How to use mob heads with note blocks in Minecraft 1.20 update

The Minecraft 1.20 update is mere days away, and the community is burning with anticipation. A lot of changes are headed the game's way, such as fresh mobs, structures, biomes, and so much more. One of the more overlooked aspects of this update is that there's a new mob head coming. Mob heads have been around for a while, but Mojang is finally adding one more to the list: piglin. The developer will also allow them to be used on note blocks.

If you're unfamiliar with how that works or how to get mob heads, look no further. This article will break down everything you need to know.

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Note blocks and mob heads in Minecraft Trails and Tales update

When you have a note block and a mob head, you can place the latter on top of the note block. Just like when you have any block that you want to use with a note block, it has to be placed on top and not to the side or behind; underneath won't work, either.

Once that's done, the note block will then play the sound for whatever block is on top when activated. Activating one can be done manually, with your hand striking it or by a redstone device. You can set up railroad tracks with redstone activators that have carts going past and activating the blocks.

Getting these blocks is not simple, though. Mob heads are extremely difficult to come across in Survival. They can easily be obtained in Creative, but they don't just spawn all that often in Survival.

Right now, the following mobs can drop heads:

• Player
• Ender Dragon
• Zombie
• Skeleton
• Wither Skeleton
• Creeper
• Piglin

Wither skeleton skulls are the easiest to get since they are part of spawning the Wither. One has a 2.5% chance of dropping a skull when killed by a Minecraft player or a tamed wolf.

The chance is increased by 1% for every level of the Looting enchantment. In Bedrock Edition, the chance is increased by 2% per level.

Skeletons, creepers, zombies, and piglins can only drop their heads if they are killed by a charged creeper (a creeper struck by lightning).

A charged creeper is blue in Minecraft (Image via AstonishingGamer on YouTube)

Dragon heads can spawn in chests on end ships found in End Cities. Skeleton skulls can also generate in Ancient Cities.

Player heads can only be obtained via commands, so it's not really a viable option. Even still, the rest of the Minecraft mob heads are either extremely rare spawns or very challenging to obtain manually.

Note blocks are not that difficult to come by, though. They can also spawn in Ancient Cities, but they're most commonly crafted. The recipe requires one redstone dust and eight of any kind of plank (can be a combination, too).

This will produce a single Minecraft note block and then you can place your mob head on top of it and make music.