Take Time to Stop and PLAY the Daisies

Designer: ​Emily Werner

Technologies Used:
● Makey-Makey: The Makey-Makey was used to create a circuit and connect the flowers
to the coding platform on the computer.
● Scratch. Scratch was used to code each flower to give it a corresponding note that would
play when that flower was touched.
● Google Survey. A survey will be given after each interaction to determine if the learning
goals have been met.

Learning Goals:
● Describe how context, structural aspects of the music, and digital media/tools inform
prepared and improvised performances.
● Using digital tools, demonstrate attention to technical accuracy and expressive qualities
in prepared and improvised performances of a varied repertoire of music.

Assessment: ​I will assess the participants by asking that they complete a Google Survey after
experiencing the garden. I will assess their growth with the instrument and their enjoyment of
performing the songs by asking questions such as, “Did you become more comfortable on the
instrument as you began to play familiar songs?”

Project Overview:
During this experience, participants will be playing songs based on the pentatonic scale
by “watering” a vase of flowers. The vase will include an array of flowers, connected to wires, in
five colors that will be coded through the Makey Makey to the notes of a C major pentatonic
scale. The grounding wire will be attached to a watering can, so when a participant touches a
flower with the watering can, the note will sound. I will then provide cards with color based
notation of familiar melodies that the participants will be able to try to play. When they are
finished, I will ask them to take a survey about the experience.

Rationale:
When this project was first proposed, I immediately knew that I wanted to make
something beautiful and attractive. I didn’t want to make something that looked like it was
adapted for people who didn’t already play an instrument or perhaps had a disability. I wanted to
make it accessible in way that someone wouldn’t think twice about and that anyone could be
interested in. As Hammel & Hourigan point out, no child should be left out of music education
because of a lack of accessibility (2017). To that end, no student should feel less than because
they must play with an adapted instrument. My project is firstly a bright and playful to get people
interested in music, but hopefully it could lead to the realization that there are many ways to
make an instrument.
Plan for Success:​ I have most of the project done. I still need to notate a variety of songs and a
procure a vase and some wire, but other than that I should be ready to go.