Musical Pies

Our entry is both a tech and baking project. We made some apple pies which can play the tune of an English nursery rhyme.

Step 1: Programming the Tune.

I wrote a program in Scratch that plays "Sing a song of Sixpence". Here is a link: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/55790110/

Step 2: Connecting the Touchboard

The touchboard is connected to a laptop via a USB cable. We used an Arduino sketch from a Codasign workshop organized by Bristol University(http://codasign.com/ )which allows the touchboard to act like a computer keyboard.

Our program uses these keys: Q,E,T and A

Step 3: Making the Pies

Here is our recipe:

-peel and chop a cooking apple and heat it in a saucepan on a low heat with a tiny pinch of sugar

-roll out some shortcrust pastry and cut into larger circles (for the shell) and smaller circles (for the lid)

-after 5 to 10 minutes, the apple should go a bit mushy. Spoon the filling into shells and add the lid

-crimp the edges with a fork and brush milk on top.

-bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown at 200C (400F)

Step 4: Connecting the Pies

Crocodile clips connect the electrodes on the touch board to the pies to trigger a different line from the song. By touching the pie, the crust and fruit filling is conductive and it makes an electrical connection.

Step 5: Lyrics to the Nursery Rhyme

Here are the the lyrics to the rhyme so that you can sing along.

Sing a song of Sixpence, a pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie,

When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing,

Now wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king.

We hope you liked our project.