ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Scratch Team Sounds in Scratch: Add, Record, and Use Text to Speech Blocks | Tutorial
Today, we’re going to have some fun with sounds in Scratch! Scratch is a cool program where you can create your own stories, games, and animations. Let’s learn how to add sounds to make your projects even more exciting!
First, let’s explore the Sound Library in Scratch. Under the Sounds tab, you can find lots of different sounds to use. You can listen to them by hovering over each sound. Once you find a sound you like, you can add it to your project. It’s like picking your favorite song!
If you want to use your own voice or any other sound, you can record it! Click on the “record” option in the Sound menu. You’ll see a meter that shows how loud the sound is. When you’re ready, press the “record” button and start speaking or making noise. You can listen to your recording and even edit it by cutting out parts you don’t need. It’s like being a sound director!
Now, let’s add some sound blocks to our code. You can use the “start a sound” block to play a sound, like a “meow.” Try placing it before a “say” block to see what happens. You can also use the “play sound until done” block to make sure the sound finishes before moving on. Experiment with these blocks to see how they change your project!
After recording your sound, you can edit it in the sound editor. You can cut out parts you don’t need or change the speed to make it sound different. For example, if you recorded “Silly Scratch Cat, cats can’t fly,” you can keep just that part and delete the rest. Changing the speed can make your voice sound higher or lower. It’s like magic!
What if you want your project to talk but don’t want to record your voice? You can use the text-to-speech extension! Find it in the menu at the bottom left corner. Once you add it, you can choose a voice and type what you want it to say. The computer will read it out loud for you. It’s like having a robot friend!
Here’s a cool trick: make the words appear on the screen while they’re being spoken. Use two “say” blocks. In the first one, type the text you want. In the second one, leave it blank. Place the first “say” block above the “speak” block and the blank one below it. This way, the words will stay on the screen for as long as it takes to speak them. It’s like a talking book!
Now you know how to add, record, and use text-to-speech in Scratch. The possibilities are endless! What amazing projects will you create with these new skills?
Sound Scavenger Hunt: Go on a sound scavenger hunt around your home or classroom! Find and list five different sounds you hear, like a ticking clock or a chirping bird. Try to recreate these sounds using the recording feature in Scratch. Can you make a project that tells a story using these sounds?
Create a Talking Character: Use the text-to-speech blocks to create a character in Scratch that tells a joke or a fun fact. Write down what you want your character to say, and then use the text-to-speech feature to bring your character to life. Share your talking character with a friend and see if they can guess what your character is saying!
Sound Experimentation: Record a short sentence, like “Hello, Scratch World!” in Scratch. Then, use the sound editor to change the speed and pitch of your recording. How does it sound when you make it faster or slower? Try making your voice sound like a robot or a chipmunk. What other fun effects can you create?
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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Today, I’m working on a Scratch project that involves sound. Let’s explore some ways to add sound to Scratch projects. Under the Sounds tab in the project editor, you’ll notice options to choose a sound, record a sound, or upload a sound. Please ensure that you do not upload materials that are under copyright. Keep each of your files under ten megabytes, and make sure your upload follows the Community Guidelines and does not reveal personal information.
I’m going to show you how to choose a sound from the sound library and how to record a sound. I will also demonstrate an additional technique to add sound to Scratch using text-to-speech blocks. You can scroll through the sound library and choose a sound you like. Hover over the sounds to hear them.
Back on the Code tab, I have a couple of choices for sound blocks. Let’s choose the “start a sound” block and select the “meow” sound. Let’s place it before this “say” block and see what happens. [Meow] Now, let’s see the difference if we use the “play sound until done” block. [Meow] Did you notice the difference?
To record a sound, choose “record” from the Sound menu. You can see the audio meter registering the sounds it hears in the room. When I’m ready, I’ll hit the “record” button. Let’s fly. I can check it out to see what it sounds like. [Let’s fly.] I can also use these sliders to edit out parts that I don’t need, like the empty space before and after I was talking. Let’s play my recording after “meow.” [Meow] [Let’s fly.]
What if I want the parrot to have a different voice than Scratch Cat? I can record my voice in different ways. Or I can record my normal voice and edit the sounds later. Once I have my sound recorded, I can also use tools in the sound editor to edit the sound. Let’s cut out the parts that I don’t need. [Silly Scratch Cat, cats can’t fly.] That’s the part I’m keeping, so I’m going to select the other parts that I don’t want and delete them. If I adjust the speed of my sound, it can change the pitch. [Silly Scratch Cat, cats can’t fly.]
Now, let’s test our whole program. [Meow] [Let’s fly.] [Silly Scratch Cat, cats can’t fly.] Maybe I don’t want to record my own voice. Perhaps it’s too loud in the room where I’m at. But I would still love my users to hear the words as they’re being shown on the screen. Let’s try the text-to-speech extension.
To find that extension, I’m going to go down to the menu in the lower left-hand corner and look for “text to speech.” Notice that it requires the Internet. Once I click on the text-to-speech extension, I see some new blocks here. I’m first going to select a voice. Now, I’m going to add a “speak” block and type my words into it. Let’s add these blocks to my code. [Meow] [Let’s fly.]
This is all looking pretty good. But let’s try a technique that I like so that the words appear on the screen at the same time they are being spoken. To do this, I’m going to go back to my Looks category. Instead of grabbing a “say” block with a time associated with it, I’m going to grab two “say” blocks that have no time associated with them. In the first one, I’m going to type the text that I want. In the second one, I’m going to delete all the text to leave it blank.
Now, I will move the first “say” block with the text above the “speak” block. I will then place the second “say” block that is blank below the “speak” block. I’m going to quickly remove this wait. [Silly Scratch Cat, cats can’t fly.] The words appear on the screen for as long as it takes to speak them. [Meow] [Let’s fly.] [Silly Scratch Cat, cats can’t fly.] The possibilities are endless. What will you create?
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This version removes any unnecessary or potentially sensitive content while maintaining the instructional integrity of the original transcript.
