SENSORS/ACTUATORS

Arduino Mega - MP3 Player

This guide shows you how to make an MP3 player with an Arduino Mega, an MP3 module, a micro SD card, and a speaker. The MP3 module reads music or sound files from the micro SD card. The Arduino Mega tells the MP3 module which song to play, starts the playback, turns it into an audio signal, and sends this signal to the speaker. We will explain these steps in simple terms.

How to connect a speaker and MP3 modules to the Arduino Mega board
How to program the Arduino Mega to play a song from a micro SD card
How to add play, pause, next, and previous buttons

Then you can modify the code to add a volume knob or dial to control the volume.

Hardware Preparation

1	×	Arduino Mega
1	×	USB 2.0 cable type A/B (for USB-A PC)
1	×	USB 2.0 cable type C/B (for USB-C PC)
1	×	Serial MP3 Player Module
1	×	Micro SD Card
1	×	3.5mm Aux Speaker
1	×	Jumper Wires

Or you can buy the following kits:

1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (30 sensors/displays)
1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some of the links provided in this section are Amazon affiliate links. We may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Additionally, some of these links are for products from our own brand, DIYables .

Overview of Serial MP3 Player Module and Speaker

Serial MP3 Player Module Pinout

A serial MP3 player module has three ports:

The connection to the Arduino Mega: four pins

RX pin: for data. Connect to the Mega’s TX pin using either Hardware Serial or Software Serial.
TX pin: for data. Connect to the Mega’s RX pin using either Hardware Serial or Software Serial.
VCC pin: power. Connect to 5V.
GND pin: ground. Connect to 0V.

The connection to the speaker: a 3.5 mm female aux jack.
The connection to the Micro SD Card: the Micro SD card socket is at the back of the module.

image source: diyables.io

Speaker Pinout

A speaker usually has two connectors:

Audio connection: Uses a 3.5 mm AUX plug to connect to the MP3 player.
Power connection: It can use USB, a 5V power adapter, or other power sources.

How It Works

What we need to prepare:

Put songs or audio files on a microSD card.
Put the microSD card into the MP3 player module.
Connect the MP3 player module to the Arduino Mega board.
Connect the MP3 player module to a speaker.
Connect the speaker to a power source.

Each MP3 file on the microSD card has a number that starts at 0 to show the order of the songs.

We can now set up the Arduino Mega to send commands to the MP3 player module. It can handle these commands:

Play
Stop
Next
Previous
Volume

The MP3 player module plays the MP3 file on the micro SD card, converts it to an audio signal, and sends the signal to the speaker through the 3.5 mm AUX jack.

Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Arduino Mega Code - Play Music

The code below starts playing the first song saved on the micro SD card.

Detailed Instructions

Follow these steps one by one.

Connect the parts as shown in the diagram.
Connect the Arduino Mega to your computer with a USB cable.
Open the Arduino IDE on your computer.
Choose the correct board (Arduino Mega) and the correct COM port.
Follow the steps in the How It Works section.
Copy the provided code and paste it into the Arduino IDE.
Click the Upload button in the Arduino IDE to send the code to the Arduino Mega.
Have fun making music.

Arduino Mega Code - Play Music with control buttons

The code below is a better version of the old code. It has four buttons that let you control the MP3 player.

/* * This Arduino Mega code was developed by newbiely.com * * This Arduino Mega code is made available for public use without any restriction * * For comprehensive instructions and wiring diagrams, please visit: * https://newbiely.com/tutorials/arduino-mega/arduino-mega-mp3-player */ #include <SoftwareSerial.h> #include <ezButton.h> #define CMD_PLAY_NEXT 0x01 #define CMD_PLAY_PREV 0x02 #define CMD_PLAY_W_INDEX 0x03 #define CMD_SET_VOLUME 0x06 #define CMD_SEL_DEV 0x09 #define CMD_PLAY_W_VOL 0x22 #define CMD_PLAY 0x0D #define CMD_PAUSE 0x0E #define CMD_SINGLE_CYCLE 0x19 #define DEV_TF 0x02 #define SINGLE_CYCLE_ON 0x00 #define SINGLE_CYCLE_OFF 0x01 #define ARDUINO_RX 7 // The Arduino UNO R4 pin connected to the TX of the Serial MP3 Player module #define ARDUINO_TX 6 // The Arduino UNO R4 pin connected to the RX of the Serial MP3 Player module SoftwareSerial mp3(ARDUINO_RX, ARDUINO_TX); ezButton button_play(2); // create ezButton object that attach to pin 2 ezButton button_pause(3); // create ezButton object that attach to pin 3 ezButton button_next(4); // create ezButton object that attach to pin 4 ezButton button_prev(5); // create ezButton object that attach to pin 5 void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); mp3.begin(9600); delay(500); // wait chip initialization is complete mp3_command(CMD_SEL_DEV, DEV_TF); // select the TF card delay(200); // wait for 200ms button_play.setDebounceTime(50); // set debounce time to 50 milliseconds button_pause.setDebounceTime(50); // set debounce time to 50 milliseconds button_next.setDebounceTime(50); // set debounce time to 50 milliseconds button_prev.setDebounceTime(50); // set debounce time to 50 milliseconds } void loop() { button_play.loop(); // MUST call the loop() function first button_pause.loop(); // MUST call the loop() function first button_next.loop(); // MUST call the loop() function first button_prev.loop(); // MUST call the loop() function first if (button_play.isPressed()) { Serial.println("Play mp3"); mp3_command(CMD_PLAY, 0x0000); } if (button_pause.isPressed()) { Serial.println("Pause mp3"); mp3_command(CMD_PAUSE, 0x0000); } if (button_next.isPressed()) { Serial.println("Play next mp3"); mp3_command(CMD_PLAY_NEXT, 0x0000); } if (button_prev.isPressed()) { Serial.println("Play previous mp3"); mp3_command(CMD_PLAY_PREV, 0x0000); } } void mp3_command(int8_t command, int16_t dat) { int8_t frame[8] = { 0 }; frame[0] = 0x7e; // starting byte frame[1] = 0xff; // version frame[2] = 0x06; // the number of bytes of the command without starting byte and ending byte frame[3] = command; // frame[4] = 0x00; // 0x00 = no feedback, 0x01 = feedback frame[5] = (int8_t)(dat >> 8); // data high byte frame[6] = (int8_t)(dat); // data low byte frame[7] = 0xef; // ending byte for (uint8_t i = 0; i < 8; i++) { mp3.write(frame[i]); } }

The wiring for the code that was mentioned:

The wiring diagram between Arduino Mega MP3 player speaker

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Now you can change the projects to add more features, for example:

Add a volume knob to change the sound level. See the Arduino Mega Potentiometer tutorial.
Add an IR remote to control it. Follow the Arduino Mega IR Remote Controller tutorial.
Add an RFID reader and card to make an RFID MP3 player. For more details, check the Arduino Mega RFID tutorial.

Video Tutorial

Function References

Learn More

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