Coding Through Music
Music and computer programming have more in common than you might think. Writing code and writing composing music both rely on processes of decomposition, breaking down the input of smaller parts in order to understand how they work together. In our blog post Learning Through Coding we discuss how learning to code reflects the same processes of learning music and composition. Drawing on these ideas, as well as our initiative to make coding as fun and interesting as possible, The Code Initiative is thrilled to introduce our first ever curriculum that merges coding with music.
Coding requires us to predict possible outcomes before a task has even been attempted, similar to learning how to play an instrument or reading musical notes. Our music x coding workshops utilize these concepts of cause and effect, teaching children how to code while introducing musical concepts like instrumentation, note reading, tempo, and rhythm. This will be an introductory scratch (block based programming language) course that uses coding concepts like system coordination, variables, inequalities and loops.
Through this course students will build their very own musical computer games, teaching virtual characters through song and dance and using their own voices and sounds to control their character’s actions. Following this introductory course, an intermediate scratch x music class is available, which draws more on math concepts that are merged with ideas of composing and conducting, introducing students to different musical styles while developing skills learned in the introductory course.
Research has long suggested that people with musical backgrounds excel in computer coding, whether this is due to a similarity of concepts or a distinct creative advantage. When creativity merges with logic and reasoning, the possibilities are endless. Our goal as an organization is to appeal to children’s different interests, teaching them useful and important skills in a manner that interests them and increases their engagement. These music x coding workshops are the perfect example of this, for more information click here.
