Sound Maker (Buzzer)

Purpose Of This Page

This page explains how to play musical notes with the CodyJoy Pro Sound Maker using Python.

The CodyJoy Pro includes several built-in features, including:

• RGB LED Matrix.
• Joystick.
• Sound Maker.

This page focuses only on the Sound Maker.

By the end of this page, students will be able to:

• Play a musical note.
• Choose how long a note should play.
• Use sharp notes such as F#2.
• Use flat notes such as Gb2.
• Play a note and continue immediately.
• Play a note and wait until it is done.

Start Code

Every CodyNick Python script should import the CodyNick library and connect to the CodyNick device.

import CodyNick

cn = CodyNick.CN()

The variable cn represents the connected CodyNick device.

Play A Note

Use CJP_Sound_Maker.play() to play a note.

Function format:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, note, duration_ms)

Example:

import CodyNick

cn = CodyNick.CN()

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "F#2", 300)

This plays note F#2 for 300 milliseconds.

The program continues immediately after starting the sound.

Play Until Done

Use CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done() when Python should wait until the note is finished.

Function format:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, note, duration_ms)

Example:

import CodyNick

cn = CodyNick.CN()

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "C4", 500)
print("The note is finished")

This plays note C4 for 500 milliseconds. The message is printed after the note is done.

Duration

The duration is written in milliseconds.

Common examples:

Example:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "A4", 1000)

This plays note A4 for one second.

Sharp And Flat Notes

Sharp notes use #.

Example:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "F#2", 300)

Flat notes use b.

Example:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "Gb2", 300)

F#2 and Gb2 are the same pitch.

Example: Play A Short Melody

This example plays a short melody using play_until_done().

import CodyNick

cn = CodyNick.CN()

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "C4", 250)
CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "D4", 250)
CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "E4", 250)
CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "G4", 500)

Because play_until_done() waits, the notes play one after another.

Example: Melody With A Loop

This example stores notes in a list and plays them in a loop.

import CodyNick

cn = CodyNick.CN()

notes = ["C4", "D4", "E4", "F4", "G4", "A4", "B4", "C5"]

for note in notes:
    CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, note, 250)

This plays a simple scale from C4 to C5.

Example: Continue Immediately

This example starts a note and immediately continues to the next line.

import CodyNick

cn = CodyNick.CN()

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "C5", 500)
print("This prints while the sound may still be playing")

Use play() when the program should continue immediately.

Use play_until_done() when the program should wait.

Function Summary

Supported Notes

The Sound Maker supports notes from B0 to D#8.

The table below shows the supported sharp-note notation and approximate frequencies.

Practice Tasks

Try these exercises:

1. Play C4 for 500 milliseconds.
2. Play A4 for one second.
3. Play F#2 for 300 milliseconds.
4. Play the same pitch using Gb2.
5. Create a list of notes and play them in a loop.
6. Write a short melody using at least five notes.
7. Compare play() and play_until_done() by printing a message after each function call.

Common Mistakes

Notes must be written as strings:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "C4", 500)

This is not correct:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, C4, 500)

The duration is in milliseconds, not seconds:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play(cn, "C4", 1000)

This plays for one second.

Use play_until_done() when the next note should wait:

CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "C4", 250)
CodyNick.CJP_Sound_Maker.play_until_done(cn, "D4", 250)

If play() is used for many notes in a row, later notes may start before earlier notes are finished.