I have recently become very interested in music. Consequently, I started to learn how to read scores. So, I thought that adapting some songs for Arduino would be a good exercise. I wrote a few Arduino sketches, with some details on mind:

Sketches should be compatible with all or almost all Arduino boards;

No need for installing libraries;

Sketches should be easy to understand and modify.

That said, I have only used the tone() function, which is part of the Arduino “language”. The tone() function is capable of generating a single tone, in only one pin at a time. Libraries such as the Tone library allow you to generate more tones, but use specific timers of some microcontrollers, which causes incompatibility with many boards. This means that the sketches here are monophonic, that is, only one note can be played at a time.

Songs

At the moment, the following songs are currently available. Just click the name of the song to view the code.

Movies

Games

Classic

Others

Example

As an example, we will use the theme of the game Tetris (type A). Simply copy the code into the Arduino IDE and connect a buzzer to pin 11 of your Arduino board, or connect it to any pin and edit the value of the buzzer variable accordingly.

With the piezo connected to the board, simply add the code with the desired song in the IDE and upload it to the Arduino. The tempo variable can be changed to make the music play faster or slower, while the buzzer variable contains the number of the pin to which the piezo is connected. The melody vector contains each note of the song followed by their duration.

/* Tetris theme - (Korobeiniki) Connect a piezo buzzer or speaker to pin 11 or select a new pin. More songs available at https://github.com/robsoncouto/arduino-songs Robson Couto, 2019 */ #define NOTE_B0 31 #define NOTE_C1 33 #define NOTE_CS1 35 #define NOTE_D1 37 #define NOTE_DS1 39 #define NOTE_E1 41 #define NOTE_F1 44 #define NOTE_FS1 46 #define NOTE_G1 49 #define NOTE_GS1 52 #define NOTE_A1 55 #define NOTE_AS1 58 #define NOTE_B1 62 #define NOTE_C2 65 #define NOTE_CS2 69 #define NOTE_D2 73 #define NOTE_DS2 78 #define NOTE_E2 82 #define NOTE_F2 87 #define NOTE_FS2 93 #define NOTE_G2 98 #define NOTE_GS2 104 #define NOTE_A2 110 #define NOTE_AS2 117 #define NOTE_B2 123 #define NOTE_C3 131 #define NOTE_CS3 139 #define NOTE_D3 147 #define NOTE_DS3 156 #define NOTE_E3 165 #define NOTE_F3 175 #define NOTE_FS3 185 #define NOTE_G3 196 #define NOTE_GS3 208 #define NOTE_A3 220 #define NOTE_AS3 233 #define NOTE_B3 247 #define NOTE_C4 262 #define NOTE_CS4 277 #define NOTE_D4 294 #define NOTE_DS4 311 #define NOTE_E4 330 #define NOTE_F4 349 #define NOTE_FS4 370 #define NOTE_G4 392 #define NOTE_GS4 415 #define NOTE_A4 440 #define NOTE_AS4 466 #define NOTE_B4 494 #define NOTE_C5 523 #define NOTE_CS5 554 #define NOTE_D5 587 #define NOTE_DS5 622 #define NOTE_E5 659 #define NOTE_F5 698 #define NOTE_FS5 740 #define NOTE_G5 784 #define NOTE_GS5 831 #define NOTE_A5 880 #define NOTE_AS5 932 #define NOTE_B5 988 #define NOTE_C6 1047 #define NOTE_CS6 1109 #define NOTE_D6 1175 #define NOTE_DS6 1245 #define NOTE_E6 1319 #define NOTE_F6 1397 #define NOTE_FS6 1480 #define NOTE_G6 1568 #define NOTE_GS6 1661 #define NOTE_A6 1760 #define NOTE_AS6 1865 #define NOTE_B6 1976 #define NOTE_C7 2093 #define NOTE_CS7 2217 #define NOTE_D7 2349 #define NOTE_DS7 2489 #define NOTE_E7 2637 #define NOTE_F7 2794 #define NOTE_FS7 2960 #define NOTE_G7 3136 #define NOTE_GS7 3322 #define NOTE_A7 3520 #define NOTE_AS7 3729 #define NOTE_B7 3951 #define NOTE_C8 4186 #define NOTE_CS8 4435 #define NOTE_D8 4699 #define NOTE_DS8 4978 #define REST 0 // change this to make the song slower or faster int tempo=144; // change this to whichever pin you want to use int buzzer = 11; // notes of the moledy followed by the duration. // a 4 means a quarter note, 8 an eighteenth , 16 sixteenth, so on // !!negative numbers are used to represent dotted notes, // so -4 means a dotted quarter note, that is, a quarter plus an eighteenth!! int melody[] = { //Based on the arrangement at https://www.flutetunes.com/tunes.php?id=192 NOTE_E5, 4, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_A4, 4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_B4, -4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_C5, 4, NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5, -4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A5,4, NOTE_G5,8, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_E5, -4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_B4, 4, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_C5, 4, NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_A4,4, REST, 4, NOTE_E5, 4, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_A4, 4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_B4, -4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_C5, 4, NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_A4,8, NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5, -4, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_A5,4, NOTE_G5,8, NOTE_F5,8, NOTE_E5, -4, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_D5,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_B4, 4, NOTE_B4,8, NOTE_C5,8, NOTE_D5,4, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_C5, 4, NOTE_A4,4, NOTE_A4,4, REST, 4, NOTE_E5,2, NOTE_C5,2, NOTE_D5,2, NOTE_B4,2, NOTE_C5,2, NOTE_A4,2, NOTE_GS4,2, NOTE_B4,4, REST,8, NOTE_E5,2, NOTE_C5,2, NOTE_D5,2, NOTE_B4,2, NOTE_C5,4, NOTE_E5,4, NOTE_A5,2, NOTE_GS5,2, }; // sizeof gives the number of bytes, each int value is composed of two bytes (16 bits) // there are two values per note (pitch and duration), so for each note there are four bytes int notes=sizeof(melody)/sizeof(melody[0])/2; // this calculates the duration of a whole note in ms (60s/tempo)*4 beats int wholenote = (60000 * 4) / tempo; int divider = 0, noteDuration = 0; void setup() { // iterate over the notes of the melody. // Remember, the array is twice the number of notes (notes + durations) for (int thisNote = 0; thisNote < notes * 2; thisNote = thisNote + 2) { // calculates the duration of each note divider = melody[thisNote + 1]; if (divider > 0) { // regular note, just proceed noteDuration = (wholenote) / divider; } else if (divider < 0) { // dotted notes are represented with negative durations!! noteDuration = (wholenote) / abs(divider); noteDuration *= 1.5; // increases the duration in half for dotted notes } // we only play the note for 90% of the duration, leaving 10% as a pause tone(buzzer, melody[thisNote], noteDuration*0.9); // Wait for the specief duration before playing the next note. delay(noteDuration); // stop the waveform generation before the next note. noTone(buzzer); } } void loop() { // no need to repeat the melody. } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 /* Tetris theme - (Korobeiniki) Connect a piezo buzzer or speaker to pin 11 or select a new pin. More songs available at https://github.com/robsoncouto/arduino-songs Robson Couto, 2019 */ #define NOTE_B0 31 #define NOTE_C1 33 #define NOTE_CS1 35 #define NOTE_D1 37 #define NOTE_DS1 39 #define NOTE_E1 41 #define NOTE_F1 44 #define NOTE_FS1 46 #define NOTE_G1 49 #define NOTE_GS1 52 #define NOTE_A1 55 #define NOTE_AS1 58 #define NOTE_B1 62 #define NOTE_C2 65 #define NOTE_CS2 69 #define NOTE_D2 73 #define NOTE_DS2 78 #define NOTE_E2 82 #define NOTE_F2 87 #define NOTE_FS2 93 #define NOTE_G2 98 #define NOTE_GS2 104 #define NOTE_A2 110 #define NOTE_AS2 117 #define NOTE_B2 123 #define NOTE_C3 131 #define NOTE_CS3 139 #define NOTE_D3 147 #define NOTE_DS3 156 #define NOTE_E3 165 #define NOTE_F3 175 #define NOTE_FS3 185 #define NOTE_G3 196 #define NOTE_GS3 208 #define NOTE_A3 220 #define NOTE_AS3 233 #define NOTE_B3 247 #define NOTE_C4 262 #define NOTE_CS4 277 #define NOTE_D4 294 #define NOTE_DS4 311 #define NOTE_E4 330 #define NOTE_F4 349 #define NOTE_FS4 370 #define NOTE_G4 392 #define NOTE_GS4 415 #define NOTE_A4 440 #define NOTE_AS4 466 #define NOTE_B4 494 #define NOTE_C5 523 #define NOTE_CS5 554 #define NOTE_D5 587 #define NOTE_DS5 622 #define NOTE_E5 659 #define NOTE_F5 698 #define NOTE_FS5 740 #define NOTE_G5 784 #define NOTE_GS5 831 #define NOTE_A5 880 #define NOTE_AS5 932 #define NOTE_B5 988 #define NOTE_C6 1047 #define NOTE_CS6 1109 #define NOTE_D6 1175 #define NOTE_DS6 1245 #define NOTE_E6 1319 #define NOTE_F6 1397 #define NOTE_FS6 1480 #define NOTE_G6 1568 #define NOTE_GS6 1661 #define NOTE_A6 1760 #define NOTE_AS6 1865 #define NOTE_B6 1976 #define NOTE_C7 2093 #define NOTE_CS7 2217 #define NOTE_D7 2349 #define NOTE_DS7 2489 #define NOTE_E7 2637 #define NOTE_F7 2794 #define NOTE_FS7 2960 #define NOTE_G7 3136 #define NOTE_GS7 3322 #define NOTE_A7 3520 #define NOTE_AS7 3729 #define NOTE_B7 3951 #define NOTE_C8 4186 #define NOTE_CS8 4435 #define NOTE_D8 4699 #define NOTE_DS8 4978 #define REST 0 // change this to make the song slower or faster int tempo = 144 ; // change this to whichever pin you want to use int buzzer = 11 ; // notes of the moledy followed by the duration. // a 4 means a quarter note, 8 an eighteenth , 16 sixteenth, so on // !!negative numbers are used to represent dotted notes, // so -4 means a dotted quarter note, that is, a quarter plus an eighteenth!! int melody [ ] = { //Based on the arrangement at https://www.flutetunes.com/tunes.php?id=192 NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , 4 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_D5 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_B4 , - 4 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_C5 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 8 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , - 4 , NOTE_F5 , 8 , NOTE_A5 , 4 , NOTE_G5 , 8 , NOTE_F5 , 8 , NOTE_E5 , - 4 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_D5 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_B4 , 4 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_C5 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , REST , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , 4 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_D5 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_B4 , - 4 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_C5 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 8 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , - 4 , NOTE_F5 , 8 , NOTE_A5 , 4 , NOTE_G5 , 8 , NOTE_F5 , 8 , NOTE_E5 , - 4 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_D5 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_B4 , 4 , NOTE_B4 , 8 , NOTE_C5 , 8 , NOTE_D5 , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_C5 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , NOTE_A4 , 4 , REST , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 2 , NOTE_C5 , 2 , NOTE_D5 , 2 , NOTE_B4 , 2 , NOTE_C5 , 2 , NOTE_A4 , 2 , NOTE_GS4 , 2 , NOTE_B4 , 4 , REST , 8 , NOTE_E5 , 2 , NOTE_C5 , 2 , NOTE_D5 , 2 , NOTE_B4 , 2 , NOTE_C5 , 4 , NOTE_E5 , 4 , NOTE_A5 , 2 , NOTE_GS5 , 2 , } ; // sizeof gives the number of bytes, each int value is composed of two bytes (16 bits) // there are two values per note (pitch and duration), so for each note there are four bytes int notes = sizeof ( melody ) / sizeof ( melody [ 0 ] ) / 2 ; // this calculates the duration of a whole note in ms (60s/tempo)*4 beats int wholenote = ( 60000 * 4 ) / tempo ; int divider = 0 , noteDuration = 0 ; void setup ( ) { // iterate over the notes of the melody. // Remember, the array is twice the number of notes (notes + durations) for ( int thisNote = 0 ; thisNote < notes * 2 ; thisNote = thisNote + 2 ) { // calculates the duration of each note divider = melody [ thisNote + 1 ] ; if ( divider > 0 ) { // regular note, just proceed noteDuration = ( wholenote ) / divider ; } else if ( divider < 0 ) { // dotted notes are represented with negative durations!! noteDuration = ( wholenote ) / abs ( divider ) ; noteDuration *= 1.5 ; // increases the duration in half for dotted notes } // we only play the note for 90% of the duration, leaving 10% as a pause tone ( buzzer , melody [ thisNote ] , noteDuration * 0.9 ) ; // Wait for the specief duration before playing the next note. delay ( noteDuration ) ; // stop the waveform generation before the next note. noTone ( buzzer ) ; } } void loop ( ) { // no need to repeat the melody. }

After uploading the sketch, the Arduino will play the song. The setup() code can be moved to the loop() if the music is to be repeated.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, see you next post o/