Sound Is Vibration
What is sound? Drag a frequency fader and switch waveforms to hear how vibration becomes pitch — and how wave shape becomes timbre.
Every sound starts as a vibration. Take a minute to play first: hit play, drag FREQ, try each waveform, and watch the wave on screen.
Sound is vibration
A speaker cone pushes the air back and forth hundreds of times per second. That pressure wave travels to your ear and your eardrum vibrates along with it — that is what you hear. No vibration, no sound.
Frequency sets the pitch
Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz): vibrations per second. You already heard it while dragging FREQ — bigger number, higher note; smaller number, lower note. Musicians share one anchor point: A4 = 440 Hz, the note orchestras tune to.
Waveform sets the timbre
Keep the frequency still and switch shapes: sine is round and clean, square sounds like a retro game console, sawtooth is bright and buzzy. The shape of the wave does not change the pitch — it changes the timbre, the "color" of the sound. It is why the same note sounds different on a piano and a trumpet.
Quiz
Listen to two notes. Which one is higher?