18,6,14)

Add comments to express your voice (through comments or selected lyrics) or the voice of your community.

# I Chose this lyric because…
# This drum beat makes me think of…

Include a comment to let us know your target audience and the theme of your song.

# author: <Student Name>

# Audience: Family and Friends

# My song is to explain that there is 

# ongoing racial inequity in our community

Include a comment to tell us if you are speaking as an ally, an activist, or as yourself?

# author: <Student Name> 

# writing as an ally/activist/self

You can use the print function to print the purpose of your song in the console.

print("My song is to explain that there is ongoing racial inequity in our community")

Include comments to give credit to the artists of the sound clips used in your song.

# Audio clips used for remix from:

# Jayli's song “Child of the Government”

# Dakota Bear “Freedom”

Activity 4: Debugging Your Song (20 minutes or Homework)

Part of finishing your song is debugging of your code. Debugging is the process of finding and fixing bugs (errors made by the programmer).

Follow the instructions below to debug your code:

1. Run your code
2. Check the console - are there any errors?
   If there are no errors, move on to Part 2 (Check Your Song's Characteristics) in the song submission process.
   If you have an error in your code, continue to step 3 in the debugging process
3. Read the console for clues (such as line number or type of error).
4. Locate the error in your code: If the console provided a line number, take a look at that line and the previous line in your code. Check any arguments carefully. You can also comment out the lines of code one at a time to identify where a possible error could be. Print debugging can also be used to locate an error. Insert print statements throughout your code to obtain the value of variables and check your logic. See 43.2 The Debugging Process for more information.
5. Squash the bug: Check for syntax errors, like unclosed parentheses, quotations, or brackets. Edit the code, and run it to verify its correctness.
6. Ask for help: If you find you have spent too much time on a bug, then ask someone for help! A fresh pair of eyes can do wonders for spotting mistakes.