A Melody From Two Arrays

Part of the Outputs section of Coddy's Arduino journey. Lesson 14 of 24.

Notes in a tune are not all the same length. A second array can hold the durations, lined up with the notes: notes[i] and durations[i] belong together.

int notes[] = {262, 262, 392, 392, 440, 440, 392};
int durations[] = {400, 400, 400, 400, 400, 400, 800};

Two equal notes in a row would blur into one long note. A short silence after each one keeps them apart, so play the note for its duration and wait a little longer:

tone(8, notes[i], durations[i]);
delay(durations[i] + 50);

The duration stops the note, and the extra 50 ms is the gap before the next one.

When the index goes past the last note, the melody is over: wait a moment before starting it again so it does not run into itself.

Challenge

Medium

Play the first line of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on pin 8:

notes: 262, 262, 392, 392, 440, 440, 392
durations: 400 ms each, and 800 ms for the last note
after each note, wait its duration plus 50 ms
after the last note, wait one more second and start again

Press Run, then Check.

Try it yourself

const int buzzerPin = 8;
// make the notes and durations arrays, and the index, here

void setup() {
}

void loop() {
  // play one note, wait its duration plus 50 ms, move to the next one
  // after the last note, wait a second and start again
}

Test yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Outputs

Practice on your own: Arduino playground