ORIGINAL ARTICLE
OLIVEIRA, Solamy do Rocio da Silva [1], COELHO, José Pedro Fernandes da Silva [2]
OLIVEIRA, Solamy do Rocio da Silva. COELHO, José Pedro Fernandes da Silva. Arduino and Education: instrumentalization and technologies in music teaching. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar Núcleo do Conhecimento. Year 05, Ed. 09, Vol. 06, pp. 05-15. September 2020. ISSN: 2448-0959, Access link: https://www.nucleodoconhecimento.com.br/education/arduino-and-education
ABSTRACT
This article seeks to experiment with the use of digital technologies for musical literacy in wind instruments, precisely the clarinet, and to analyze how the use of technology can and should be associated with musical initiation, questioning how we can stimulate learning from new techniques or associations between art and technology. For that, we seek to present an artifact in the experimentation phase that allows improving the learning in the musical initiation phase, the Arduino. Such an artifact can be used with wind instruments, by recognizing the notes of the natural scale and associating them with the colors of the rainbow, as was done in the experiment. We use Information and Communication Technology, which is increasingly present in our lives, as an attraction for students and with technological advances as complementary to artistic activities. Thus, the objective is to evaluate the performance and learning of students since the playful environment favors the creation of an environment and method that encourage learning. The potential of the union between old musical instruments, such as the clarinet, is perceived with the innovations brought with the digital technology. With this work, the theoretical and practical gap that exists about this theme and the need for greater experimental production on it also became evident.
Keywords: clarinet, musical initiation, arduino, technology.
INTRODUCTION
We are daily involved with Information and Communication Technologies, in all areas of life, and particularly in the field of art, some methodological proposals are implemented in order to encourage the use of technologies as a valuable complement to artistic activity. However, these applications are still widespread and deficiencies are noted regarding the availability of options for their union with music.
There is not much to say about the creation of music, however, it is possible to predict that the concept of music begins in the early days of society. Among the varied forms of communication, music can also be among the oldest, being used for religious services, celebrations or even for communication itself. Taking into account the fact that there is no date or something similar to talk about the creation of music, we deduce that man, in his most primitive mind, was able to produce music through instruments – here understood as all instruments used for daily life.
Music is a complete art, and when you are in the listening position, it – music – provides several sensations that only art can convey, such as euphoria, nostalgia, sadness, etc. Portugal and Corrêa (2017, p 207) say that “music, through numerical manipulation and the proportional relationship between sounds, could affect the soul and the character. […] The expression of beauty and the sensations that music could provide ”. Therefore, instrumentalists, when experiencing these sensations with authenticity, successfully fulfill their artistic work. With the support of visual art, we seek to unite auditory and visual expression.
In the literature of similar projects, mainly aimed at the didactics of music in general, regarding, for example, the initiated learning of a musical instrument, although promising, it still shows insufficient initiatives, mainly with integration between colors and musical notes, being the present study is an opportunity for reflection on the theme with experimental content, seeking to show the possibility of realizing the union of visual artistic and musical expressions through free hardware, the Arduino.
Each musical note will be assigned, through the software, a color that will appear in an artifact that will display a corresponding bright light. Only seven colors were chosen, as a musical scale consists of seven natural musical notes, as explained by Bezerra (2019).
1. CONCEPT, DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION AND PROCESSING OF THE ARDUINE ARTICLE
The representation of music through color, in order to create a metaphor between musical tones and color tones, as well as the representation of rhythm and harmony seeks to be used in the present work as a tool that facilitates learning, for this purpose an artifact was created that by When using the software, a color is printed each time a musical note is played, making students have a synesthetic experience capable of helping them to memorize musical notes more quickly and efficiently, and it can be used in the teaching of any wind musical instrument, even though for the purpose of the present study the clarinet is used.
For Bohumil (1996), although there are countless sounds used in music, only seven notes are enough to represent them: do – re – mi – fa – sol – la – si.
Each note will have its color according to the sequence of the colors of the rainbow:
Do – Red: Symbolizes passion, love and courage. It can also convey feelings of aggression.
Re – Orange: Represents communication, cordiality and prosperity.
Mi – Amarelo: It means joy, light, joviality.
Fa-Green: Evokes feelings of hope, peace, balance and trust.
Sol – Blue: Symbolizes mental calm, harmony and authority. It can also convey feelings of coldness.
La – Anil: It means sincerity, respect and individuality.
Si – Violet: Also described as purple, the color violet is related to spirituality.
We chose the colors of the rainbow to simplify the understanding of the sequence of the 7 musical notes, making it a dynamic and playful learning for a musical initiation intervention. The lights in this research are looking at how color can help in the learning / memorization of notes, writing (musical notation) and the identification of sound. And, to open the possibility of using the other senses, not only hearing, in learning music, thus becoming a support so that in the future students can perceive a certain note without the presence of the artifact.
2. DRAWING
When it comes to music, you have to keep in mind that a musical note is the symbol that represents the sound of a tone. By convention, there are seven shades: DO, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA and SI. Depending on the location of the notes on the staff, any of the tones is identified (figure).
Figure 1 – Example of a musical scale with colors
According to Priolli (2013), in relation to the study of the basic principles of music for musical initiation, the following knowledge is necessary;
2.1 NATURAL TONES AND SEMITONS: THE C DIATONIC SCALE, ITS FORMATION AND ITS DEGREES
The Semitone is the shortest interval between two sounds that the ear can perceive and classify. Tone is defined as the interval, between two sounds, formed by two semitones. And the Diatonic Scale is the succession of 8 joint sounds saving from one to another tone or semitone range.
Figure 2 – Ascending scale and Descending scale
The tones and semitones contained in the diatonic scale are called natural. Each of the notes on the scale, according to their function on the scale itself, is given the name of degree.
Figure 3 – Degrees of grades on the scale
The degrees of the scale are named as follows:
I degree – tonic
2nd degree – supertonic
III degree – upon
IV degree – subdominant
V degree – dominant
VI degree – superdominant
7th grade – sensitive
8th degree – tonic.
The diatonic scale consists of 5 tones and 2 semitones. Semitones are found:
From the III degree to the IV.
From VII to VIII.
The tones are found:
From I grade to II.
From the II degree to the II
From the IV degree to the V
From the V grade to the VI
From the VI grade to the VII.
The I degree (tonic) is the most important of the scale. All other degrees have an absolute affinity with him. It is the I degree (tonic) that gives its name to the scale and that finishes it in a complete way, without leaving anything to be desired.
Figure 4 – Ascending scale and Descending scale with Tonic identification
There we have the note Do in function of tonic. This scale is, therefore, called Do scale, or even scale in C tone. After the tonic, the most important notes are the dominant (V degree) and subdominant (IV degree). The degrees of the scale are also classified as sets or disjoints. They are sets when successive, according to their height ratio.
Figure 5 – Joint Degree
They are disjunct when one or more degrees are interspersed between them.
Figure 6 – Disjoint Degree
3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ARTIFACT
The artifact was developed in three phases: Initially, the physical part was created to connect to the logical part through Arduino. Subsequently, the visual representation in glasses was tested. The last phase was the globes test.
The circuit will be fed through symmetrical power, necessary for the operation of the operational amplifier, supplied by two 9V batteries and a 12V source, for the supply of the LED strip, which must be connected to the mains. The input circuit will have three steps: Microphone excitation, Amplification and Offset.
Excitation made through a current limiting resistor and capacitive coupling is necessary for the operation of the piezoelectric microphone. The microphone is generally made of Rochelle salt and has a difference in voltage between the terminals when subjected to mechanical forces, in this case, the sound.
The amplification is done through an operational amplifier in the non-inverting configuration. It will be configured to present variable gain through the rotation of the potentiometer. Amplification is necessary due to the low signal level coming from the microphone. For digital treatment, it is interesting that the input signal has a peak-to-peak voltage close to 5V.
The offset is made from a voltage divider and a capacitive coupling of the amplification step. As the Arduino cannot process negative signals, it is necessary to raise the negative part of the alternating signal generated by the microphone to the interval between 0V and 5V. The voltage divider will be made from the Arduino’s 5V output and will apply a 2.5V voltage to the output of the amplification step. Capacitive coupling will prevent direct voltage from interfering with amplification.
The output stage has a power driver that uses the principles of the Darlington circuit to control the “ground” of the LEDs (high power) through a low power control step (Arduino).
For this practice, after downloading the IDE from the Arduino website, I connected the board to and performed the configuration as indicated in the tutorial. The supplied code was inserted in the program, immediately after compiled and loaded. With the aid of the breadboard, the circuit was assembled as shown in the diagram. After compiling and loading the new code, it was verified that the circuit’s LED light flashed in the same way as the Arduino LED. The circuit was assembled according to the diagram, the code was compiled to the plate and as the potentiometer has a varied information when the lever is turned, the LEDs gradually ascended. For this practice, two jumpers were soldered on the piezoelectric sensor, after which the circuit was assembled according to the schematic compiled, the code is loaded to the Arduino. When pressing the sensor it emitted a sound.
4. PROCESSING
The frequency of the input signal will be recognized by identifying reference points, such as the peak value of the signal, in the captured wave. The reading of the input signal will occur in a continuous and high frequency interval configured by an interruption. The readings will be processed in real time to identify the reference points and through the time difference between the points, the frequency of the wave will be calculated.
When the frequency is in the range referring to the notes of the C major scale, the respective colors will be reproduced on the LED strip.
The teaching of music is a concept that can be considered perennial in society, as old as the very existence of music and also causing chronological conflicts if they are going to establish a starting date for this didactic, taking into account that the teaching acquired by the ancestors orally also fits this didactic item.
We are in the digital age; why not combine the clarinet, a musical instrument invented in the 17th century, in the year 1690, with 21st century digital technology? It was thinking of answering that question that I set out to do the present work.
Considering that the visual arts, appropriating technological means, can be a complementary element to music, allowing greater emotional involvement in the audience during musical presentations, it is understood the importance of developing works and studies in the area in order to propagate the concepts and encourage creative productions to solve similar problems.
The technological context has become essential for the evolution of the theme, allowing reflection on a union between visual arts and music. In this context, there was a need for even greater monitoring of relations with the public.
Gradually the popularization of the computer and the emergence of the Internet, quickly brought a large volume of information, increased the interactivity of people from different places and made citizens much more aware and demanding, as well as giving rise to the emergence of different forms of digital art. . It also brought a greater breadth of electronic artistic relations and new needs even in the world of music, which can no longer be separated from this reality.
It is important to develop works and studies related to the relationship between Visual Arts and Music; the use of Digital Artifacts in Music Education; and the consolidation of artistic technological relations with Music, in the experiences itself.
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
When trying to associate colors with musical notes as a teaching strategy, we need to constantly observe and evaluate students’ performance and learning. The interaction through playfulness favors the creation of an environment and method that encourage learning. Therefore, based on Piaget (apud MONTOYA, 2001) the child structures his capacity and knowledge from his environment and himself, through the structuring of his experiences and impressions and the organization of his instruments of expression.
Therefore, when a student comes into contact with new content, he learns and assimilates with the help of his previous experiments, and in the expectation of a deeper understanding, this student adds this new knowledge to those he already had before. Thus, it is important that the teacher seeks to insert in the context of education tools that are also found in the daily life of music students, stimulating the learning of new knowledge.
We will then say, from Hippert (2018) that when we understand ourselves as cultural beings, we participate in the construction of the meanings of the elements that make up the world, and dialogue with our experimentation about it, daily, and these same meanings are constructed and used collectively. For example, the use of white color to symbolize peace, we will say the same thing about the bridal march, when we hear we will never understand that another movement happens than the bride walking to the altar on her wedding day.
As we constantly talk about perception, we will not abandon the proposition that it interferes with the way we interpret what surrounds us, so we can say that the elements with which we live affect us in such a way that we create a relationship from what we have already experienced. If we know something about an object, we will look at it from the relationship between us and the object (BERGER, 1999 apud HIPPERT, 2018) because what we see becomes evident long before we give meaning. That is, if we do not know what something represents, we will associate it with another element so that we can create identifications, and then arrive at the final understanding. When we do not know the meaning / function / name of a thing, we will try to describe it so that through this “approximation” we will find its true identity.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Considering that the visual arts, appropriating technological means, can be a complementary element to music, allowing greater emotional involvement in the audience during musical presentations, it is understood the importance of developing works and studies in the area in order to propagate the concepts and encourage creative productions to solve similar problems.
We are in the digital age; why not combine the clarinet, a musical instrument invented in the 17th century, in the year 1690, with 21st century digital technology? It was thinking of answering that question that I set out to do the present work.
The technological context has become essential for the evolution of the theme, allowing reflection on a union between visual arts and music. In this context, the need for even greater monitoring of relations with the public arose.
It is important to develop works and studies related to the relationship between Visual Arts and Music; the use of Digital Artifacts in Music Education; and the consolidation of artistic technological relations with Music, in the experiences itself.
REFERENCES
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HIPPERT, R. P. M. Ouver: A relação entre som e cor na percepção. Curitiba: UTFPR, 2018.
LOUREIRO, A. M. O Ensino Da Música Na Escola Fundamental: Um Estudo Exploratório. Belo Horizonte: PUC, 2001.
MONTOYA, A. A Questão da Continuidade e Descontinuidade no … In. Construtivismo e desafios da Educação, XVIII encontro do PROEPRE, UNICAMP, 2001.
PRIOLLI, M. L. M. Princípios Básicos de Música para a Juventude. 54. ed. rev. e atual. Rio de Janeiro: Casa Oliveira de Músicas LDTA., 2013. 142 p. v. 1.
MED, B. Teoria da Música – 4. ed., Brasília, DF: Musimed, 1996.
PORTUGAL, T. P.; CORRÊA, A. F. O conceito de ethos na música da Antiguidade Clássica grega. Rev. ORFEU, v. 2 n.1, jul de 2017, p. 204-225.
SANTOS, R. Música, cultura e educação: os múltiplos espaços da educação musical. 2. Porto Alegre: Sulina, 2012.
[1] PhD student in Digital Media-Art, Universidade Aberta de Lisboa, Master in Arts at Universidade Federal da Bahia (2017). Graduated from the following universities: Degree in Music from the Faculty of Arts of Paraná (1988) and from the Federal University of Bahia course Bachelor in clarinet from 1992 to 1996. Specialization in Afro-Brazilian History and Culture 2006-2007 Has experience in the area of Arts, with emphasis music. City of operation Salvador / Bahia / Brazil.
[2] Advisor. PhD in Systems Engineering. Master in Operational Research and Systems Engineering. Graduated in Informatics and Computer Engineering (Licenciatura).
Submitted: September, 2020.
Approved: September, 2020.
