Making music with Scratch and Sonic Pi: Note names and numbers

Sean McManus, co-author of Raspberry Pi For Dummies, shares an infographic that shows the note numbers for making music on the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi comes with Scratch and Sonic Pi, both of which can be used to make music. Scratch is a visual programming language, and you can use it to make simple melodies. Sonic Pi is a programming language that enables you to write richer music, combining samples and synthesisers. For both, you need to know the numbers of the notes you want to play, so I've put together the table below to use as a quick reference.

This reference chart is handy whether you want to program a tune you already know on the Raspberry Pi, or just want to make sure you're using notes that are in tune with each other in your own music.

Feel free to share the infographic with your social networks, Code Clubs and classes. If you click it, you will see just the image, which will make it easier to print out.

How to use these notes in Scratch

To play a note in Scratch, enter its number into the Play Note block, shown below. You can join multiple Play Note blocks to play a tune. In Scratch 3.0, the music blocks are an extension, so you'll need to go to the bottom of the Blocks Palette first to add them. For more tips on music in Scratch, check out the free PDF sampler from Coder Academy.

Find out more about making music on the Raspberry Pi

• Listen to my Sonic Pi composition "Showroom Dummies" and study the code of the extended remix
• Find out more about Raspberry Pi For Dummies, third edition published September 2017
• Discover my book Scratch Programming in Easy Steps
• My book Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps includes a Scratch drum machine
• My book for younger readers, Coder Academy, shows you how to use patterns to make random tunes
• Listen to my synth and sample-based music (mostly not made on the Raspberry Pi)
• Visit my Scratch resources hub