Background Tutorial

            To create the introduction of the symphony, “Carol of the Bells,” you will need the following supplies:

• ·         1: 13-note Xylophone
• ·         2: Servos
• ·         1: Arduino Uno Board with USB cord
• ·         1: Breadboard
• ·         2: Rubber bands
• ·         K’nex
• ·         Wires

Instructions

1.      First, the range of the instrument must be determined.

a.       In our case, our range will be from D to A on our xylophone.

b.      Your range will determine the length of your conveyor belt.

2.      Take the “circle” joints of K’nex to form the conveyor base.

a.       The easiest method is to line multiple K’nex on a single bar to create a cylinder that can be attached to the Xylophone.

b.      If needed, a brace can be added between both bases to give it more stability.

c.       These bases should be connected under the two first outside notes:

                                                                          i.      For example, our range is from D to A. Thus, we would place the base closest to D under lower C, and A to B.

3.      Stretch two rubber bands, parallel to each other, to create the conveyor belt.

a.       These rubber bands will be placed on the Conveyor Belt Base, perpendicular to the cylindrical bases.

4.      Attach servo to one of the cylindrical bases, so that the head will make the conveyor turn.

a.       This servo will allow us to hit different notes, without a complex number of servos.

5.      Attach a mallet onto the head of the other servo.

a.       This servo will be coded to turn the mallet to hit the Xylophone in the style of “Carol of the Bells.”

6.      Attach the mallet servo to the top of the conveyor belt.

a.       Make sure to face the servo toward the Xylophone and that it can hit the range that needed.

7.      Wire the breadboard properly.

a.       Following the flow chart, you will first want to connect the Arduino port of 5V and Ground to the positive and negative ports on the breadboard.

b.      Then, you will assign and wire certain signals to your breadboard, so each servo has a different signal.

                                                                          i.      For example, we are using two servos. So, we will plug signal 9 and 13 into different lines on our breadboard.

c.       Attach each servo correctly to the breadboard.

                                                                          i.      The red wire should be attached to the same line as your “+” power or the 5V line from the Arduino.

                                                                        ii.      The white wire should, respectively, be connected to each signal you want your servo to correspond to.

                                                                      iii.      The black wire should be connected to the same line as your “- “power or ground line from the Arduino.

8.      Plug in the Arduino into your computer through USB.

                                                                          i.      After plugging in the Arduino, you should see a green light blink on the Arduino, which means it is working.

9.      Program the Arduino to play your song.

                                                                          i.      With the Arduino program, you can easily find hundreds of online materials for coding, including the integration of MIDI.

10.  Have fun!

a.       In the end, your project should look similar to this basic outline.