SoundBlocks and SoundScratch : tangible and virtual digital sound programming and manipulation for children

Abstract

Creative Digital sound manipulation is a powerful means of personal expression. However, it remains explored by only a small number of engineers, mathematicians, and avant-garde musicians and composers. Others find the interfaces both obtuse and focused more on how the sounds are manipulated than what expressivity the manipulations offer. Yet digital sound manipulation can be accessible to everybody. It can even be a powerful way for people to explore, design, and create while learning about mathematics, dataflow, networks, and computer programming. SoundBlocks and SoundScratch are two different environments in which children can manipulate digital sound. SoundBlocks is a tangible programming language for describing dataflow with adaptive, context-aware primitives and real-time sensing. SoundScratch is a set of sound primitives that extend the media-rich capabilities of the children's programming language called Scratch. Both environments have been created and developed as a way to explore how it might be possible to construct an environment in which youth design their own sounds. Children ages 10-15 years old have explored the environments and participated n user studies. Music educators have observed these studies, and their observations are summarized.