Tetras!

TETRAS!

Tetras! is the final project that I decided to work on for the remainder of the semster. "In C" is essentially as far as it can go without someone actually making it. And just after submitting the midterm, the idea of a Tetris-style game that can help students visualize and learn the modes came to mind.

Over the course of several class meetings, fellow students provided feedback that was very helpful in the design. In particualar, I moved from a focus on major scale creation using only major tetrachords and expressed in note names to all of the modes expressed in numbers. Through playtesting and feedback it soon proved that the former system didn't always provide a path to completing a scale, plus it was a bit repetitive. 

Having the tetras expressed in numerals also focuses on the lesson, which is understanding and learning to hear the intervalic charactor of each tetrachord, and when paired together they can be mixed and matched to complete scales and modes. 

This last week, inspired by the physical paper prototype, I made the tetras into actual blocks, which I hope to use in classroom settings as demonstration and for group-play among students.