MP3 Player Shield Hookup
This Tutorial is Retired!
This tutorial covers concepts or technologies that are no longer current. It's still here for you to read and enjoy, but may not be as useful as our newest tutorials.
View the updated tutorial: MP3 Player Shield Hookup Guide V15
jimblom 
Introduction
Are you looking to add some grooves to your project. Does your haunted house or Halloween costume need some sound effects embedded into it? Do you just want to be able to say you built your own MP3 player? The MP3 Player Shield is an easy way to add music or sound effects to your project.
In this tutorial we'll examine all of the ins and outs of the MP3 Player Shield. Then we'll go on to introduce some example code. Hopefully, after reading through this tutorial, you'll be inspired to make the next, great MP3 Shield Music Box or another rockin', music-playing Arduino project.
Requirements
To follow along with this tutorial you'll need the following items:
- An MP3 Player Shield, of course. The star of the show.
- µSD Card and a computer with a means to get music files onto it.
- An Arduino Uno, RedBoard, Arduino Pro or any other Arduino-compatible board.
- Headphones with a 3.5mm jack termination or an active speaker.
- Some MP3 files to groove to.
Suggested Reading
Before launching into this tutorial, there are a few basic concepts you should be familiar with. If the subject of these tutorials sounds foreign to you, read about it before continuing on with this hookup guide.
- What is an Arduino?
- Arduino Shields
- How to Install an Arduino Library
- Serial Peripheral Communication (SPI)